All fish / Tetraodontidae

Map Puffer

Arothron mappa

Also known as map pufferfish, map puffer fish, scribbled puffer, mappa puffer, mappa pufferfish, ปลาปักเป้าลายแผนที่, buntal, コクテンフグ, モヨウフグ, buntal peta, 地图河豚, 纹腹叉鼻鲀

A big, heavy-bodied puffer. Its pale to yellowish body is covered in dark lines that look like a maze or map, and the lines radiate from the eye. Keepers like it for its curious, personable nature and because it often learns to recognise whoever feeds it.

Care at a glance

Care level

Moderate

Temperament

Semi

Adult size

45 cm

Temperature

24 to 28 °C

pH

8.1 to 8.4

Smallest tank

1000 litres

Keep as

Keep singly

Diet

Carnivore: shellfish in the shell, crab, shrimp, squid, clams and urchins, plus hard foods to keep the beak worn down

Swims

Middle of the tank

Lifespan

10 to 15 years

Water

Marine (saltwater)

Wild range

Indo-West Pacific, East Africa to Samoa, north to southern Japan, south to Australia

Breeding

In the wild it scatters eggs in open water and gives no parental care. It has not been bred in home aquariums in any reliable way, so all fish sold are wild-caught.

Good to know

It can grow to about 65 cm and eats invertebrates and small fish, so it does not suit reef tanks or community tanks, and it may nip slow tankmates. Its flesh and organs carry tetrodotoxin, so never eat it, and do not stress it into puffing up out of the water.