| Common Name(s) | Leopard Puffer, Green Spotted Puffer, Burmese Puffer |
| Scientific Name | Dichotomyctere Nigroviridis, Tetraodon Nigroviridis |
| Origin | Southeast Asia, Southern Asia, Africa |
| Temperature | 74-82°F (23-28°C) |
| Size | 6.7 inches |
| Minimum Tank Size | 30 gallons |
| Food & Diet | Omnivore with a mostly carnivorous diet. |
| Lifespan | 15 years |
| Water pH | 7.5 to 8.5 |
| Tank Mates | No tank mates recommended |
| Breeding | Spawns in brackish water |
| Disease | Common health issues include ich, overgrown teeth, and internal parasites. |
Leopard Puffers (Dichotomyctere nigroviridis) are pufferfish that inhabit a wide range of territories in the wild. This includes Southeast Asia, Southern Asia, and Africa. More specifically, they’ve been found in Sri Lanka, Indonesia, and China. Within these various regions, they inhabit freshwater and brackish bodies of water, such as streams, rivers, and estuaries.
Leopard Puffers have a yellow-green body, and a white colored belly. Their body is covered in black spots of various size. Therefore, these fish are also know as Green Spotted Puffer. They become more brightly colored as they mature. They have a round body shape, large eyes, and a tiny mouth. The females tend to be more round than the males. The males also have black spots that are darker. The difference between the male and female becomes more obvious as they mature.
As a defense mechanism, Leopard Puffers are able to puff up. They will inhale water, and use it to puff up their bodies when they feel threatened. By physically becoming larger, this is a effective way of preventing from them getting eaten. This defense mechanism is useful for them, since they aren’t particularly fast swimmers.
Leopard Puffer contain a virulent toxin within its body, so they are poisonous fish. This is another defense mechanism of this fish. The toxin is a neurotoxin called, tetrodotoxin. This is the same poison found in the notorious blue-ringed octopus. Within the Leopard Puffer, toxin is accumulated in its skin, intestine, liver, and ovaries. While it is in a lower concentration, its flesh contain the toxin as well. Due to the difference in their diet, Leopard Puffers in captivity may be less poisonous that specimen in the wild. However, it should be assumed that captive-bred specimen are just as poisonous, and proper precaution should be taken when handling them. As an obvious, these fish should never be consumed.
Leopard Puffer Care
Keeping Leopard Puffer require knowledge of these fish, and how to properly care for them. They are unique fish with specific requirements, so they aren’t recommended for beginners. These fish are best reserved for experienced fishkeepers.
In addition to providing a proper tank setup and regular maintenance, there are a few things to keep in mind.
First, these fish have sharp teeth that grow very quickly. This is because they eat crustaceans and other invertebrates with hard shells on a regular basis. In the wild, they are constantly using their teeth to hunt for food, so their teeth wears down. In an aquarium, it is important to feed clams and other hard shell food that will help wear down their teeth as well. If the teeth becomes overgrown, it may require clipping the teeth.
Next, these fish must be handled very carefully, especially when moving them. As a pufferfish, they puff up when they feel threatened. Even if they do puff up by taking in water, they will return back to normal if they are left alone. However, if they puff up by taking in air, the air can get trapped in their body. This can be very dangerous for the pufferfish. Therefore, it is important to keep these fish submerged at all times. Instead of using a fish net to move the fish, it is better to use a cup or bowl. This will allow the fish to stay submerged at all times.
In addition, they should be handled with care at all times since they have sharp teeth, and posses a toxin in their body as well.
Tank Setup
Leopard Puffers require a minimum of 30 gallons for just one Leopard Puffer fish. If you are wanting to put more Leopard Puffers together, or planning on putting other species with Leopard Puffers, you will want a considerably larger tank that is heavily planted.
Leopard Puffers in the wild will occasionally inhabit freshwater as juveniles, but when setting up their tank you will want to give them brackish water. They require a pH of 7.5 to 8.5, and a temperature range of 74F to 82F.
When setting up your tank for Leopard Puffers, you will want to include a fine gravel or sand substrate for them. They will also require lots of places to hide, and you can provide this by placing in rocks for caves, and lots of plants.
When choosing tank decor, keep in mind that Leopard Puffers are aggressive fish that will use their teeth to nip fins, and rip off scales of other fish in their aquarium. Especially if you are wanting to house them with other fish, you will want to make sure that there are plenty of plants and places for your fish to hide in.
