Thinking of adding a pufferfish to your freshwater aquarium? Good choice. Fish of the family Tetraodontidae, better known as the puffers, are among the most unique creatures you can keep in your tank! However, they also have some special requirements, and most don’t make the best choice for beginning aquarists.
Which puffer matches your experience level and will suit your tank? How should you care for your new bucktoothed friend? Below, find FantaSEA’s master list of our 10 favorite types of freshwater pufferfish and pointers on how to care for these oddballs.
What’s so special about pufferfish?
Most of us start out our freshwater fishkeeping journeys with typical aquarium fish like tetras or angelfish. As you gain experience, though, you might find yourself looking for a new challenge: something more interesting, even if it’s more difficult to keep. That’s where oddball fish like puffers come in!
Freshwater pufferfish, belonging to the family Tetraodontidae along with brackish and saltwater puffers, are commonly kept by more experienced aquarists for various reasons. They’re very different from other fish, with endearing looks (thanks to their huge eyes, which can move independently), an unusual swimming style (like underwater helicopters), and big personalities (they can learn to recognize their owners).
Owning one of the various species of puffers can be a rewarding experience, but keep in mind that it’s also challenging:
- Most of these fish have an unusual diet of molluscs (clams, mussels, snails), shrimp, crabs, and other crunchy foods, which can be difficult to source.
- They’re very messy eaters, which causes a big burden on the water quality—not ideal, since they’re also highly sensitive.
- Despite their crunchy diet wearing down their teeth, most puffers’ chompers grow so fast that they need regular dentistry, which involves sedating the fish.
- Puffers are notoriously antisocial, with most species destroying any tankmates you try to keep them with (both their own kind and other species).
- Some of the pufferfish sold for freshwater aquariums actually require brackish water, especially as they age.
- Most pufferfish are wild-caught and can be riddled with parasites.
- Some species grow very large and are quite active, requiring huge tanks.
Despite all this, some aquarists think puffers’ other fascinating characteristics make it more than worth it. Here at FantaSEA, we certainly have a soft spot for them, although we really recommend doing your research before getting a puffer.
Some of the most common questions we get about pufferfish include:
Yes, they do. A stressed pufferfish can gulp water in order to inflate its body, which can help it evade predators by looking bigger and being more difficult to swallow.
You should never try to provoke your pet puffer into puffing up, as the stress can actually be fatal. It’s also important to never fully take the fish out of the water, because if it puffs with air, it may not be able to expel it again. This also often proves deadly.
Oh yeah! They’re not venomous, so they can’t hurt you through bite or touch. However, their innards contain a highly potent neurotoxin known as tetrodotoxin. You may have heard of the Japanese delicacy called “fugu”, or pufferfish, which requires specially trained chefs to make the meat safe to consume. The dragon puffer, Pao palembangensis, is also eaten in its native Southeast Asia.
If you were planning on eating your pet pufferfish for some reason, we’d highly recommend against it—people die each year trying to prepare these fish without the proper knowledge.
The name “blowfish” may be used to refer to all members of the family Tetraodontiformes. However, when someone talks about a “blowfish”, they usually mean the spiked members of the Diodontidae family, also known as porcupinefish.
As such, and as we explain further in our post on pufferfish vs. blowfish, the two are in fact not the same. Pufferfish belong to a different family, called Tetraodontidae, and have smooth skin.
Because most pufferfish species are challenging to breed in captivity, many of the fish you’ll find at your local aquarium store are still wild-caught. They can be riddled with internal parasites.
If your (new) puffer has a bumpy belly even outside of feeding time, or if its belly has a constant sunken look to it despite it eating well, a few rounds of dewormer might do it good.
The mini puffers
Dwarf puffer (Carinotetraodon travancoricus)
Some freshwater pufferfish grow to impressive sizes, but let’s start off small here, shall we? If you’re interested in getting your first puffer, the best way to get acquainted with this unusual family of fish is through the dwarf puffer, Carinotetraodon travancoricus.
Dwarf puffers are everything large pufferfish are, but in miniature. They swim in that typical hovering manner, can puff up, appear somewhat intelligent, and are highly specialized and efficient predators despite their maximum size of little more than 1″.
