''Pao baileyi'',Kottelat, M. (2013)
The Fishes of the Inland Waters of Southeast Asia: A Catalogue and Core Bibliography of the Fishes Known to Occur in Freshwaters, Mangroves and Estuaries.
''The Raffles Bulletin of Zoology, 2013, Supplement No. 27: 1–663.'' the hairy pufferfish, is a

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

pufferfish Tetraodontidae is a family of primarily marine and estuarine fish of the order Tetraodontiformes. The family includes many familiar species variously called pufferfish, puffers, balloonfish, blowfish, blowies, bubblefish, globefish, swellfis ...

usually found in the rocky habitats, including rapids, of the

Mekong The Mekong or Mekong River is a trans-boundary river in East Asia and Southeast Asia. It is the world's List of rivers by length, twelfth longest river and List of longest rivers of Asia, the third longest in Asia. Its estimated length is , ...

mainstream and its larger

tropical The tropics are the regions of Earth surrounding the Equator. They are defined in latitude by the Tropic of Cancer in the Northern Hemisphere at N and the Tropic of Capricorn in the Southern Hemisphere at S. The tropics are also referred to ...

freshwater tributaries.

Characteristics

''P. baileyi'' grows to around SL and can be identified by sparse, or dense, coverage of epidermal outgrowths or cirri on the head and body. The cirri tend to be more profuse in the juvenile state, becoming reduced or non-existent at higher ages. The abdomen is usually golden or orange, with no other markings. Like other pufferfish ''P. baileyi'' is scaleless, and is therefore extremely sensitive to water quality.

In Aquaria

''P. Baileyi'' is occasionally kept in the aquarium. The unattractive features along with the inactive nature of this fish make it unappealing to be kept. It is commonly fed both dead and live fish, and while it is not known to be a picky eater, it is strictly a carnivore. The fish often fetches a high price, commonly going over $100 USD.

Behavior

The behavior of the Hairy Pufferfish is widely debated and seems to depend widely on the individual. Accounts of behavior differ widely, with some saying that the fish is highly active and others saying the opposite. It is known to be an

ambush predator Ambush predators or sit-and-wait predators are carnivorous animals that capture or trap prey via stealth, luring or by (typically instinctive) strategies utilizing an element of surprise. Unlike pursuit predators, who chase to capture prey us ...

and is extremely aggressive. As is natural with

, if the individual is frightened to the point of death, they will expand into a ball-like shape. The Hairy Pufferfish is known to be an incredibly smart animal, and will commonly recognize faces if in captivity.

References

Tetraodontidae Fish described in 1989 Fish of the Mekong Basin Fish of Cambodia Fish of Laos Fish of Thailand {{tetraodontiformes-stub