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African Tigerfish

12K views 6 replies 4 participants last post by  dp0350 
#1 ·
Hi, My name is Devin and I'm new to the forum. I just recently got a 75 gallon tank online used with a cascade canister filter. This has been my first tank in a couple of years. My question is referring to the African tigerfish. I have always wanted one. An pet store has three near me but I am a little unsure about their care. I believe they are the larger species the goliath. How long will they last in my 75 if starting at about 5 inches. Will they drawf out at all or just continue to grow beyond what my tank can handle. There will not be many other fish in the tank besides a pleco or two and a catfish. Should I wait and get the smaller species or will they giants be Ok? Thanks for the help.
 
#2 ·
The best advice I can think to give here is to not get something like that. This fish needs an extremely large environmnent, grows quickly (gets about 30 inches long), and eats anything in its path. You would need about 1500 gallons to sustain one at full grown, and it will grow fast. 75 gallons with a cascade would last maybe a few months, at most.
This is not an animal suited for a home aquarium. For more information, I found this to be an accurate link:
http://www.aquariacentral.com/fishinfo/fresh/atigerf.shtml
Let us know if we can help further.
 
#3 ·
Thanks

Thank you for the help. I was looking for an aggressive fish preferably not piranhas. Do you have any other suggestions for fish like the tiger but will live in a 75? I just loved the teeth that the tigers had, poking out their mouths.
 
#4 ·
what about a few cichlids - jack dempseys or convicts? theyre aggressive like you wanted but wont grow too big for a 75g. recommended that you kwwp them only with larger robust tankmates and/or larger catfish only and also will do well, if not best, in a species tank
 
#5 ·
Only one caution about the convicts... I would not keep a pair of them together unless you are set up for breeding facility with another large tank and some sort of outlet scheduled ahead of time for the fry. They breed easily, have up to 100 fry in a spawn, and grow amazingly fast. They are also great parents, so you can expect the fry to survive and leave a 75 gallon way overstocked very quickly. They're dirty and messy, so maintenance can get out of hand quite easily. If you plan to breed them, let us know and we can prep you for that... but again, find an outlet for the fry BEFORE attempting it. Most pet stores won't even take donations of convict cichlids anymore.
Africans would be my first choice... another option would be a silver baracuda. Be careful that the fish isn't mislabeled... they are commonly mismarked in pet stores. I will do some research over the weekend and try to get more details to help you determine proper species ID. With the baracuda, you can still see the teeth, they don't get as large (about 10-12 inches) and can be kept in a 75 gallon long term, especially if only 1 is kept in there. You'll get the same "look" as with the tiger fish, but something more suited to an aquarium.
Hope this helps! I'll be back next wk... will post more for you then.
Have a good weekend.
 
#6 ·
If you are looking for something for a 75 that's dangerous rather than aggressive, consider the wolf fish, aka the Mud Characin and Pirhana Killer. These are Highly Aggressive, to the point of leaping out of the tank to bite their keeper during feedings. There are regular and High Finned varieties. Note that this will be the only fish in the tank, either by design or inevitably. (Actually, I can't recommend this fish to you or anyone else, but you said aggressive, and started at tiger fish. This is the next step down.)
 
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