Ceylon puffer

Dichotomyctere fluviatilis

Also known as Topaz puffer, Ceylon green puffer, Tetraodon fluviatilis

FreshwaterBrackishFish

Ceylon puffer (Dichotomyctere fluviatilis) — H. Zell · CC BY-SA 3.0

Care at a glance

Temperature: 75–82°F (24–28°C)
pH: 7.5–8.5
Adult size: 6.7 in (17 cm)
Minimum tank: 34 gal (130 L)
Temperament: Aggressive
Social behavior: Solitary
Swim level: Middle
Difficulty: Medium
Breeding: Hard
Rarity: Common
Origin: Found from India and Sri Lanka through parts of Southeast Asia, in slow fresh and brackish coastal rivers, estuaries and lagoons.
Family: Tetraodontidae

Overview

Keep one puffer in a tank of about 130 litres or more with brackish water, a pH of 7.5 to 8.5 and 24 to 28 C. It is aggressive and a fin nipper, so it is safest kept alone or only with cautious selection of robust brackish tankmates. Feed a snail heavy diet of ramshorn, pond and other hard shelled snails to keep the teeth worn down, along with frozen shrimp, mussel and bloodworm. Kept long term in pure fresh water it tends to decline, so brackish conditions are strongly preferred.

In the wild

The Ceylon puffer lives in slow moving fresh and brackish coastal waters, from river mouths to estuaries and lagoons. Young fish are often found in fresher water, but adults do best and live longest in brackish conditions. Give it a planted tank of 130 litres or more with a specific gravity around 1.005 to 1.015, gentle flow and some shade. It is a messy, greedy feeder, so strong filtration is important.

Good to know

Dichotomyctere fluviatilis was long known as Tetraodon fluviatilis before being moved to the genus Dichotomyctere. Like all puffers it lacks scales, can inflate with water to deter predators, and carries the powerful toxin tetrodotoxin in its body. Its four fused teeth form a beak that grows continuously and must be worn down on hard shelled prey.

Did you know

If it cannot crunch enough hard shelled snails, its beak like teeth overgrow and eventually stop it from eating, so a steady snail supply is part of its basic care.