Home / Fishes / Pufferfish / Somphong's puffer
No federal permit to keepSomphong's puffer
Carinotetraodon lorteti
Fishes › Pufferfish (Tetraodontiformes) › Tetraodontidae (Pufferfish)
Somphong's puffer, redeye puffer or crested puffer (Carinotetraodon lorteti) is a small freshwater pufferfish found in mainland Southeast Asia, such as Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam.
Care at a glance
Species-specific aquarium care
- Tank: At least 24 in long and 12 in front to back for one adult (adults commonly reach about 2.4 in / 6 cm).
- Water: Freshwater.
- Temperature: 75–82°F (range recorded for this species).
- pH: 6.5–7.
- Hardness: 3–10 dGH.
- Layout: Uses both the bottom and open water: give open swimming space plus cover near the substrate.
- Diet: FishBase classes it as a carnivore.
- Availability: Rarely or never seen in the aquarium trade; expect to source it from specialists or not at all.
Calculated from this species' own FishBase record: tank size from its typical adult length and swimming zone, water values from its recorded ranges. The group guide below fills in general care.
Care guide
Species care notes
- Tank: a base of at least 24 × 12 in (roughly 14 US gallons); space needed is rated “modest tank”.
- Water: a fairly wide range, from slightly acidic to slightly alkaline, 68–82 °F, pH 5–7.5, 1–12 dGH.
- Behaviour: temperament species tank; kept alone; not a community fish.
- Difficulty: Moderate (Seriously Fish rating).
Short excerpts from the species profile:
- Setup: “This species requires a well-decorated aquarium with driftwood roots or branches plus plenty of aquatic plants, of which floating varieties can be used to provide additional shade.”
- Diet: “Tetraodontids lack true teeth, the jawbone itself being modified into four fused toothlike structures.”
- Tankmates: “Unsuitable for the general community aquarium and best maintained alone due to its tendency to bite the fins of tankmates, especially in smaller aquaria.”
- Breeding: “This species has been bred in aquaria.”
From the Seriously Fish profile for this species, which has the full habitat, maintenance, diet, behaviour and breeding write-up 167
Pufferfish
Applies to most species in this group. Habitat: Pufferfish inhabit marine reefs and coastal waters, brackish estuaries and, in some lineages, freshwater rivers and lakes. Individual species can differ, so compare with the species numbers above and the linked sources.
Housing & setup
- Identify species and salinity needs before setup: Tetraodon mbu needs freshwater, Arothron and Canthigaster need marine systems, and green-spotted puffers need a separate salinity plan.
- For adult T. mbu, the cited profile specifies about 240 × 90 × 90 cm (96 × 36 × 36 in), approximately 1,944 litres.
- Marine Canthigaster require around 150 litres; Arothron meleagris require an absolute minimum around 500 litres, preferably twice that; giant species require larger facilities.
- Provide strong biological filtration and regular waste removal; large marine puffers also require effective mechanical filtration and protein skimming.
- Provide rocks, caves and open swimming room, and protect cables and breakable equipment from their beaks.
Climate & lighting
| Water | 75–79°F |
Diet
- Snails and hard-shelled molluscs such as mussels or cockles for shell-crushing species.
- Shell-on crustaceans or crab legs sized to the fish.
- For Canthigaster, small portions of chopped prawn, frozen Mysis and algal foods.
Social life
- Keep T. mbu alone: it can severely injure other fish and is aggressive to conspecifics. Marine tobies commonly nip trailing fins; puffers can consume aquarium invertebrates. Assess compatibility by species and individual.
Handling
- Never deliberately induce inflation.
- Keep fingers and vulnerable equipment away from the beak.
Health watch
- Overgrown teeth interfering with feeding.
- Overfeeding and diet-related health problems.
- Water-quality illness associated with heavy waste production.
Understanding the animal
About this animal
About this animal
It is often found in canals and brackish waters along the coast; in the canals of Thonburi, Bangkok, for example, it may be found hiding in areas with dense water hyacinths.
Quoted from the Wikipedia article “Somphong's puffer” (CC BY-SA 4.0) 174
In the wild
In the wild
From this species’ own FishBase record (habitat, bottom type, water and breeding data), not its family. Good care copies these conditions.1
| Where it lives | Lives in freshwater, in rivers and streams. Uses both the bottom and open water. Found in medium to large-sized rivers. |
| Water it lives in | Freshwater, 75–82 °F (24–28 °C), pH 6.5–7, hardness 3–10 dH. |
| Climate | Tropical climate. |
| Behavior to plan for | Breeding: open water/substratum egg scatterers. |
What this means for care
- Keep water within its wild range, 75–82 °F.
