
You can feed the following foods to your Amazon Puffer Fish:
- Cockles
- Snails
- Bloodworms
- Mysis shrimp
- Brine shrimp
- Earthworms
- Krill
- Aphids
- Mosquito larvae
- Live insects
- Blackworms
- Tiny crab legs
What do Amazon pufferfish eat?
In the wild, Amazon Pufferfish eat a lot of snails and small freshwater crabs and well as other shellfish they come across. Like other members of the Pufferfish family, Amazon Puffers have teeth that grow continually and have to be worn down by eating through hard-shelled food such as snails.
What kind of fish can you keep with puffer fish?
The South American Puffers are some of the most peaceful puffers. They can be kept with fast-moving fish, including Zebras and Danios. Even though they are a peaceful fish, they should still not be kept with fish that have flowing fins as these fins tend to be too tempting for the puffer, and they will nip at them.
Can Amazon puffer fish be bred in captivity?
According to my research, the Amazon Puffer has never been successfully bred in captivity. Its breeding behavior has however been studied a little in the wild. In the Wild, Amazon Pufferfish seem to choose to spawn either close to the riverbank or near the mouth of a floodplain.
What size tank does an Amazon puffer fish need?
In captivity, it is recommended that you have a minimum of a 50-gallon tank for your Amazon Puffer fish. The more fish you add, the larger the tank will have to be. Amazon Puffers prefer the water to be in the temperature range of 71° – 82°F.

What can I feed my Amazon puffer?
0:286:13Feeding my amazon puffer - YouTubeYouTubeStart of suggested clipEnd of suggested clipAnd go ahead and put a little bit of water in a cup here set it up there and then what I feed him isMoreAnd go ahead and put a little bit of water in a cup here set it up there and then what I feed him is some Hikari frozen mice is shrimp and he loves this stuff.
How often do you feed Amazon puffer fish?
Amazon Puffers need to be fed on a regular basis. For a healthy, well-rounded pufferfish they should be fed at least once a day, and two small meals a day are better than one large meal, especially if they are new to you, and perhaps a little underweight. As Amazon Puffers get older, they may need feeding less often.
What do you feed puffer fish?
What do puffer fish eat? Puffers should be fed a carnivorous diet of pellets and freeze-dried and frozen foods, along with chopped squid, clams, shrimp and krill. Larger puffers should be offered shelled foods, like mussels, to help wear down their continuously growing teeth.
Can you keep a single Amazon puffer?
Amazon Puffers are quite sociable, so they are mostly kept in groups. Thus, never keep them in solitary, which can make them feel nervous.
Do Amazon puffers need brackish water?
Puffers are fascinating fish in the aquarium hobby because of their unusual, globelike shape and intelligent personalities, but many species grow incredibly large, require brackish water, or are too aggressive to be kept with other tankmates.
Do Amazon puffers eat snails?
2:4111:10Amazon puffer fish Updates and Feeding. - YouTubeYouTubeStart of suggested clipEnd of suggested clipAnd again that is quite unusual as well so typically speaking when it comes to Amazon puffers. YouMoreAnd again that is quite unusual as well so typically speaking when it comes to Amazon puffers. You need to do the freeze-dried. Obviously the these snails these are actually ram's horn snails.
Do puffer fish eat carrots?
Yes, pufferfish like to eat carrots. Pufferfish will usually eat anything, but if you want to move them off of their go-to food (bits of algae and crustaceans) and onto something new (carrots), be sure to use a red one!
How long can puffer fish go without eating?
How long can Dwarf Puffers go without eating? Dwarf Pufferfish can go for 5 – 7 days without eating. A healthy Dwarf Puffer can go even longer. If your Dwarf Puffer has stopped eating, try tempting them back into feeding by offering live bloodworms, blackworms, or small snails.
Are puffer fish legal to own?
Not totally banned, but you do need a license to sell or serve puffer fish in the U.S. Called "fugu" and served as a delicacy in Japan, puffer fish (AKA blowfish) can be deadly if not prepared properly. According to the FDA: "[S]ome puffer fish contain the toxins tetrodotoxin and/or saxitoxin.
How long do Amazon puffers live?
StatsMisgurnus anguillicaudatusCommon NamesPeruvian Puffer Fish, Bee Puffer, Amazonian Puffer, Brazilian PufferTemperamentSemi-aggressiveLifespan10 yearsTank Size55 gallons10 more rows•Jan 11, 2022
How big does an Amazon puffer get?
Amazon Puffers have been record to grow to a maximum length of around 5 inches (14cm). The Pufferfish can be quite long lived in the aquarium, many living for 10 or more years. Puffer fish have the ability to 'puff' themselves up with water or air if threatened.
Can puffer fish eat anything?
In captivity, puffers will eat almost anything, so a variety of foods should be offered to allow for a healthy mix, she said. Claricoates recommends a diet consisting of foods with shells, including blue crab, mussels, clams, shrimp, live snails and bloodworms.
Are puffer fish easy to care for?
In fact, the most widely traded species can be considered hardy and easy to keep. The icing on the cake is that pufferfish are very effective snail destroyers, and a tank with a pufferfish in it is a tank without snails. In short, puffers are cute, hardy, and useful fish for the home aquarium.
