Tetraodon nigroviridis is one of the pufferfish known as the green spotted puffer (the other being Tetraodon fluviatilis).[1] It is found across South and Southeast Asia in coastal freshwater and brackish water habitats.[2] Tetraodon nigroviridis reaches a maximum length of about 15 cm (5.9 in).[3]
EcologyAdult Tetraodon nigroviridis are found in freshwater streams, rivers, and floodplains.[4] It is also found in mangrove forests.[2] Diet consists of small invertebrates including molluscs and crustaceans and some plant material.[5] It can also survive on a combination of aquarium food; such a combination would be small snails, and shrimp or krill. This species may also be lepidophagous.[4] GeneticsTetraodon nigroviridis has the smallest known vertebrate genome, roughly 340 million base pairs[6], and has thus been selected as a model organism for genetics. In 2004 a draft of its genome sequence was published.[6] Commercial importanceTetraodon nigroviridis is not a food fish, but has some value as bait and is very widely traded as an aquarium fish,[4] and is sometimes mistaken as the Ceylon Puffer, or Tetraodon fluviatilis. Tetraodon nigroviridis also has some degree of value as a lab animal, in particular in the field of genetics, because it has the same number of genes as human beings but in a genome about one-tenth the size.[7] Aquarium careWhile Tetraodon nigroviridis may be found in fresh as well as brackish water in the wild,[4] under aquarium conditions this species appears to do best in brackish conditions where the salinity is maintained at around 50% that of normal seawater.[2] Adults of this species may also be kept in saltwater aquaria.[2] Since these fish produce a large amount of waste they are best given 29 gallons of water or more per specimen. See alsoReferences
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