Name: Dwarf Puffer Fish
Brand: Brooklands
SKU: TS25
Price: 19.95 NZD
Availability: OutOfStock

Dwarf Puffer Fish

Product Details

Dwarf Puffer (Carinotetraodon traversancoricus)

NOT AVAILABLE FOR SHIPPING - In-store Only

Overview:

The Dwarf Puffer (affectionately known as the Pea Puffer or Pygmy Puffer) is the smallest pufferfish species in the world. Don't let their microscopic size fool you—these fish are bursting with intelligence and huge personalities. They look and act like tiny underwater helicopters, hovering in place and moving their large, expressive eyes independently to track prey. They feature a golden-green body covered in dark, iridescent blue-to-black iridescent spots.

Origins:

They are native to a very specific, restricted region in Southwest India (primarily Kerala), where they inhabit slow-moving, heavily vegetated rivers and estuaries. Unlike many larger pufferfish species that require brackish (partially salty) water, the Pea Puffer is 100% strictly freshwater.

Personality:

Pea Puffers are incredibly inquisitive and are often called the "dogs of the fish world." They will quickly learn who you are and press their tiny faces against the glass to beg for food when you walk into the room. However, they are also tiny micro-predators. They can be highly territorial, fiercely defensive of their personal space, and notorious for nipping the fins of slow-moving tank mates.

Care Level: Intermediate (Due to specialized diet and sensitivity to water parameters)
Temperament: Aggressive/Semi-aggressive (Fin-nippers)
Diet: Carnivore/Molluscivore. They will almost always refuse flakes or pellets. They require live or frozen foods like bloodworms, brine shrimp, and small pest snails (like bladder or ramshorn snails). Cracking open snail shells keeps their fast-growing teeth naturally worn down!
Max Size: 2.5 cm (Truly tiny!)
Family: Tetraodontidae
Tank Size: 40 Litres minimum for a small group.
Temperature: 24°C – 28°C
pH: 6.5 – 7.5
Should be kept in groups? Yes, but with caution. They do best in a species-only "shoal" of 6 or more. Keeping them in a group spreads out any internal bickering. Just ensure your tank is heavily planted with lots of visual barriers so submissive puffers can break line-of-sight and hide from dominant ones.

Pro Tip: Because Pea Puffers eat messy live/frozen foods and lack standard protective scales, they are highly sensitive to poor water quality. Over-filtering the tank while maintaining a gentle water current is the secret to keeping them healthy.