Fishes / Habitat
The pea puffer is one of the smallest pufferfish in the world, rarely exceeding two and a half centimetres, and is a genuine Indian native, found only in the slow, densely vegetated rivers and wetland
The pea puffer is one of the smallest pufferfish in the world, rarely exceeding two and a half centimetres, and is a genuine Indian native, found only in the slow, densely vegetated rivers and wetlands of Kerala and southern Karnataka in the Western Ghats. Its scientific name, travancoricus, refers directly to Travancore, the historic princely state that once covered much of modern Kerala.
Despite its tiny size, it has real personality, recognising its keeper, exploring actively, and displaying the same inflating defence response as its ocean-going relatives when genuinely startled, though this should never be deliberately provoked, since inflating is a stress response that carries real risk to the fish.
Given its territorial, sometimes nippy nature towards its own kind, a single pea puffer does well in a tank of twenty to thirty litres, while a carefully managed small group needs considerably more space and hiding cover to reduce conflict. It is a true freshwater species, unlike several other puffers, and does not need salt added to its water.
Dense planting and hiding spots help reduce stress and territorial disputes, particularly if keeping more than one.
This is a fish with a real dietary need rather than just a preference: pea puffers have continuously growing teeth that must be worn down through eating hard-shelled prey such as snails, or the teeth can overgrow and prevent normal feeding. A diet of snails, along with other live or frozen foods such as bloodworm and brine shrimp, is genuinely necessary rather than optional.
It generally refuses standard dry flake food, so a keeper needs to be prepared to source live or frozen foods regularly rather than relying on the convenience of a simple flake diet.
Article content © Ravi Teja. All rights reserved.
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