These mini puffers are more suitable for beginning aquarists than their larger cousins for a few reasons. First off, a huge advantage is that their teeth don’t need maintenance. They don’t crush their favorite prey, small snails, but suck them out of their shells. As such, their chompers don’t have to constantly grow like those of other puffers.
In addition to this, dwarf puffers are suitable for some types of community aquariums. They work well with unobtrusive tankmates that don’t have long fins, like kuhli loaches. Their size makes them suitable for small tanks of 10 gallons and up, and their bioload tends to stay pretty manageable. Oh, and they’re SO much fun to watch!
Did you know? There are two species of dwarf puffer, although Carinotetraodon travancoricus is by far the most commonly sold. The other one’s almost identical anyway—so much so that its scientific name is C. imitator.
| Min. tank size | 10 gallons |
| Difficulty level | Easy to intermediate |
| Temperature | 72-83 °F |
| pH | 7-8 |
Striped red-eye puffer (Carinotetraodon salivator)
There are a few different species of red-eye pufferfish, all of which belong to the genus Carinotetraodon: C. irrubesco, C. lorteti, C. borneensis, and this one, C. salivator (the striped red-eye puffer).
All red-eye puffers are relatively uncommon in the aquarium hobby, which is strange, as they stay small and are among the most manageable species for beginning aquarists. Their lack of popularity may be because they’re relatively recent discoveries: Carinotetraodon salivator was first described in 1995.
If you manage to find the striped red-eye puffer or any of its close cousins for sale, you’re in luck. These small Southeast Asian pufferfish (max. 2″) aren’t just beautiful to look at, but also fascinating and fun to keep. They’ve got big personalities and can learn to recognize their owners.
Like other pufferfish, red-eyes are territorial and best kept alone. They naturally occur in shallow waters of up to 7ft and like a sandy substrate and good flow level. You can feed home-bred snails, (dwarf) shrimp, and similar crunchy foods that keep their ever-growing teeth short.
| Min. tank size | 15 gallons |
| Difficulty level | Intermediate |
| Temperature | 68-82 °F |
| pH | 5.5-7.5 |
Amazon puffer (Colomesus asellus)
Yes, that photo above shows multiple pufferfish in the same tank! As we’ve mentioned, there are very few species of puffer that are tolerant of their own kind. The exceptions include the aforementioned dwarf puffer, as well as this one: the only freshwater pufferfish in South America, known as the Amazon puffer.
This small puffer (measuring max. 3.5″) sports a shimmery greenish-gold body base color with black “bumblebee” banding. It has those typical large pufferfish googly eyes, especially when still small.
If you’re interested in keeping this species, be sure to get at least three fish. Non-territorial and naturally migratory in nature, they don’t just seem to tolerate the presence of other Amazon puffers, but actually appreciate it. Seeing them interact is fascinating and pretty much unique among puffers.
Amazon puffers are prone to overgrown teeth. You have to be willing to perform some finicky and somewhat risky dentistry on yours about yearly, so consider whether that’s worth it for you before adding them to your tank.
| Min. tank size | 40 gallons |
| Difficulty level | Intermediate to hard |
| Temperature | 68-80 °F |
| pH | 5.5-7.5 |
Spotted Congo puffer (Tetraodon schoutedeni)
Naturally found in the two African countries referred to as Congo (Republic of the Congo and Democratic Republic of the Congo), T. schoutedeni inhabits the massive Congo River Basin. It’s apparently particularly common in the large river opening called Pool Malebo, which is so wide it resembles a lake and is characterized by its clean, fast-flowing waters.
The spotted Congo puffer used to be the most common freshwater puffer in the aquarium trade way back in the ’60s, but civil unrest in its native range caused imports to plummet. They’ve recently seen a sharp increase again thanks to improved captive breeding techniques.
Like most of the puffers on this list, the spotted Congo puffer likes a well-planted aquarium with plenty of decorations to break the lines of sight. You can use driftwood, plants like Anubias (some of which actually naturally occur in the Congo river), rocks, and much more. Plants should be sturdy, as puffers in general tend to like biting the leaves!
