View Full Version : Siamese Tigerfish
El Gordo
08-17-2003, 7:16 PM
I am interested in adding this type of fish to a 110 gallon tank with a jardini arowana and some birchers. All the books say these fish are brackish, yet other people swear that these fish co-exist happily in freshwater. What's up?
MonoSebaelover
08-17-2003, 9:39 PM
Welcome to Aquaria Central! You will find wealths of info here and the only stupid question is the one not asked. To the question. I currently have a Tiger Datnoide (I like their old scientifc name SO much more so still use that) and he lives in my 55 gallon that is very lightly salted that houses an Anablep, some Figure 8 Puffers, small African Cichlids and a Spotted Climbing Perch. Anyway, the store that I used to work at got him in and we put him in a brackish tank, well he hid in the corner comletly brown for weeks, eating hardly anything. I decided I really liked him (I had been researching everything about them for the week) and decided to take him to my tank at my Aquaculture class in High School. Put him in a brackish tank, same thing. A week later I decided to move him to the freshwater tank and he colored up within an hour and was active and bold. He is still active bold and colorful and is now approaching the 4 inch mark. So basically they can be kept in either but some individuals prefer a certain environment. Mine will be living out his days in freshwater. Anyway, hope this helps and good luck with whatever you decide.
mogurnda
08-18-2003, 8:27 AM
According th WetWebMedia, Datnioides (I like the old name too) live in freshwater lakes as well as estuaries. I had one grow to large size in a tank full of Malawian Haplochromis, until the great filter failure of 1985.
It would probably be quite at home in a tank with "swallowers" like arowanas.
Do either of you have a picture of this fish?
Thanks.
MonoSebaelover
08-18-2003, 11:04 AM
Keeping with the use of WetWebMedia here is a the site http://wetwebmedia.com/FWSubWebIndex/coidae.htm The fish we are talking about is Coius microlepis, used to be Datnoide microlepis. Anyway, hope this helps.
Thank you ....those are interesting looking fish.
I love mine! The Dats have such expressive little faces and huge "puppy" eyes. Mine is in fresh as well and is doing great. I do lightly salt the tank with 1tblsp per gallon but it is more for the chromides than him.
brackishdude
08-18-2003, 8:42 PM
MonoSebaeLover, these are the ctenopoma?
I have always admired these fish, but my books say they like soft, acid water. My tank couldn't be more different!
I keep my tank at 1.003-1.006 and my substrate includes some crushed coral.
Would they do well in this 110 gal tank?
I know the tankmates would do fine (5 glass fish, 1.5" dat, 3 flagfish, crazy fish, 3 knight gobies, 2 candystripe gobies, a fig 8, 2 small monos (sebae and an arg), and a 24" fire eel).
This arrangement only has to last one more year, then I finish residency and start to earn the rewards for 13 years education after high school!!! Then I will get 2 large tanks, one peaceful and one predatory, both brackish on the same filter system. I mention this to avoid comments about incompatability between dats and glassfish, etc. All the fish are content at their current size!
MonoSebaelover
08-19-2003, 11:31 AM
Yep, he is a Ctenopoma. He does amazing in the tank. The tank has all aragonite (finer grade of crushed coral) as the gravel, lots of lava rocks and such, and he has trippled in size since I got him almost a year ago. He is now about 3-4 inches long and is best buds with the Datnoide. Everybody in the tank has a bud except the Anablep who is a loner. I love having the Dat and SCP, because they keep fish populations at the current level. My Labs breed every two weeks, babies make it to term, then are devoured by the two monsters. Once the Altolamprologus calvus reach adult size I will move them because I want to be able to breed and raise them. So I would say go ahead and get one. They are great fish and do great for me. I want another one so he can have a buddy but we will see if I can find another. They are not the easiest fish to find in CO (actually no rare fish, especially brackish wise is easy to find in CO). Anyway, hope this helps.
A Dat site:
http://www.arowana.co.kr/html/other_dat1.htm
Is it a Ctenopoma acutirostre Spotted ctenopoma or a Ctenopoma oxyrhynchum Mottled ctenopoma?
How does it react to the salinity?
The LPS had on of these a little while ago but I could find anywhere it would say that they could go brackish. What I found was, "No demands are place on water conditions."
Nippy
08-19-2003, 11:06 PM
I also keep a Ctenopoma with my Dat! I think I have the very same one; spotted climbing perch. I call him a leopard perch, myself. ;)
He's pretty cool and is the only one to have escaped the dreaded sneaky dwarf puffers' bite. ;)
MonoSebaelover
08-20-2003, 7:53 AM
Hey all, he is in fact Ctenopoma acutirostre. I originally bought him as a African Spotted Leaffish. I find he handles the salinity well (it is only like 1.003 though) and like I said he is best buds with the Datnoide. Hey Brackishdude, according to wetwebmedia they like pH between 6 and 8. Pretty wide range. Anyway, hope this helps and feel free to ask any questions.
I stopped by the LFS today and asked about the Ctenopoma acutirostre they got in a few weeks ago and they have no memory of ever have one Spotted ctenopoma.
terror
08-25-2003, 3:53 AM
it will depend on the character of your fish:)
for me i have 2 tanks with 2 arowanas and 2 datnoids.
of course 1 aro and 1 tiger each tank.
the upper tank contains a tiger and a red arowana. they get along , occassionally my aqrowana chases the tiger.
on my other tankj. is my red goldean arowana with a indonesian tiger. the indo tiger is beaten up by my rtg:( poor guy... but they are still together.
I have both my tiger fish together Coius microlepis "Dat" 4"
& Coius quadrifasciatus "Silver Dat" 3.25".
There is no problem between them they hang together.