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How to Care Dwarf Freshwater or Pea Puffer Fish

By Aquabase | Last Updated Jan 28, 2019

This post contains affiliate links. We may receive a commission if you purchase something mentioned in this post. See more details here.
dwarf pea puffer care

The dwarf puffer is a kind of fish which has a small body. This fish is also known as Carinotetraodon Travancoricus or pea puffer. Pea Puffer fish originally comes from rivers of southwest India and it has the unique body. If you are looking for the best small freshwater fish for your aquarium, you can choose this freshwater puffer fish. The cute animal is suitable to be placed in your tank. Moreover, it has unique characteristics which will make you happy to have it. But, how and what tips to care pea puffer fish?

Dwarf Freshwater Pea Puffer Fish

Before knowing how to care this Pufferfish, you should know the character of them so that you can give the best treatment. This fish has the small body with yellow scales. It includes in the freshwater fishes so that the best habitat is in the fresh water. The dwarf puffers do not like to live in the brackish water. If you put it in the wrong water, it could kill this animal. However, if you put it in the fresh and clean water, it will be fine. Thus, you should be careful when you fill the water in their tank. You have to ensure that the water is fresh.

In addition, the dwarf puffer fish cannot get bigger. The maximum size of the adult pufferfish is 2.5 cm or one inch. You may find the smaller of they. If the dwarf pufferfish get mature, the males become more attractive and beautiful because the color of the scales is brighter than the female one. One more thing to distinguish male fish is the banded stripes are located behind their eyes. Moreover, They will also sometimes has the dark stripe which is found in their belly.

To find dwarf pea puffer fish is rather difficult is relatively new to the aquarium hobby and you need more attempts when you want to have this fish. The stunning color of the scales makes you have the spirit to find this fishes. Moreover, they have awesome behavior. This is the little sweet puffer fish which is easy to recognize their owner. This freshwater fish has a strong intelligence. To know the owner, they only need a short time. If they need food, they will have an attractive movement which means that they are begging to be fed. This freshwater puffer fish has a unique way to ask food for their owners.

Feeding – Pea Puffer Care

There important things you should know when you want to take care of freshwater fish is feeding. To make the pea puffer fish grows well; you should provide the best food for them. The nutritious food will make them grow fast. The Dwarf Pufferfish needs individual pellets. It will be rather difficult for you to find the food. When you ask the pallet in the fish store, sometimes it does not provide it. Commonly, they eat the snails or mollusks, insects, and invertebrate. You have to give them the best food regularly. If you keep they starving, they will die.

Feeding Dwarf Puffer Fish

Besides, if you are difficult to find the best food for the dwarf puffer fish, you can give them frozen food such as daphnia, bloodworms, and brine. Those can be the best option for feeding the pufferfish. Moreover, you do not forget to give the snails for them. By eating snails, your cute fish will get the best nutrient. However, if you want to provide them with the snails, it is better to give the smaller snails because this bass will refuse to eat the larger snails. The small one is the best food for this animal.

The Right Housing

The other important thing on pea puffer care is the housing. When you are taking care of the animal, you should provide the right and comfortable habitat. To make the right house for this fishes, you should provide an aquarium. As it is, known that the dwarf puffer fish is the freshwater fish so that you should fill the fresh and clean water in the tank. You should keep this puffer fish away from the saltwater or brackish water. To make they live well, you should change the water regularly.

housing dwarf puffer fish

The next way to make a comfortable house for this fish is by adding the live plants. It is used for maintaining the fish. The fake plants also can be included in the aquarium, but the live plants are the better choice. You can put some low light aquarium plants such as Anubias. You do not overdo to put the plants. Too many plants are not healthy for the fish because it creates aggression. You only need several plants for the housing. Besides that, you need good aquarium lighting such Finnex Ray 2 to help the growth of aquarium plants well.

The other thing you need for creating the best house for pea puffer care is the water filtration. This tool is required to clean the water so that the water will stay clean. When you want to buy the filter for your tank, you should know what is best for you tank. The canister filter will be great for you. The best filter needs the most expensive price. Read our last post to help you with choosing the best fish tank filter you need here Best Aquarium Filter.

Aquaclear 20 power filter

If you have a tank under 20 gallons and choosing a hang on back (HOB Filter), I would strongly recommend choosing Aquaclear 20 power filter for dwarf puffer care. This branded filter combines excellent filtration with a durable design and one of the best filtration systems for an aquarium. It will keep your tank cleaner for a long time. But if you have greater than 20-gallon you may choose Canister such the Fluval external filter.

Breeding Tips

To breed the freshwater dwarf puffer fish is not too difficult. If you give the best house, food, and the right temperature, your cute pufferfish will grow well. The right plants you choose for the tank will make the fish stay healthy. You can use several kinds of plants such as java moss, hydrophilia, and so forth for the plants. The right habitat will make this animal produce eggs. Thus, you do not need to be worried about the breeding of the pufferfish because it is easy enough to care this fish.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Peter says

    Dec 27, 2016 at 3:00 am

    “In brief, this puffer fish can be used for your choice because it is the cute and beautiful animal with pretty stripes and scales.”

    This fish does not have scales!

    Reply
    • Aquabase says

      Dec 27, 2016 at 4:26 am

      You right Peter, Thanks for your reminder.

      Reply
  2. Lee Henrie says

    Jan 19, 2021 at 3:30 pm

    “Too many plants” will not create aggression or cause the fish to be unhealthy, wtf? Unless you mean so many plants that the fish can’t even move or something, which wouldn’t create aggression either. That’s ridiculous. Plants clean tank water and recreate a natural environment. More plants block line of sight and reduce aggression. Also, pea puffers also don’t take pellets the large majority of the time, they require live or frozen food. The Aquaclear 20 PF is too high of flow for a puffer, they much prefer low- or no-flow water and will get blown around by a power filter, stressing them out and leaving them susceptible to diseases. As a sidenote, pea puffers don’t have scales. Have you ever owned a pea puffer? This article is wildly inaccurate and I’d imagine has mislead quite a few pea puffer owners.

    Reply

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