Also ensure a good flow level, which is easy enough to achieve using an extra powerhead with a safety guard. The ideal would be to concentrate the flow at the top and keep calmer pockets around the bottom, just like there would be in a river.
| Min. tank size | 30 gallons |
| Difficulty level | Hard |
| Temperature | 77-85 °F |
| pH | 6.5-7.5 |
Avocado puffer (Auriglobus modestus)
The genus Auriglobus consists of five species that all look very similar. They’re one of the more unusual types of freshwater pufferfish, with metallic greenish-golden coloration on their backs and metallic silvery to white on their bellies. Of the genus, the avocado puffer (or golden puffer, bronze puffer) is the most commonly seen in the aquarium trade.
The Auriglobus species were originally placed in a different genus, called Chonerhinos. Later, it was discovered that they’re really a different group. Most notably, unlike the brackish to full marine Chonerhinos puffers, this genus inhabits mostly freshwater.
The avocado puffer grows to a maximum length of around 5″ and is one of many on this list that’s naturally found in Southeast Asia. It inhabits lower river reaches and estuaries. Here, it mainly lives off terrestrial insects and aquatic bugs, although there are also indications that it likes fish—not whole ones, but sneaky small bites out of their fins or scales.
Avocado puffers are known to be particularly active and inquisitive. You can keep yours in a standard pufferfish aquarium with plenty of décor and a sandy substrate. Feed all sorts of (crunchy) bugs and live foods.
Did you know? A 1982 study mentions that the avocado puffer sometimes eats fruits and seeds. There’s also a 1962 book that notes leaves in the species’ stomach. This doesn’t seem to be the case for any other pufferfish, but in any case, it’s always a good idea to gut load their food with plant matter to ensure they get all the nutrients they need!
The southeast Asian freshwater pufferfish genus Chonerhinos (Tetraodontidae), with descriptions of new species (1982)
| Min. tank size | 40 gallons |
| Difficulty level | Hard |
| Temperature | 74-78 °F |
| pH | 7.0-7.5 |
The ambush puffers
Dragon puffer (Pao palembangensis)
All the puffers on this list are pretty odd as far as fish go, but the species known as the ambush puffers really take the cake. One of the more popular ambush puffers, probably thanks to its beautiful pattern, is this one: the humpback or dragon puffer, formerly known as Tetraodon palembangensis but moved in 2013 to the genus Pao.
Some ambush puffers spend most of their day buried in the substrate, but the dragon puffer usually lies on top of it while it waits for its prey. Despite its adult large size (almost 8″), you can keep yours in a relatively small aquarium. After all, they don’t move much, which means they don’t need all that much space. A 40-gallon tank should work fine.
To keep your dragon puffer happy and healthy, use a sandy substrate and offer plenty of cover to help it feel like it can hide effectively. Although this species sometimes eats fish in the wild (hence its ambush-style hunting technique), it’s probably best to stick to crunchy foods in captivity to prevent excessive tooth growth.
| Min. tank size | 30 gallons |
| Difficulty level | Hard |
| Temperature | 75-82 °F |
| pH | 6.5-7.5 |
Hairy puffer (Pao baileyi)
Yes, that is a pufferfish, not a hairy potato! Could have fooled us. Appropriately known as the hairy puffer, Pao baileyi (formerly Tetraodon), this species is naturally found in the Mekong River, which runs through (South)East Asia. It inhabits the river’s rocky rapids, flattening itself in crevices or the substrate in full camouflage to wait for unsuspecting prey to come too close.
In the aquarium, your hairy puffer will need a river-type set-up. It likes well-oxygenated water with a good flow level, plenty of decorations, and a few nice deep patches of fine sandy substrate to dig (wallow) in.
These puffers naturally eat mostly worms and other insects, but they also hunt fish. As such they should always be kept alone—they’ll destroy any tankmates you attempt to keep them with. Even your own hands aren’t safe, so be careful while doing tank maintenance!
A hairy pufferfish doesn’t need as many crunchy foods as most of its cousins. Rather than clams and cockles, it should mostly receive gut-loaded insects like earthworms or crickets. Supplement with high-quality pieces of fish, such as tilapia.