Food and Diet
Leopard Puffer fish are omnivores, but they prefer a more meaty diet. This means that they will eat meat as well as plant material. In the wild the Leopard Puffer will feed on Mollusks, invertebrates, and crustaceans.
Size and Lifespan
Leopard Puffer fish can grow up to 6.7 inches at full maturity. They can live up to 15 years if they are cared for properly and in the appropriate setup with brackish water.
Leopard Puffer Salinity Level
Juvenile Puffers can inhabit freshwater, and they can tolerate a salinity level of 1.005 to 1.008, but the adult Leopard Puffers require more salinity at a level of 1.018 to 1.022 to keep them healthy.
Can Leopard Puffers Live in Saltwater?
Leopard Puffer fish inhabit brackish waters, but they have been known as juveniles to inhabit more freshwater areas during the rainy season. You will often see Leopard Puffers being sold as a freshwater fish, but their primary habitat is brackish water.
Can Leopard Puffers Live in Freshwater?
Leopard Puffer juveniles will often migrate to freshwater during the rainy season, but their primary habitat is brackish water. When setting up a tank for your Leopard Puffer, you will want to make sure the water is brackish.
Are Leopard Puffer Reef Safe?
Since Leopard Puffers are live in freshwater or brackish water, they are usually not placed in reef aquariums. The salinity level for a reef aquarium has a specific gravity of approximately 1.026. The salinity level will be too high for a Leopard Puffer.
If Leopard Puffers were hypothetically placed in a reef tank, the would can cause damage so they aren’t considered reef safe. They will certainly eat the invertebrates in the tank. Their sharp teeth may damage the corals as well.
Leopard Puffer Tank Mates
Leopard Puffers have been known to eat the fins and the scales of other fish, so they do not make for an ideal tank mate for other fish, or in a community tank setup. There have been some reports of success of keeping Leopard Puffers with other fish for a time, but once there is any sign of decline in the other fish, the Leopard Puffer will go after it to eat it.
Are Leopard Puffers Aggressive?
Leopard Puffers are extremely aggressive, and they will go after other fish in the aquarium and in the wild. They are fish that are fin nipping, and scale tearing. They are not a good fish to keep in a community tank setup as they will watch for signs of weakness and decline in other fish, and go after them to eat them. It is recommended that if you are planning on keeping more of these fish together in an aquarium, that you give them plenty of room and places to hide.
Leopard Puffer Breeding
Leopard Puffers will spawn only in brackish waters. When the female is ready to spawn, she will locate a male, and lay her eggs on a flat surface or a hard substrate. The female Leopard Puffer can lay up to 200 eggs each spawning. Once the female lays the eggs, the male will guard them. The Leopard Puffer eggs should hatch in about 7 days. Once the eggs have hatched, the male Leopard Puffer will move the fry to a small pit-like area where he will continue guarding them. Once the fry have reached this stage, it can become somewhat of a challenge to feed them. You will want to make sure you are offering them foods that are small enough to fit in their mouths. You will want to feed them baby brine shrimp and microworms.
Leopard Puffer Disease
Leopard Puffer fish have no gill covers or scales, and this makes them more susceptible to ailments. They do not have a disease named after them, but they can catch all the same ailments as other Puffers.
Common Health Problems:
Ich
A parasitic disease that can be treated if caught early on. It appears as white spots on the body of the fish.
Overgrown Teeth
You can help avoid this by feeding your Leopard Puffers shelled foods. Even though you feed them shelled foods, you will still need to perform regular teeth trimming for them.
Internal Parasites
If you are purchasing a Leopard Puffer fish from a pet store, it is most likely a wild caught Leopard Puffer. Wild caught fish can carry parasites, and give them to other fish in your aquarium. If you are purchasing a Leopard Puffer, you will want to quarantine it from your other fish for a few weeks so that you know it is healthy.
Where Can I Find Leopard Puffer For Sale?
Leopard Puffers can be found online and in most pet stores that sell fish. The price of the Leopard Puffer will vary depending on the size, age, and markings.
Leopard Puffer Price
Leopard Puffers can be found online and in pet stores for around $15. The price of the Leopard Puffer will vary depending on the size, age, and markings it has. You will want to make sure that you are purchasing your fish from a reputable breeder, or a store that you trust so that you do not end up with sickly fish. It is also important to quarantine your fish for a few weeks so that in case they do have an ailment upon purchase, you are not passing that on to the other fish in your aquarium.