What do saltwater puffers eat?
11:3015:52How to Take Care of Saltwater Puffers: Species Spotlight with HilaryYouTubeStart of suggested clipEnd of suggested clipSo the reason that you feed them all of those really meaty crunchy objects is to help keep theirMoreSo the reason that you feed them all of those really meaty crunchy objects is to help keep their teeth filed down and if you don't do that the teeth can get overgrown.
What do I feed my dwarf puffer?
Feeding. Dwarf puffers should have a varied diet. I feed mine daily with an assortment of live foods like newly hatched brine shrimp, grindal worms, and occasionally larger worms like blackworms and whiteworms. They enjoy Daphnia and Moina, and they are able to eat adult brine shrimp if it is offered.
What is an Amazon puffer?
General description. Amazon puffers are widely known as Colomesus asellus, and are very unique compared with other puffers. These are South American species. They do not have any specific native habitation type. They can be found in any fast moving water, be it with vegetation or not. The water can be hard, acidic or soft.
How to keep Amazon puffers?
Amazon Puffers are very active but at the same time very peaceful. You can keep these fish in a community tank with other species, but it is recommended to keep them in a single species aquarium. Also, it is not recommended to keep them with slow fish. If you want to get Amazon puffers then you better keep them with only in the group of Amazon puffers. Or you can keep them with short finned and fast-moving fish. You can keep them with for instance, medium-sized characins, barbs, larger rasboras and peaceful Rams or Apistogramma.
Why do Amazon puffers stare at glass?
They are always on the move and are swimming all day long. As they are very curious they always need something new in the tank, so when you see your Amazon puffers staring the glass it means they are bored. So add some new decorations in the tank.
How big can puffers grow?
These are the smallest type of puffers that can grow maximum up to 8cm. Almost all puffers have yellow and green backs and white bellies, but they have different patterns, which is why people often struggle to distinguish between their types. Amazon puffers are distinguished by their five stripes along the body.
Why do puffers need to be ground down?
If their teeth will grow too much they will not be able to eat and will starve.
Can you tell a male and female puffer?
And it is actually almost impossible to tell the male and female Amazon puffers apart, just like with other puffer types. An interesting thing about these fish is that they are one of the few fish that can actually blink and close their eyes.
Can Amazon puffers be kept?
Behaviour of Amazon puffers. It might be a little difficult to keep Amazon puffers especially for those who are knew to the fish keeping world. But these are very fun fish to keep, as they are very curious and intelligent. They will very closely inspect anything that gets into the tank, with their big eyes.
What is an Amazon Puffer fish?
The Amazon Puffer fish is a naturally aggressive fish that does best when living in a community of other Amazon Puffers. These fish are naturally curious and very intelligent. Amazon Puffer fish love to explore and swim around a lot. After a short time, they will even recognize their caregivers.
Why do you keep Amazon Puffer fish in groups?
Another reason to keep your Amazon Puffer fish in groups of three or more is that the more fish in the group the more secure and relaxed they will be. In the wild, they are used to being in larger groups for protection and food gathering reasons. If must have multiple species of fish in your tank, the following are recommended as acceptable mates ...
How big of a tank do Amazon puffer fish need?
They prefer to be in fast-moving water with high oxygen levels. In captivity, it is recommended that you have a minimum of a 50-gallon tank for your Amazon Puffer fish. The more fish you add, the larger the tank will have to be.
How many mates does an Amazon Puffer have?
They do not do as well in solitary situations so it is best to have at least three mates in a tank.
What is the disease in Amazon Puffer?
Ich is a disease caused by the protozoan parasite called Ichthyophthirius multifiliis.
How to tell if an Amazon puffer fish is female?
It is almost impossible to determine the sex of an Amazon Puffer fish. The main way people are able to tell is when the female is carrying eggs; her belly may be a little more round than normal. Fun Fact: The Amazon Puffer Fish is one of the few species of fish that can close their eyes and blink.
What are the toxic chemicals in Amazon puffer fish?
Be sure to use a net and/or gloves when handling this unique fish. The Amazon Puffer’s body contains the toxic chemicals saxitoxin and tetradotoxin these chemicals are toxic to fish and humans. It is said that the toxins of a puffer fish are over 1000 times stronger than cyanide if taken by a human.
What fish can you keep with puffers?
The South American Puffers are some of the most peaceful puffers. They can be kept with fast-moving fish, including Zebras and Danios. Even though they are a peaceful fish, they should still not be kept with fish that have flowing fins as these fins tend to be too tempting for the puffer, and they will nip at them. Because of their peaceful nature, if you keep them in a heavily planted tank, the S. American Puffer can be a unique addition to a typical community fish tank.
What do puffers eat?
These puffers must have a very crunchy diet to keep their teeth trimmed. You can feed them krill, Mysis shrimp, bloodworms, blackworms, and plenty of snails. The snails should be fed several times a week. This puffer has very fast growing teeth and may require tooth trimming even with a high crunch diet.
Where do pufferfish come from?
