What tank size does a Green Spotted Pufferfish need?

A Green Spotted Pufferfish needs an aquarium of at least 150 litres (39.6 US gallons) with a footprint at least 100 cm (39.4 in) long — for this species, swimming length matters as much as raw volume.

What water parameters does a Green Spotted Pufferfish need?

Green Spotted Pufferfish does best at 24–28 °C (75.2–82.4 °F), pH 7.5–8.5 and a general hardness of 9–20 °dGH.

Is the Green Spotted Pufferfish suitable for beginners?

Green Spotted Pufferfish is a demanding species best attempted with some experience — it needs stable, closely watched conditions to thrive.

Species library

Green Spotted Pufferfish

Dichotomyctere nigroviridis

Tetraodontidae

FishDifficulty: ●●●●●Data: well-established

📷 Mattia Nocciola (photo taken on behalf of Museo di storia naturale dell'Universita di Pisa) · CC BY-SA 4.0 · resized · Wikimedia Commons

Green Spotted Pufferfish — Dichotomyctere nigroviridis — 📷 Mattia Nocciola (photo taken on behalf of Museo di storia naturale dell'Universita di Pisa) · CC BY-SA 4.0 · resized · Wikimedia Commons

About

The green spotted puffer is a stocky, frog-faced pufferfish from the tidal rivers and coastal estuaries that run from Sri Lanka and India through Southeast Asia to Indonesia, unmistakable with its acid-green back peppered in glossy black spots above a chalk-white belly. It reaches about 15 cm in aquaria (wild-measured maxima run to 17 cm), swims restlessly through every level of the tank and inspects its surroundings with large, independently swivelling eyes. Charming as that is, it is a genuinely aggressive animal: it nips fins, hunts anything shelled up to roughly half its own length, and grows more spiteful with age, above all towards its own kind. The decisive husbandry point is salinity. Shops almost always sell it from freshwater vats, yet adults are brackish-water fish whose specific gravity must be raised as they mature, and a freshwater-only life is a short one.

Care

One fish per tank, in a brackish setup of at least 150 litres with about 100 cm of swimming length. Start juveniles near SG 1.005 and raise salinity gradually towards 1.015-1.020 as the fish matures. Use aragonite or crushed-coral sand to hold the pH alkaline, over-filter heavily, keep oxygenation high and fit a lid. This is not a community fish and not a candidate for a planted freshwater tank.

Diet

Feed hard-shelled foods on a rotation: snails about the size of its eye, mussels, cockles, clams, shell-on prawn and crab leg, several times weekly, so the continuously growing beak is ground down. Add frozen bloodworm, mysis and squid for variety, and expect dry foods to be refused. Watch the teeth as the fish ages, because an overgrown beak will starve it.

Tankmate compatibility

Possible with care (5)

Figure-8 Puffer Molly Sailfin Molly Silver Moony Swordtail

Avoid (266)

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Computed by the AquaSage engine for a spacious reference tank — always check the full verdict for your exact setup in the calculator.

Telling males from females

What works for this species, most reliable first.

Adult sizeA hint only · only across animals of the same age
In many cichlids, catfish and loaches one sex simply grows larger — usually the male, though there are well-known reversals.

All the methods, with diagrams

Also in these lists

Fish for hard water

Frequently asked questions

What tank size does a Green Spotted Pufferfish need?: A Green Spotted Pufferfish needs an aquarium of at least 150 litres (39.6 US gallons) with a footprint at least 100 cm (39.4 in) long — for this species, swimming length matters as much as raw volume.
What water parameters does a Green Spotted Pufferfish need?: Green Spotted Pufferfish does best at 24–28 °C (75.2–82.4 °F), pH 7.5–8.5 and a general hardness of 9–20 °dGH.
Is the Green Spotted Pufferfish suitable for beginners?: Green Spotted Pufferfish is a demanding species best attempted with some experience — it needs stable, closely watched conditions to thrive.

Sources

Water & tank

Temperature24–28°C

Optimal temp.25–27°C

pH7.5–8.5

Hardness (GH)9–20°d

Carbonate (KH)8–18°d

Adult size15 cm

Min. volume≥ 150 L

Min. tank length≥ 100 cm

Swimming zoneAll levels

TemperamentAggressive

Water typeBrackish

FlowModerate

Lifespan~15 yrs

Try in the calculator