All fish / Tetraodontidae

Mbu Puffer

Pao mbu

Also known as giant puffer, giant freshwater puffer, mbu pufferfish, tetraodon mbu, congo giant puffer, mbu, ปักเป้ามบู, ムブ, テトラオドン・ムブ, buntal mbu, 姆布魨, 巨型淡水河豚

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This is the biggest freshwater puffer, with a yellowish to olive body covered in a winding, maze-like dark pattern and a round head with big eyes. Keepers like it for its intelligence and personality, as it often learns to recognise its owner and will take food from the hand.

Care at a glance

Care level

Hard

Temperament

Aggressive

Adult size

55 cm

Temperature

24 to 28 °C

pH

7 to 8

Smallest tank

2000 litres

Keep as

Keep alone

Diet

Carnivore: snails, mussels, shellfish, crab, prawns and whole fish, plus hard shelled foods to wear down the beak

Swims

Middle of the tank

Lifespan

10 to 20 years

Water

Freshwater

Wild range

Congo River basin and Lake Tanganyika (DR Congo, Tanzania, Zambia, Burundi)

Breeding

There are no reliable reports of it breeding in home aquariums. Every fish sold is taken from the wild.

Good to know

Adults reach 60 cm or more and need a huge tank with very strong filtration, and they will bite tankmates and careless hands. Its flesh and organs carry tetrodotoxin, and the beak has to be kept worn down by feeding hard shelled food.