Perfect Petite Puffers

If you walked around this building, and asked everyone who worked here, from the biologists to the cleaning crew what their favorite fish was, a huge percentage would say Puffers. Whether they come from saltwater, brackish, or in this case, freshwater, Puffers are some of the biggest personalities you'll come across in aquarium keeping. Tetraodon schoutedeni, better known as the Spotted Congo Puffer is a perfect example of this. They learn to recognize people and interact with their owners in interesting ways. Some hobbyists claim their Spotted Congos can even learn commands!

With that said, you don't see them in too many aquariums, and so now you're asking yourself “what's the deal?” Well, many puffers that you see in the hobby get very large, requiring similarly big tanks. Other species have a penchant for violence, (and get big), meaning these very large displays can only have one fish in them. Some require full salt or brackish conditions, limiting options for displays dramatically. All this being said, if there was ever a fish that was worth having as a single species, single individual as a display, puffers as a group are definitely that fish.

The crowning glory of the Spotted Congo Puffer is that it is none of these things. They have a very small adult size, with females only ever getting to just under four inches long and males usually never getting past three! These Puffers are also remarkably peaceful, a topic we'll come back to when talking about tank mates (yes, you can keep these with other fish!) They are a true freshwater species, needing no salt in their display, opening the door to things like planted aquariums (with some cautionary notes).

In the wild, Tetraodon schoutedeni comes from the Congo River proper, and once upon a time were most often collected from a widening in the river called Pool Malebo, where the river gets wide enough to act a bit more like a lake. The water here is clear and slowly flowing, with a lot of plant matter and abundant snail and other invertebrate life for them to munch happily on all day long. Even though many of these fish are now aquacultured you'll still want to give them a similar environment. They'll appreciate lots of cover in the way of driftwood and rocks. You can utilize plants in this display, but the Puffers will take some nibbles out of them, so utilize robust, quick growing things like Amazon Sword and Java Ferns. The more plants you can have, the better; as this will spread out the nibbling among more targets, meaning less damage to each individual plant. A soft sandy substrate is best.

Water quality wise, the parameters they like aren't too difficult to achieve. They prefer water that is a neutral pH (6.5-7.5) and relatively soft water, in the 5-10 degrees of hardness range. They will do best in tanks with a stable temperature that is warm, shoot for something between 78 and 82. The caveat here is that the heater cable needs to be protected. Puffers have extraordinarily sharp teeth, and they like to take inquisitive bites of things, you don't want them doing this to the heater's power cable. The only real challenge water quality wise is that they like clean water. Shoot for nitrates under 15ppm, without any ammonia or nitrite. Because they like large messy meals, achieving this nutrient requirement will mean bigger than average filtration and large, regular water changes.

Can you keep Spotted Congo Puffers with other fish? Yes. The internet abounds with reports of people housing Tetraodon schoutedeni in community set ups. While we don't necessarily recommend that, they can be kept with a variety of fish that are quick enough to stay away from the puffer but while also not very interested in nipping at the puffer either. Good choices are armored catfish like Pleco's, smaller bottom feeders like Corydoras, large tetras, especially Congos, which have the added benefit of being a natural combo. Avoid slow, small fish like guppies, and very aggressive fish like most African Cichlids. A display for a single Spotted Congo could be as small as 30 gallons, but if you had a larger display, say 75 gallons, you could keep up to six of them. Multiple fish should ideally be kept in harems, where one male is kept with two females. If you start with a group of juvenile fish, monitor them closely once they start to mature as they might get territorial with other puffers if the ratios are off, or there isn't enough space and cover.

Spotted Congo Puffers love to (and need to) eat snails and other invertebrates, and you'll want to feed a similar diet to yours. They adore small live earthworms, thawed bloodworms, krill and mysis like those available from Gamma Foods. They will greedily take down live crickets, baby cockroaches and other small insects for dinner. If you are getting aquacultured specimens, it is likely that they will come already eating pelletized foods, and Nutramar Freshwater Complete Pellets is the obvious choice here. Regardless of what makes up their diet, it is important they continue to get some snails, in shells. These shells provide the fish with needed calcium, and they also help to wear down the ever-growing teeth of the puffer. Not all snails will make for great food as some will have shells that are too thick for the puffer to manage. Bladder snails (Physella acuta) are a good choice, and these are often available from the LFS where you get your puffers. Spotted Congos can also be fed small terrestrial snails like Helix pomatia also known as escargot (you can share with your fish if you like em!)

If you've been keeping aquariums for a while, then you've probably wanted (or still want) a puffer tank, but perhaps the complications of them have kept you from living this dream out. The Spotted Congo Puffer is the perfect fish for you, or anyone else who wants to keep a puffer. The only need a small tank, have the best Puffer temperament of all time, and they're adaptable to a wide range of displays. The time is now, go ahead and get that tank set up, because your Local Fish Store can get you some Tetraodon schoutedeni from Aquatropic today!