Furry Diary

Not furry, but we like them anyway.

Pea Puffer

Carinotetraodon travancoricus

Also called Dwarf pufferfish, Malabar pufferfish, Pygmy pufferfish

SpeciesShort profile

From Southwest India: rivers, lakes and estuaries of Kerala and southern Karnataka in the Western Ghats.12

At a glance the quick version

Length2.5 to 3.5 cm12
Lifespan5 years2
Sizetiny
One of the smallest pufferfish in the world
Expressive, curious little fish that can even blink
Fits a small dedicated aquarium
23

Looks how to spot one

Scaleless round pufferfish

A pea-sized, rounded puffer with small fan-shaped pectoral fins, matching rounded dorsal and anal fins set opposite each other, and a squared-off tail. It can puff itself up with water or air.23

Coloursgreenish-yellow bodydark green to brown-black patchesyellow belly (males)white belly (females)iridescent blue around the eyes (males)2

Personality what they are like

An inquisitive, slow-swimming little hunter that does best in a species-only tank, as it tends to nip the fins of slower or long-finned fish.32

Daily activity how busy a day looks

Moves slowly around plants and the lower water layers, hunting small prey through the day.2

Grooming and care the hands-on bits

Water about 22-28 C with pH roughly 6.8-8.3 and medium-hard water. Its teeth keep growing, so small shelled snails should be offered regularly.123

Home where they are happiest

A well-planted tank; one fish can live in about 12-13 litres, with roughly 8-11 litres (2-3 US gallons) added per extra puffer. Plants such as Cabomba suit it well, mirroring its heavily vegetated home waters.32

Food basics what goes in the bowl

A meat eater: small snails with the shell on, bloodworms, mosquito larvae and other live or frozen invertebrates. Usually ignores dry foods.32

Company who they like around

Lives in large shoals in the wild, but in the aquarium males can squabble; keep one male with several females, or plenty of space and plants for a group.23

The story where it all began

S. L. Hora and K. K. Nair described the species in 1941 from the Pamba River in central Travancore. It was moved to the genus Carinotetraodon in 1999.21

Fun facts for the dinner table

  1. 1

    In the wild it can gather in shoals of hundreds of fish.2

  2. 2

    Males and females look different: males have a yellow belly with a dark stripe and blue wrinkle lines around the eyes.2

  3. 3

    Its eggs hatch in about five days at 27 C.2

  4. 4

    It is one of the few fish able to blink.3

Recognised by the official bits

IUCN Red List (via FishBase)
Vulnerable (assessed 2010).1

The care rhythm Furry Diary remembers it for you

A typical home-care rhythm for a Pea Puffer. It is our own starting plan, not a vet's advice, and you can change every line in the app.

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Where this comes from

Every breed page shows where each fact comes from. If we got something wrong, sorry, we are pet people, not a science magazine. Tell us at [email protected] and we will fix it.

  1. FishBase: Carinotetraodon travancoricus fishbase.seused for size, origin, water parameters, IUCN, history
  2. Wikipedia: Dwarf pufferfish en.wikipedia.orgused for appearance, colours, lifespan, behaviour, diet, history, fun facts
  3. Seriously Fish: Carinotetraodon travancoricus seriouslyfish.comused for tank size, water parameters, diet, compatibility, blinking

Checked 2026-09-30. Text is written in our own words from these sources.