Humpback Puffer
Pao palembangensis
- Care level
- Advanced
- Adult size
- 19.5 cm
- Minimum tank
- 108 litres
- Temperature
- 24–28 °C
Species profile
Hairy Puffer
Pao baileyi
Common names: Hairy Puffer
Recognized speciesPufferfish
Adult size
Up to 12 cm
Up to 12 cm
Countries of origin
Good fit for your tank?
Good fit for
- A collector who wants a rare and unusual single fish
Think carefully if
- You want tankmates
- You also keep shrimp or snails you want to protect, because this puffer will eat them
- Price matters, because it is usually expensive
A rare Mekong puffer covered in hair-like skin growths that help it hide among rocks. It grows to 12 cm, and it must be kept alone.
Appearance and Identification
A mottled body in brown, cream and grey, covered in soft hair-like growths that make its outline hard to see.
No other commonly traded puffer has this hairy appearance.
Males are said to have more of the hair-like growths than females, but this is unconfirmed.
Tank Requirements
- Suggested filter
- About 270–340 litres an hour
- Suggested heater
- About 75–100 W for this tank
- Minimum tank volume
- 68 litres
- Minimum tank length
- 75 cm
- Minimum group size
- 1
- Recommended group size
- 1
- Activity level
- Low
- Flow preference
- Moderate
- Planting preference
- Lightly planted
- Hiding places
- Yes
- Lid recommended
- Yes
- Jumping risk
- Low
Use rock cover and well-oxygenated water with some current, to match its rocky river home.
Behaviour and Tankmates
A largely still fish that relies on camouflage, and strikes quickly when something comes close.
Keep alone. It should never be kept in groups.
Very aggressive towards its own kind.
Keep alone. Its beak can bite chunks from other fish. It will eat shrimp and snails.
Water Parameters
- Temperature
- 23–27 °C
- pH
- 6.5–7.5
- Stability importance
- Very important
Few measurements exist. One batch of fish was collected in water close to neutral pH, so keep it around neutral. No hardness figure was found.
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, Predator
- 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 shellfish and snails 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 difficulty
- Not commonly bred
- Parental care
- Unknown
Not thought to have been bred in aquariums, probably because of its temper and high price.
Habitat and Origin
- Geographic origin
- Laos, Southeast Asia, Thailand
- Natural habitat
- Fast Stream, River
- Aquarium contexts
- Collector Aquarium, Species-Only Aquarium
- Audience level
- Advanced
Classification
- Profile type
- Recognized species
- Genus
- Pao
- Family
- Tetraodontidae
- Species group
- Fish, Pufferfish
- Previous scientific names
- Tetraodon baileyi, Former genus, still used in many shops.
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Mbu Puffer
Tetraodon mbu
- Care level
- Specialist
- Adult size
- 75 cm
- Minimum tank
- 1944 litres
- Temperature
- 24–26 °C
Red-tailed Redeye Puffer
Carinotetraodon irrubesco
- Care level
- Intermediate
- Adult size
- 4.5 cm
- Minimum tank
- 54 litres
- Temperature
- 20–28 °C
Redeye Puffer
Carinotetraodon lorteti
- Care level
- Intermediate
- Adult size
- 6 cm
- Minimum tank
- 54 litres
- Temperature
- 20–28 °C