Green Spotted Puffer
Dichotomyctere nigroviridis
- Care level
- Advanced
- Adult size
- 17 cm
- Minimum tank
- 108 litres
- Temperature
- 24–28 °C
Species profile
Green Puffer
Dichotomyctere fluviatilis
Common names: Green Puffer, Tidal Puffer, Common Puffer
Recognized speciesPufferfish
Adult size
Up to 17 cm
Up to 17 cm
Countries of origin
Good fit for your tank?
Good fit for
- A dedicated brackish tank
- A keeper comfortable measuring specific gravity
Think carefully if
- You also keep shrimp or snails you want to protect, because this puffer will eat them
- You want a peaceful fish
- You cannot keep up with water changes and salt mixing
A true brackish puffer that grows to 17 cm and needs salt at SG 1.005 to 1.010. It harasses tankmates, so it is usually kept as the only puffer in the tank.
Appearance and Identification
A green-gold back with dark spots and blotches above a white belly, similar to the Green Spotted Puffer.
Often confused with the Green Spotted Puffer. If the label is uncertain, a brackish setup suits either fish.
No known external differences.
Tank Requirements
- Suggested filter
- About 430–540 litres an hour
- Suggested heater
- About 100–150 W for this tank
- Minimum tank volume
- 108 litres
- Minimum tank length
- 120 cm
- Minimum group size
- 1
- Recommended group size
- 1
- Activity level
- Active
- Flow preference
- Moderate
- Planting preference
- Mixed planting and open space
- Hiding places
- Yes
- Lid recommended
- Yes
- Jumping risk
- Low
Use marine salt to about SG 1.005 to 1.010, a sandy bottom and rock or wood cover. It is very sensitive to poor water, so regular partial water changes are a must.
Behaviour and Tankmates
Active and intolerant of other fish, and often more so with age.
Usually kept as one fish per tank.
Will harass other fish, particularly slow-moving ones.
Not a good community fish. It will harass tankmates and may nip fins. In a large tank, robust fish such as scats, archerfish and monos are possible. It will eat shrimp and snails.
Water Parameters
Needs brackish water at SG 1.005 to 1.010, with high pH and hardness.
Parameter caveat
Puffers are messy feeders and sensitive to waste, so keep up regular water changes and use a filter rated for a larger tank.
Feeding
- Diet types
- Carnivore
- Feeding frequency
- Daily
- Preferred foods
- Snails and mussels in the shellEssential. Crushing shells wears down the beak, which never stops growing.
- Crab legs, prawns and cocklesFeed unshelled where you can, for the same reason.
- EarthwormsA useful meaty food, and many puffers take them readily.
A carnivore. Feed snails and shellfish in the shell, along with worms and frozen foods.
Check the beak regularly. If it overgrows, the fish can no longer eat and the teeth may need to be trimmed by someone experienced.
Breeding
- Breeding type
- Substrate Spawner
- Breeding difficulty
- Difficult
- Parental care
- Paternal care
Has been spawned in aquariums, but little is known. The female lays eggs on a flat surface, and the male guards them until they hatch.
Habitat and Origin
- Geographic origin
- Bangladesh, Cambodia, India, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Southeast Asia, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Vietnam
- Natural habitat
- Brackish Water, Estuary, Slow River
- Aquarium contexts
- Brackish Aquarium, Needs Brackish Water, Species-Only Aquarium
- Audience level
- Advanced
Classification
- Profile type
- Recognized species
- Genus
- Dichotomyctere
- Family
- Tetraodontidae
- Species group
- Fish, Pufferfish
- Previous scientific names
- Tetraodon fluviatilis, Former name, still common in shops.
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Humpback Puffer
Pao palembangensis
- Care level
- Advanced
- Adult size
- 19.5 cm
- Minimum tank
- 108 litres
- Temperature
- 24–28 °C
Mbu Puffer
Tetraodon mbu
- Care level
- Specialist
- Adult size
- 75 cm
- Minimum tank
- 1944 litres
- Temperature
- 24–26 °C