African Tiger Fish

[Wonderboy]

I need fish-keeping info. Does anyone know anything about keeping an African Tiger Fish that could help me out. I have read up a lot, but extra info is a plus.

 

[CFC]

Huge tank (at least 600 gallons) and equally aggressive or no tankmates are the basics. They are very skittish fish which ram themselves into the glass at full speed if startled so the tank needs to be somewhere away from pets, children and areas of high traffic.

 

[cane76]

600 gallons

 

[Wonderboy]

I plan on a huge tank. I've already been saving my money for it. He is right now in an 80 gallon tank with 5 senegalus bichirs (one albino. and all are under 4 inches). He's only about 3 inches now, do you know how long it may take him to grow?

 

[CFC]

They are fairly slow growers, the ones i had showed no real noticable growth in the 4 months i had them. That 80g is too small for it even at its current size, mine were only a inch or two larger and in a 80g but still died from injury related diseases from constantly banging into the sides of the tank, that was in my pre internet days and there is nothing written in books so it was just trial and a lot of error in my behalf. I would recomend investing in a 240g (6x3x2) as soon as possible and then start planning for a 10x4x3.

 

[cane76]

sounds expensive lovely fish tho im sure its worth it.they look mean

 

[Camazotz]

Huge tank (at least 600 gallons) and equally aggressive or no tankmates are the basics. They are very skittish fish which ram themselves into the glass at full speed if startled so the tank needs to be somewhere away from pets, children and areas of high traffic.

Thats a little over the top.. I have five small ATF's in my tank now and they're all super confident, cruising around together, not bothered by people at all. The're only really skittish on their own, so try and get him some buddies..
Also there's about fifteen other non-aggressive fish in the tank with them, and the Tigerfish are quite happy to shoal with them if they're in the mood.. they get followed and chased a little, but nothing serious. The ATF's chase each other more than anything else..
I got them off live food straight away, they eat chopped fish, krill and the occasional pellet. Tank size is an issue though.. all Tigerfish can get enormous, but so far i've never seen one above twenty inches in a tank. Fortunately they grow very slowly so you have a few years to save up for the mega-tank..

 

[CFC]

Sounds like you are lucky then, the three 4-6" ATF i had smashed themselves into the end of the tank every time i even looked at them but it was only a 80g tank so things may be different in a larger one. I had them with various catfish and Cichlids and didnt have any problems with them but once they reach 12" ATF are quite capable of taking out practically any fish they want so tankmates need to be chosen with care.

 

[Camazotz]

once they reach 12" ATF are quite capable of taking out practically any fish they want so tankmates need to be chosen with care.

Very true, the plan is to try and get bigger tankmates as the ATF's outgrow/eat what's in there now.. can't guarantee they won't all get eaten, but it's going ok so far..

 

[Wonderboy]

Thanks for all your comments... I plan on keeping a clown knife and 5 bichirs with him in the future. I would love to get him a pal, do you know where I can find another tiger fish I luckily came across this one at my LFS, but they only had one . If I could get him a friend or two, then I might leave the bichirs where they're at (in the 80 gal), and keep the ATFs in the "large tank" when I get it.

Camazots - What size tank do you have?? And how would you suggest changing his diet?? Also, is a live diet bad??

 

[Wonderboy]

Another question: Can I keep hydrocynus vittatus with hydrocynus forskalii ???

 

[CFC]

There shouldn't be any problems with mixing Hydrolycus species apart from the usual chasing and nipping.

 

[Wonderboy]

Awesome, thanks. But do either get any bigger than the other???

 

[CFC]

In the wild the various species grow from between 18 and 48 inches but in an aquraium i wouldnt expect any species to grow larger than 18-20 inches

 

[Camazotz]

I'm not sure where you can get more Tigerfish from, i'm in the UK and I waited two years for mine.. There seems to be quite a few people with baby ATFs this year though, maybe they're becoming more available..

Mine are in a 6ft, 150gal tank for now, it has two external filters and one external heater. I didn't have any trouble getting them off live food, they weren't too keen for the first day or two, but now they're ravenous feeders..

As for live food being good or bad.. I don't have a problem with it, it certainly makes your fish grow well.. most of the fish i've kept for the last ten years have been fed on mainly live food and i've never had any health scares. Maybe i've just been really lucky, but lots of people panic about it.. Now I have the ATFs, i'm really enjoying the money i'm saving by not having to buy hundreds of fish every month, feeders aren't that cheap in the UK. It's good to get them as a treat now, instead of having to buy live..