All fish / Tetraodontidae

Tocantins Puffer

Colomesus tocantinensis

Also known as tocantins pufferfish, tocantins puffer fish, amazon puffer, south american puffer, tocantins pea puffer, トカンチンスパファー, 托坎廷斯河鲀

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A small freshwater puffer from the Tocantins basin in Brazil, with a pale belly and a yellowish back crossed by bold dark saddles. It looks a lot like the better known Amazon puffer but is kept as a separate species, and keepers like it for its curious, active nature and how well it suits a well planted tank.

Care at a glance

Care level

Moderate

Temperament

Semi

Adult size

7 cm

Temperature

24 to 28 °C

pH

6 to 7.5

Smallest tank

110 litres

Keep as

Group of 5 or more, or singly

Diet

Carnivore: snails, bloodworm, brine shrimp, mysis and other frozen or live meaty foods

Swims

Middle of the tank

Lifespan

5 to 10 years

Water

Freshwater

Wild range

Brazil: lower Tocantins River basin

Breeding

Captive spawning has rarely been reported. It is thought to scatter eggs, as its relatives do, so breeding at home is hard and not well documented.

Good to know

It nips the fins of slow or long finned tankmates and eats snails and shrimps, so a species tank or quick, robust tankmates work best. Its beak can overgrow, so feed hard shelled snails regularly to keep it worn down. Shops often sell it as Colomesus asellus.