They come from the upper regions of the Amazon River system and are a very active and extremely intelligent puffer. You will often see them buzzing about the tank, traveling up and down the glass. These pufferfish make a great freshwater addition to your aquarium.
How big do South American puffers get?
The South American Puffer, (scientific name Colomesus Asellus) grows up to only three inches in length when fully grown.
What do giant puffers eat?
Giant puffer is a cute species that has always been loved by many. They like crabs, bivalves, shrimps, clams, bloodworms, loach, and small river prawns, Little goldfish, etc. are all favorite foods. Choose the one your giant puffer likes to eat. If you feed crabs to giant puffer for a long time, you will find that the pufferfish will not be as ...
What is the best environment for pufferfish?
Provide a more suitable environment for keeping pufferfish, and provide different water temperatures according to different fish types. Tropical fish are extremely sensitive to temperature, and if the temperature is not suitable, they will die soon. Different types of tropical fish have different requirements for water temperature.
How to make a fish tank grow faster?
Light. Place the fish tank in a sunny room. If the fish tank is placed in a room without sunlight, the light should be used to illuminate the water plants. Light can make tropical fish grow faster and make the fish more colorful. Stocking.
What is the water temperature of a tropical fish?
Different types of tropical fish have different requirements for water temperature. The water temperature of most tropical fish is 20℃~24℃, and the water temperature for breeding is 25℃~28℃. The temperature difference between day and night should not exceed 4℃. Right PH level, a working cycling system, and biosystem.
Can you polyculture a large fish with a quiet fish?
For the collocation of fish in the same tank, quiet fish cannot be polycultured with aggressive fish; large fish cannot be polycultured with small fish. There are many options for tropical fish food, such as fish insects, bloodworms, or packaged food suitable for different types of tropical fish.
Can pufferfish eat river prawns?
In addition, small river prawns also need to be paid attention to when feeding them to pufferfish. The small river prawns can be said to be the favorite food of all food giant puffer can eat. There are also many methods for making small river prawns for giant puffer. Many people choose to freeze small river prawns in the refrigerator ...

Overview
Appearance
- The Amazon Puffer fish is much easier to identify once you have taken the time to become familiar with them. When fully mature they can be around 3” – 6” in length. Their underbelly is typically a lighter white color; while their bodies are covered in a greenish-yellow and black pattern. The following list will help you with the process of identifying the Amazon Puffer fish: 1…
Food & Diet
- The Amazon Puffer fish is an omnivore; however, they prefer a diet of mostly meat-based foods. Their diet consists mainly of hard crunchy foods such as: 1. Cockles 2. Crab legs 3. Muscles 4. Snails It is imperative that you proved a hard, crunchy diet for your Amazon Puffers as this is how they maintain their teeth. Since the Amazon Puffer’s teeth ...
Behavior & Temperament
- The Amazon Puffer fish is a naturally aggressive fish that does best when living in a community of other Amazon Puffers. These fish are naturally curious and very intelligent. Amazon Puffer fish love to explore and swim around a lot. After a short time, they will even recognize their caregivers. When an Amazon Puffer fish feels stressed or threatened they will inflate themselves with air to …
Tank Mates
- The ideal tank mates for your Amazon Puffer fish are a community of other Amazon Puffers. They do not do as well in solitary situations so it is best to have at leastthree mates in a tank. The reason you want to have a minimum of three mates is that having only two fish will cause one of the fish to become dominant and aggressive toward their tank mate. The more fish you have in y…
Toxicity
- Puffer fish are toxic to other fish and humans. The Amazon Puffer fish is no exception. Be sure to use a net and/or gloves when handling this unique fish. The Amazon Puffer’s body contains the toxic chemicals saxitoxin and tetradotoxin these chemicals are toxic to fish and humans. It is said that the toxins of a puffer fish are over 1000 times stronger than cyanide if taken by a human.
Disease
- The main disease that you need to worry about with your Amazon Puffer fish is the dreaded Ich. Ich is a disease caused by the protozoan parasite called Ichthyophthirius multifiliis. While the Amazon Puffer fish is a very resilient fish that does not need specific parameters for water hardness, they do still require clean, properly aerated water in order to remain healthy. Signs of t…
Habitat & Tank Requirements
- In the wild, the Amazon Puffer fish can typically be found in varying water conditions. They can be found near beaches, floodplain lakes, and areas with lots of vegetation. They are not very fast swimmers but do love to swim and move around a lot. They prefer to be in fast-moving water with high oxygen levels. In captivity, it is recommended that you have a minimumof a 50-gallon tank f…
Breeding
- It is almost impossible to identify the sex of an Amazon Puffer fish. Typically you are only able to distinguish the female when she is carrying eggs because her belly becomes larger and more round than usual. Amazon Puffer fish are rarely bred in captivity due to the extremely small size of the eggs and the fact that it is nearly impossible to tell the males from the females. In the wild, t…
Conclusion
- If you are looking for a true freshwater fish friend, the Amazon Puffer fish is a great option. With their long lifespan and their curious and entertaining personalities, these fish will be great to keep on display for many years. Hopefully, this article has inspired you to explore a new type of fish and help you to decide if this curious little puffer is the right fit for your aquatic playland.