Published on 17-09-2019
Pufferfish are weird but cute looking fish that are very curious and have amazing personalities. While most Pufferfish species are saltwater, some are freshwater as well. This page is about the true freshwater species.
The different Pufferfish species are generally similar in behaviour. They also have the same diets. However, some species are more aggressive than others, and they need different water conditions to thrive in the aquarium. Let’s look at the differences and what yourPufferfish species will need to be happy.
The water parameters for each species in mentioned in the table below. Pufferfish should only be kept by someone who has successfully kept fish healthy for at least 2 years. People in the hobby for this much time will have the basic knowledge of how the water parameters affect the fish. Freshwater Pufferfish are a little harder to care for than beginner fish like Goldfish or Mollies.
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Tankbusters are fish that get too big for home aquariums. You can read about them over here.
What to feed Pufferfish: Snails, crabs, clams, mussels, shrimps, worms, and small fish. (All of these should preferably be live. Pufferfish are notorious for not accepting dead or store – bought food.)
What not to feed them: Vegetable matter. Pufferfish are carnivores.
Where Pufferfish eat food from: Bottom of the tank.
These plants do well with it:Sturdy plants which won’t get uprooted by the Pufferfish’s burrowing. Floating plants will also work. You can read about aquarium plants for beginners over here.
These plants shouldn’t be kept with it: Frail and weak plants that can be moved around easily.
Will do well with these tank mates: None. They will eat or seriously injure other tank mates. Some species need to be kept in groups in a same-species tank, while others can only be kept as one individual fish per aquarium. (As you can see in the table below)
Special care that needs to be taken:The substrate should preferably be sand, as Pufferfish like to sit on the substrate and sometimes even bury themselves in it. The sand bed at the bottom of the tank should be at least 2 inches deep, to give the Puffers enough space for burrowing. Since Pufferfish spend most of their time at the bottom, the tank should be long and wide to give them more surface area at the bottom.
It is necessary to feed Pufferfishsnails, mussels, or other creatures that have hard shells. This helps to keep their teeth, which are always growing, at a manageable length. Overfiltration is necessary as they are very messy eaters. Knowing how to increase your aquarium’s bioload capacity will definitely help to keep your Pufferfish healthy. You can click here to read about it.
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Note: There are some Pufferfish species that are often wrongly labelled and sold as freshwater species. However, those are brackish water fish and won’t survive in a freshwater tank. You can click here to read about them. If the species you are looking for is not on this page, it probably is on the brackish water page.