To start off, my animal’s scientific name is called the Carinotetraodon Irrubesco. Its common name is the Red-Tail Dwarf Puffer. My animal is very small. it's about 4cm. They are only found in the lower Banjuasin basin in Southern Sumatra. The red eye puffer fish eats mostly meaty foods including blood worm, brine shrimp, and small snails.

 

The male Red-Tail Dwarf Puffer has red dorsal and caudal fins. Males are larger and colored brown with stripes on the surface of the dorsal fin. It is a messy fish when kept as a pet and needs over filtration, a well planted tank with lots of hiding places is best. It is an entirely fresh water fish that doesn’t need salt in its water. The male has a ridge or "keel" it will expand in courtship or when threatened. Some can be very aggressive. They are extremely sensitive to nitrites and ammonia.

 

They should only be introduced into a fully cycled aquarium. Their minimum tank size is 20 gallons. The puffer becomes very active in dark conditions, but during the day time there very inactive. They also require a heavily planted tank. Some have been successfully kept with their own kind. The distinguishing factor between the two is the red coloration on the tail. When it comes to feeding the puffer there is no small amounts of food. Mostly their diet consists of shelled fish, crustaceans and hard shelled foods.

 

The male swims around the female with dorsal and ventral ridges erect. Spawning takes place near the substrate. Some brood care by the male occurs. Now the eggs should hatch in about three days. A pair of the red eye puffer fish can be kept in a species tank as long as some cover is provided as a retreat. They can also be mixed with different fish as well as companions, as long as more delicate slow swimming fish are avoided. Others have killed everything in sight. The puffer may still nip at other fishes fins and be aggressive towards invertebrates. Lastly, the Irrubesco can be a marine animal. Many go into brackish water. This species is notorious for its fast growing teeth. All puffers are aggressive some aren't but they are very dangerous when they are threatened. These small little fish don't seem harmful, but for their size they are tough.

 

Author: Hailey W

Published: 02/2009

 

Sources: http://www.theaqariumwiki.com/carinotetraodon irrubesco http://www.fishbase.org/summary/species summary.php?id http://nationalzoo.si.edu/publications/zoo goer/1999/2/fact-panda.cfm

 

Photo Credit: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Carinotetraodon_irrubesco_female.JPG