Red-eye Puffer Breeding Guide

Breeding the red-eye puffer (Carinotetraodon irrubesco): sexing by the male's red ventral stripe, spawning among plants, removing egg-eating adults, and raising fry on infusoria.

Overview

The red-eye puffer, Carinotetraodon irrubesco, is a small freshwater puffer that has been bred in aquaria at least once. It is an egg-depositing species that scatters its eggs among plants and decor, with no parental care; in fact the male preys on the eggs, so adults must be removed after spawning.

Sexing

The sexes are readily told apart in mature fish. Males have a greyish, faintly mottled body marked with a broad red mid-ventral stripe and red dorsal and caudal fins, with eyes that can appear greenish-blue. Females are slightly paler with two or three additional undulating pale stripes forming a reticulated pattern, a belly broken into smaller brownish markings, mostly clear fins with yellowish reticulated caudal fins, and red eyes.

Conditioning

Condition adults on the meaty diet the species requires, including shelled invertebrates such as snails, cockles and crab legs along with bloodworms and Artemia. Well-fed, settled fish kept in soft to moderately hard water within the species range come into breeding condition; the recorded parameters are a temperature of 20-28 degrees C, pH 6.0-7.5 and hardness of 36-215 ppm.

Breeding Setup

A planted tank with driftwood and leaf litter, of around 60 x 30 x 30 cm or larger, provides the cover and surfaces this puffer uses for spawning. Fine vegetation and decor give the female sites onto which eggs can be deposited and attached.

Spawning Behavior & Trigger

During courtship the male intensifies its colour and extends its ventral ridge while displaying to the female. The pair deposit eggs among the vegetation and attached to decor, numbering several hundred in the recorded spawning.

Egg & Fry Care

Because the male was observed preying on the eggs, the adults must be removed once spawning is complete. The first eggs hatched at about 65 hours, with the larvae still carrying yolk sacs yet free-swimming straight away. Infusoria can be offered from the third day, followed by rotifers by around day ten.

Common Challenges

Egg predation by the male is the main obstacle, making prompt removal of the adults essential. As with other puffers, supplying the tiny first foods in sufficient density during the early free-swimming stage is critical, and the adults' need for hard-shelled invertebrate prey must be maintained alongside any breeding effort.