Mbu Puffer Tetraodon mbu

Perhaps the best know of the puffer fish family, (at least it is amongst Grosvenor Tropicals customers who fondly remember Rover, our pet Mbu), and also the largest. Native to the Congo River and parts of Lake Tanganyika it gets its family name from the latin Tetraodon meaning " Four Teeth", and it's species name after the Mbuti tribe, also natives of the central Congo region.

In the wild this species is a large predator with immensely powerful jaws and crushing teeth capable of crunching through the carapace of shell fish and crabs which form a significant part of its diet. In the aquarium however, things are not quite so clear-cut. Some will quickly consume all their tank mates in an orgy of death and destruction, while others will happily co-exist with even the smallest species such as neon's and harlequins, and there is no surefire way to tell which.! The only thing you can be sure of is, "they are big", up to 30" in the wild, and although they rarely exceed 24" in captivity a big tank is absolutely essential.

They are fairly tolerant of water parameters, preferring a temperature 26°C and a neutral pH of 7 or above. They do need good filtration as their heavy feeding produces a lot of heavy waste. With a little coaxing they will eat most chunky foods such as Whitebait, but don't forget to include some Cockles or Mussels (in their shells), it helps to keep their teeth in good order.