Native climate (measured)
Native climate (measured)
| Warm-season highs | about 92°F (up to 94°F in the hottest sampled areas) |
| Cool-season lows | about 71°F (down to 69°F in the coldest sampled areas) |
| Average temperature | 81–82°F across sampled records |
| Relative humidity | 75–78% on average (driest month about 70%) |
| Rainfall | about 1547 mm a year, with strong wet and dry seasons |
Measured at 9 wild occurrence records sampled against WorldClim 2.1 climate data (1970–2000 averages). Air conditions in the range are ecological context, not enclosure settings: microhabitats such as burrows, leaf litter or basking rocks can be cooler, warmer or more humid.
From the sources
From the sources
Quoted from the matching sections of reputable sources for this exact species. Specialist databases are used first; Wikipedia (community-edited, CC BY-SA 4.0) only fills gaps. Other sources are short credited quotes.
| Overview | Somphong's puffer, redeye puffer or crested puffer (Carinotetraodon lorteti) is a small freshwater pufferfish found in mainland Southeast Asia, such as Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam. It is often found in canals and brackish waters along the coast; in the canals of Thonburi, Bangkok, for example, it may be found hiding in areas with dense water hyacinths. — Wikipedia (community-edited) |
| Where it lives | Home ranges Population dynamics Growth parameters Max. ages / sizes Length-weight rel. Length-frequencies Mass conversion Recruitment Abundance Life cycle Reproduction Maturity Maturity/Gills rel. — FishBase |
| Appearance and size | The male has a ruby-red body and red eyes, and is significantly larger than the female. When fully matured, Somphong's puffer grows to about 7 cm in length. — Wikipedia (community-edited) |
| Biology | Found in medium to large-sized rivers. Occurs in slowly flowing or standing freshwater habitats. Feeds on zooplankton, mollusks, crustaceans and other invertebrates. — FishBase |
| History and naming | The common name of the species, as well as one of the junior synonyms (Tetraodon somphongsi to be precise), honors the Thai fish explorer and aquarium trader Somphong Lek-aree, who discovered three new freshwater fish species, namely the dwarf loach (Ambastaia sidthimunki), Poropuntius melanogrammus (formerly Puntius somphongsi), and Somphong's rasbora (Trigonostigma somphongsi). — Wikipedia (community-edited) |
Data and studies
The numbers
The numbers
Each bar is what one source reports. Where several sources weigh in, the dashed gold band marks their average.
Adult length
Maximum recorded length. Measured as standard length (snout to the base of the tail, not counting the tail fin). Fish in home aquariums often stay smaller than wild records.
Water temperature
Range the species tolerates in nature; aim for the middle.
Minimum tank footprint
Seriously Fish recommends a tank base of at least 24 × 12 in (about 14 US gallons).
Sources for this sheet
- FishBase (Froese & Pauly, eds.), version 24.07 Peer-reviewed researchThe global scientific database on fishes, maintained by a consortium of research institutions; every value is referenced.
- Seriously Fish species profiles Experienced keeper or breederLong-running aquarium reference written and peer-checked by experienced fishkeepers and ichthyologists; each profile covers habitat, tank size, water, diet, behaviour and breeding.
- Seriously Fish — tetraodon mbu Experienced keeper or breederAdded in the 2026 source-checked care-guide review.
- Seriously Fish — tetraodon nigroviridis Experienced keeper or breederAdded in the 2026 source-checked care-guide review.
- Practical Fishkeeping — Marine puffer fish: The inflation great! Experienced keeper or breederAdded in the 2026 source-checked care-guide review.
- Practical Fishkeeping — Pufferfish: Inflated egotists Experienced keeper or breederAdded in the 2026 source-checked care-guide review.
- Natural History Museum — Pufferfish: An underwater balloon of death? Experienced keeper or breederAdded in the 2026 source-checked care-guide review.
- Merck Veterinary Manual — Disorders and Diseases of Fish Zoo, university or veterinaryAdded in the 2026 source-checked care-guide review.
- Wikipedia (species article) Community referenceFree encyclopedia; useful overviews with their own citations. Intro text is quoted under CC BY-SA 4.0.
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