Pea puffer
Carinotetraodon travancoricus
The smallest freshwater puffer, an inch of curiosity and attitude; it eats snails, nips fins and rarely suits a community tank.
Key facts
- Body length
- 1 in without fins
- Minimum tank
- 5 gallons
- Group
- Alone is fine
- Temperament
- Aggressive
- Care level
- 3 / 5
- Lifespan
- Not well documented
- Diet
- Small snails, frozen bloodworm and brine shrimp, live foods
- Origin
- Kerala, southwestern India
- Hardier than26%
- Bigger than5%
- Calmer than14%
Water: their range vs yours
Pea puffer tank mates
- Neon tetraPea puffer should only be kept in a single-species tank.Avoid
- Harlequin rasboraPea puffer should only be kept in a single-species tank.Avoid
- Fancy guppyPea puffer nips fins; Fancy guppy is vulnerable (long fins).Avoid
- Panda corydorasPea puffer should only be kept in a single-species tank.Avoid
- OtocinclusPea puffer nips fins; Otocinclus is vulnerable (slow swimmer).Avoid
- Cherry shrimpPea puffer nips fins; Cherry shrimp is vulnerable (slow swimmer).Avoid
How we check
The numbers the tank model uses for pea puffers: water as ideal and tolerated ranges, bioload from adult mass, space, flow and how they act on other species.
- Standard length
- 2.5 cm (SL)
- Adult mass
- 0.70 g
- Bioload at 25 °C
- 1.05 BU
- Min. water
- 13 L net
- Min. footprint
- 30 × 20 cm per specimen
- Group
- 1+ (best 3)
- Swims in
- middle, bottom
- Flow
- low
- Body / fins
- round, normal fins
- Diet type
- carnivore
- Fin nipper
- notorious
- Sensitive to
- copper
Sources: Seriously Fish: Carinotetraodon travancoricus · FishBase: Carinotetraodon travancoricus
Care notes
Pea puffers are found only in Kerala, India, in slow, weedy freshwater. They are truly freshwater fish and need no salt.
Plan about 3 gallons per fish with dense plants to break lines of sight, as rival males can fight hard. They rarely take dry food and need small snails and live or frozen foods; slow or long-finned fish and shrimp are targets.
Questions
What size tank does a pea puffer need?
At least 5 gallons (13 litres of water after decor). Adults reach about 1 inches without fins.
How many pea puffers should be kept together?
One is fine. They do not need company of their own kind.
What water do pea puffers need?
72–82 °F, pH 6.8–8 and 5–25 dGH. Pea puffers come from Kerala, southwestern India.
How long do pea puffers live?
Not well documented with good care.