Hairy puffer

Pao baileyi

Short skin cirri and mottled camouflage create a stone-like ambush fish

A broad low head, grey-brown mottling and short chin cirri shape its silhouette. Cirri density and colour vary and do not show sex or a separate strain.

Adult length: Up to 12 cm (standard length, without the tail fin)
Water temperature: 23–27 °C

Natural habitat: Inhabits rocky areas, including rapids, in the Mekong main channel and larger tributaries.

Staying motionless does not mean it is peaceful. Conspecifics and other fish risk injury.

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Appearance and identification

A freshwater Mekong-basin puffer that lives near the bottom. Cirri contrast with the arrowhead puffer's head marking, but not every individual has a dense beard. Tetraodon baileyi is a former name of the same species.

Social behaviour and territory

Keep singly.

Compatibility limits

Hunts fish and shrimp and bites its own kind; not a community or clean-up fish.

Space requirements

Use smooth rocks, sand and retreats with clean oxygenated water and appropriate circulation. Rapid-water origins do not mean maximum current everywhere.

Aquarium environment

Plants can supply cover but do not make shrimp safe.

Diet and feeding

Offer suitable shelled invertebrates with varied appropriate live or frozen foods. Watch the beak and feeding.

Sources