Did you know? Hairy pufferfish lose their “hair” as they age. Older individuals are often mostly smooth.
| Min. tank size | 30 gallons |
| Difficulty level | Hard |
| Temperature | 74-81 °F |
| pH | 6.5-7.5 |
The monster puffers
Cross river puffer (Tetraodon pustulatus)
When aquarists talk monster puffers, they’re almost always referencing the fahaka and mbu pufferfish, which we’ll discuss below. Their cousin, the Cross River puffer, is often forgotten—even though it can grow to a whopping 15″ in length, making it more than deserving of the “monster” title.
This species’ common name is derived from the Cross River, which flows through the African countries of Cameroon and Nigeria, where it’s naturally found. Its scientific name, T. pustulatus, is a reference to its appearance: those unusual red spots really do kind of look like pustules.
Cross River puffers inhabit the relatively fast-flowing waters of the river mainstream. They’re not picky about habitat, but in the aquarium they seem to appreciate a soft sandy substrate to wallow in.
The rest of this species’ care requirements are similar to those of other freshwater puffers. They’re aggressive towards other fish and their own kind. Plenty of decorations and extra-sturdy plants to make the tank more interesting will be appreciated. Your puffer’s diet should be hard and crunchy, and you may have to clip its teeth regularly.
Did you know? If you’re interested in owning one of the monster puffers, especially a Cross River puffer, we hope you’ve got your wallet ready. Most are still wild-caught in relatively inhospitable areas, making them quite rare, so even juveniles can sell for hundreds of dollars.
| Min. tank size | 150 gallons |
| Difficulty level | Expert |
| Temperature | 72-78 °F |
| pH | 6.5-7.5 |
Fahaka puffer (Tetraodon lineatus)
All three monster puffers we’re discussing here hail from Africa. This one, the fahaka puffer, has a relatively wide natural range: it can be found as far north as the upper Nile (hence one of its nicknames, the Nile puffer) and as far south as the estuaries of Nigeria.
In the wild, this species is found both in open rivers and in more sheltered habitats, such as plant-heavy riverbanks, lakes, and areas rich in aquatic vegetation. It reaches a length of up to 15″ and is known to grow very quickly. This means yours will need a large tank to thrive in your home.
As with most puffers, you should use a deep layer of soft and sandy substrate for wallowing purposes. Plenty of décor is great, but be sure to also leave some open areas. Live plants may be chewed on, so pick sturdy species like Anubias or Java fern.
You can forget about tankmates, as although fahakas mainly eat molluscs, they’ll still take a chunk out of any fish they can get their teeth on. This includes their own species.
| Min. tank size | 150 gallons |
| Difficulty level | Expert |
| Temperature | 75-80 °F |
| pH | 6.5-7.5 |
Mbu or giant puffer (Tetraodon mbu)
Here it is: the biggest freshwater pufferfish of them all. And this one’s a whopper, reaching a crazy 25″ in length! It’s called Tetraodon mbu, the mbu puffer, or—appropriately—the giant puffer. Although we don’t recommend it for anyone but public aquariums or the most experienced and dedicated aquarists, we still wanted to include this fascinating species in our list.
It’s easy to recognize an mbu puffer thanks to its unique and beautiful labyrinth-like pattern of squiggles and lines. The adults in particular look almost hypnotic! This species is naturally found in the African Congo River basin and the immense Lake Tanganyika, the longest freshwater lake in the world.
As you can imagine, an mbu puffer requires more of an indoor pond than an aquarium—and it needs it all to itself, as it’ll mow down or at least chew on any type of tankmate. Sounds over the top, but a select few highly experienced aquarists do go for it, as this is one of the most interactive fish species you can keep.
Do not buy an mbu puffer thinking you can maintain it in a smaller tank until it grows; they mature quickly and need extremely specialized care. Please give these amazing, intelligent creatures the respect they deserve.
| Min. tank size | 800 gallons |
| Difficulty level | EXPERTS/PROFESSIONALS ONLY |
| Temperature | 75-80 °F |
| pH | 7.0-8.0 |
BONUS: The brackish puffers
Tip: If you’re thinking of going full marine with your tank rather than brackish, have a look at our list of saltwater pufferfish for the aquarium!
