Fahaka Puffer

A big, sandy-yellow puffer with dark stripes along the side, a pale belly and a pattern that can darken with mood.

Young fish are easily sold as small, cute puffers. The stripes along the side help to separate it from the Mbu Puffer, whose pattern is a maze of lines on a much larger fish.

No external differences, although females look rounder when full of eggs, and a small tube is visible just before spawning.

A single adult needs about 450 litres, and a group would need far more. Use a sand bottom with smooth rocks and wood, leave open swimming space, and fit a large, strong filter. Plants may be bitten.

Aggressive and intolerant. It can become very responsive to its keeper, while attacking almost anything else in the tank.

Keep alone. It is very aggressive to its own kind.

Fiercely intolerant of tankmates.

Keep alone. Its beak can bite chunks from other fish or rip them apart. It will eat shrimp and snails, and it will also eat most other fish it can catch.

This is a true freshwater puffer and does not need salt.

Eats mostly snails and shellfish. It relishes all kinds of shellfish, worms and other live and frozen foods, and it needs shelled meals regularly.

Check the beak regularly. If it overgrows, the fish can no longer eat and the teeth may need to be trimmed by someone experienced.

Hard to breed, largely because of its temper, but successes are reported in large aquariums. It usually needs a separate breeding tank.