Freshwater and Brackish Pufferfish

Listed below are many of the species of puffers which normally inhabit fresh and brackish waters. There is some confusion regarding the naming of puffer species, especially with regard to the common names used! The scientific names listed below have been carefully cross-checked with the most up-to-date sources available. There is also some debate about whether some species are freshwater or brackish. The truth in many cases is that some species may occasionally wander into both types of water. Therefore, the information given below gives the water in which it is normally found, or in which it is said to do best in aquaria, according to the majority of reliable sources. Follow the links to more info on individual species.

Scientific name	Common name	Origin
Auriglobus modestus	Golden puffer	Asia (FW)
Carinotetraodon borneensis	Red-Bellied Black puffer New!	Asia (FW)
Carinotetraodon imitator	Imitating dwarf puffer	Asia (FW)
Carinotetraodon irrubesco	Red-tailed Redeye puffer	Asia (FW)
Carinotetraodon lorteti	Lortet's, crested puffer New!	Asia (FW)
Carinotetraodon salivator	Striped redeye/Zebra puffer New!	Asia (FW)
Carinotetraodon travancoricus	Dwarf, Pygmy, Indian, Gold/Green puffer	Asia (FW)
Colomesus asellus	Assel, South American, Brazilian puffer	South America - Amazon basin (FW)
Colomesus psittacus	Parrot puffer	South America (Brackish)
Pao abei	Abe's puffer	Asia (FW)
Pao baileyi	Hairy puffer	Asia (FW)
Pao cochinchinensis	Target puffer	Asia (FW)
Pao fangi	Fang's puffer, brown puffer	Asia (FW)
Pao leiurus	Target, Eye-spot/Twin-spot puffer	Asia (FW)
Pao palembangensis	Palembang, Humpback puffer	Asia (FW)
Pao suvattii	Pignose, Mekong, Arrowhead puffer	Asia (FW)
Pao turgidus	Brown puffer	Asia (FW)
Tetraodon barbatus	Thai puffer	Asia (FW)
Tetraodon biocellatus	Figure-eight puffer	Asia (Brackish)
Tetraodon cutcutia	Common, Malayan, Avacado, Ocellated, Emerald	Asia (FW)
Tetraodon duboisi	Stanley Pool, Reticulated puffer	Africa (FW)
Tetraodon erythrotaenia	Red-line/band, Samurai puffer, Toadfish	Asia (Brackish)
Tetraodon fluviatilis	Green puffer	Asia (Brackish)
Tetraodon lineatus/fahaka	Nile, Banded puffer	Africa (FW)
Tetraodon mbu	Giant puffer	Africa (FW)
Tetraodon miurus	Congo puffer	Africa (FW)
Tetraodon nigroviridis	Green Spotted puffer	Asia (Brackish)
Tetraodon pustulatus	Cross River puffer	Africa (FW)
Tetraodon schoutedeni	Spotted Congo