Figure 8 puffer (Dichotomyctere ocellatus, formerly Tetraodon biocellatus)
Brackish aquariums aren’t that common in the hobby. They’re kind of an in-between thing, and a little more limited in terms of your plant and fish options. However, these types of tanks can make a great choice for an aquarist looking for something a little different!
Brackish and estuarine habitats make up a large part of the world, and this little gem forms part of them: Dichotomyctere ocellatus or the figure 8 puffer from Southeast Asia, named for the pattern on its head. Although wild specimens do pop up in freshwater sometimes, they’re mostly found in estuarine conditions.
This is an euryhaline species, meaning it can adapt to a wide range of salinities. Aquarists have found it seems to live the longest at a salt level between 1.005-1.008, though. You can use a sandy substrate and sturdy plants that tolerate some salt, like Java fern. Some unobtrusive tankmates, like bumblebee gobies (Brachygobius xanthomelas), may work.
Figure 8 puffers can grow to a maximum length of around 3.2″. Like most pufferfish, they require a crunchy diet. Aquarists who keep small puffers such as this one often opt to breed their own freshwater snails, like ramshorns, for a cheap source of puffer food.
| Min. tank size | 20 gallons |
| Difficulty level | Hard |
| Temperature | 72-80 °F |
| pH | 6.5-7.5 |
Green spotted puffer (Dichotomyctere nigroviridis, formerly Tetraodon nigroviridis)
Liked the aforementioned figure 8 puffer but would like a fish that’s a little bigger? Then Dichotomyctere nigroviridis, or the green spotted puffer, may be a good choice. It grows to a maximum size of around 6″, and look at those adorable polka dots!
Like its figure 8 cousin, the green spotted puffer hails from Southeast Asia and can be found in both freshwater and brackish conditions, from rivers to floodplains to mangrove forests. This being said, aquarists find it does best with the addition of some aquarium salt. You can keep yours at a salinity of 1.005-1.008.
Green spotted puffer care is pretty standard as far as puffers go. A well-decorated tank with a sandy substrate works best. As usual, skip the tankmates. Feed a crunchy diet, like home-bred snails, and keep an eye on your spotted friend’s teeth.
| Min. tank size | 30 gallons |
| Difficulty level | Hard |
| Temperature | 75-82 °F |
| pH | 7.5-8.5 |
Conclusion
This list of types of freshwater puffers isn’t complete—there are 30+ species in total, although not all of them are kept in the aquarium. Though challenging to keep and not for beginners, these unusual oddball fish are among our personal favorites here at FantaSEA.
Want to keep a puffer but not sure you’ve got the time or expertise? We have both! Contact us with your ideas. That way, we can design, set up, and maintain the perfect pufferfish tank for your home or office.
Image credits
Tetraodon pustulatus: Dotun55, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Tetraodon baileyi: M.S., CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Sources & further reading
Horn, M. H., Correa, S. B., Parolin, P., Pollux, B. J. A., Anderson, J. T., Lucas, C., … & Goulding, M. (2011). Seed dispersal by fishes in tropical and temperate fresh waters: the growing evidence. Acta Oecologica, 37(6), 561-577.
Inger, R. F., & Chin, P. K. (1962). The fresh-water fishes of North Borneo.
Kottelat, M. (2013). The fishes of the inland waters of Southeast Asia: a catalogue and core bibliography of the fishes known to occur in freshwaters, mangroves and estuaries. Raffles Bulletin of Zoology.
Lim, K. K., & Kottelat, M. (1995). Carinotetraodon salivator, a new species of pufferfish from Sarawak, Malaysia (Teleostei: Tetraodontidae). Japanese Journal of Ichthyology, 41(4), 359-365.
Roberts, T. R. (1982). The Southeast Asian Freshwater Pufferfish Genus Chonerhinos (Tetraodontidae): With Descriptions of New Species (Vol. 43, No. 1). California Academy of Sciences.
Subamia, I. W., Meilisza, N., Sudarto, S., & Sugito, S. (2008). Domestication of freshwater puffer fish or buntal (Tetraodon palembangensis). Indonesian Aquaculture Journal, 3(2), 133-138.
