Amazon Puffer
Colomesus asellus
- Care level
- Advanced
- Adult size
- 12.8 cm
- Minimum tank
- 108 litres
- Temperature
- 20–26 °C
Species profile
Striped Redeye Puffer
Carinotetraodon salivator
Common names: Striped Redeye Puffer, Zebra Puffer
Recognized speciesPufferfish
Adult size
Up to 5 cm
Up to 5 cm
Countries of origin
Good fit for your tank?
Good fit for
- A planted tank with gentle current and one puffer
- Peaceful schooling fish that are too large to eat
Think carefully if
- You also keep shrimp or snails you want to protect, because this puffer will eat them
- You keep fish with long fins
A small Bornean puffer with dark bars on the head and body in both sexes. Unlike its relatives, it seems to prefer flowing water.
Appearance and Identification
A small red-eyed puffer with distinct dark bars on the head and body in both sexes. Mature males have a red belly with crossing dark bars and keels along the back and belly.
The dark bars in both sexes set it apart from other redeye puffers. It sometimes arrives mixed with Bornean Red-eye Puffers.
Adult males develop keels on the back and belly and a red underside with dark bars.
Tank Requirements
- Suggested filter
- About 220–270 litres an hour
- Suggested heater
- About 50–75 W for this tank
- Minimum tank volume
- 54 litres
- Minimum tank length
- 60 cm
- Minimum group size
- 1
- Recommended group size
- 1
- Activity level
- Active
- Flow preference
- Moderate
- Planting preference
- Moderately planted
- Hiding places
- Yes
- Lid recommended
- Yes
- Jumping risk
- Low
Provide plants, wood and open swimming space, with moderate flow and good oxygen. A wild habitat was a flowing stream rather than the still water most redeye puffers prefer.
Behaviour and Tankmates
An active puffer that is less aggressive than some of its relatives.
Only loosely social. Keep it alone, or as a group only with enough room and cover.
Males tend to be territorial.
Keep it alone or with peaceful schooling fish that are big enough to be safe. It may nip long fins, and it will eat shrimp and snails.
Water Parameters
Soft to moderately hard freshwater. Clean, well-oxygenated water matters more than an exact figure.
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 with the shell onEssential. Crushing shells wears down the beak, which never stops growing.
- Frozen or live worms and shrimpGood everyday variety between shelled meals.
A carnivore. Feed live and frozen meaty foods, with snails to wear down the teeth.
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
No aquarium breeding has been recorded. The related Redeye Puffer scatters eggs among plants, and the male guards them.
Habitat and Origin
- Geographic origin
- Malaysia, Southeast Asia
- Natural habitat
- Freshwater Stream
- Aquarium contexts
- Planted Aquarium, Species-Only Aquarium
- Audience level
- Intermediate
Classification
- Profile type
- Recognized species
- Genus
- Carinotetraodon
- Family
- Tetraodontidae
- Species group
- Fish, Pufferfish
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Arrowhead Puffer
Pao suvattii
- Care level
- Advanced
- Adult size
- 15 cm
- Minimum tank
- 70 litres
- Temperature
- 22–26 °C
Bornean Red-eye Puffer
Carinotetraodon borneensis
- Care level
- Advanced
- Adult size
- 4.5 cm
- Minimum tank
- 54 litres
- Temperature
- 20–28 °C
Cochin Puffer
Pao cochinchinensis
- Care level
- Intermediate
- Adult size
- 7 cm
- Minimum tank
- 40 litres
- Temperature
- 24–28 °C