best predator for beginner???

Well, since nobody else has said it, I'll just throw in my two cents and say that I don't think you should keep fish to watch them eat other fish. If you want action in the tank, get him a school of 10-12 tiger barbs. Fish that eat fish aren't nessecarily the most exciting to watch, in my opinion. Even muskies, which are one of the largest and most vicious freshwater fish in North America are pretty boring, even in the wild. They just kind of sit there and wait for a meal to pass by, then grab it, swallow it, and sit there until they want to eat again. Most fish won't viciously tear into a school of feeders unless they haven't been getting enough to eat to start with.
 
It's ok to keep predatory fish if they want. It's like owning a snake; they just sit around waiting for meals too, but people keep buying them.

I think we have a fascination with the predation of animals being that we no longer do it ourselves. (Unless you work in a slaughterhouse of course).
 
I kill animals myself (I don't work in a slaughterhouse) and don't think that killing anything is a thrill just for the sake of watching something die. I think predatory habits are interesting, but having a fish eat other fish in a 30 gallon tank isn't really the same as the wild at all. I am just saying keeping fish to see them eat others isn't a good idea if you're doing it with the idea that you're going to get a lot of action.
 
same with me, i kill A LOT of animals as its in my family to own 10-20 guns, hell, i got 6 deer this year and 7 last year, with all my tags, i love to hunt and fish but i dont do it just to see something die, i do it for food and because i absoulutly love to shoot any gun i can get my hands on, plus i love the woods, i am going turkey hunting friday at 3:30 am, just because i like it, now there are not many fish out there that are addicted to ( they cant use guns ) killing and just the joy of using there teeth. some will and some wont.
 
Well, if I may be so bold as to generalize what everyone seems to be saying here, is basically, there aren't any good obvious choices for your tank size (or your kid's tank size.)
Moral and ethical debates aside, my own opinion is that carniverous fish just aren't for beginners; let him work up to it by starting with keeping white cloud fish, you know, 10 for a dollar, so simple a 1st grader could keep them, then let him start adding fish. As he gets more experienced with his fish choices, he would learn what fish ate other fish, like the oh-so-disposable white clouds (lose them, no big.) To me, the learning is the more interesting part of the equation.
 
The obvious first choice, when you say carnivorous, is a pirahna. Angel fish? Pfft, they aren't carniverous, except for baby guppies and such. And puffer fish? They don't eat other fish, they just nip their fins and pester them mercilessly until they die.

1.) Pirahna, as already mentioned, are over rated. 2.) They are in no way, shape, or form, beginner fish.

Angelfish are carnivorous. They don't eat just baby guppies, they'll eat neons, adult feeder guppies, and just about anything else that will fit into their mouths. Their behavior all depends on how you raise them.

Puffers may not eat other fish, but they do actively hunt down snails and other inverts which makes them predators none-the-less. I am sure that they would make a good chase at some feeder ghost shrimp.



I don't think you are going to find the "perfect" predator that will fit in a 30g and also be aggressive/predatory. The closest I think you will get would be some smaller Tanganyikan rift lake cichlids such as a small colony of N. leleupi or 1-2 A. Calvus or A. Comprissiceps. But, you would need hard, alkaline water for them and may have to return your other fish to the LFS.

The only other predator I can think of would be a crayfish, and again, you'll lose most/all the fish you don't want it to eat ;).

HTH
 
Ahhh Puma good points. And I like the Stargate quote at the end.

Ask your son what exactly he wants to see the fish do. If he actually likes to watch it slowly hunt then maybe a small puffer setup wouldn't be a bad thing. Not easy to keep but very fun to watch them hunt down snails. Dwarf puffers are not great community fish but can be kept with other types and stay around 1 inch long. Add some snails to the tanks and watch those guys go.
 
Never - repeat never - in 30+ years, have I ever seen an angelfish eat a guppy, neon, or anything larger than a baby guppy/platy/swordtail, etc.

They pick their eyes out sometimes; one time I had an entire school of cardinal tetras with just one eye each. (They didn't school like they used to, that's for sure.)

Angel fish are NOT what I consider a typical "carnivore" like needlenose gars, pirahnas, etc. Occasionally aggressive, yes, carnivore? Pfft. NOT!

If you classify angelfish as carnivores, you should put every fish that is aggressive towards other fish in the same category, and that also includes ANY big fish that eats a little one, (which is normal fish behavior), and we *don't* want to go down that road.
 
African butterfly fish are carnivores, stay small, and don't require feeders--they lurk at the surface, and will slurp up any fish they can. This includes neon-sized fish.

A really cool fish--that will require some dedication on your part as well as his to care for it properly--would be a leaf fish. FW, will be a large fish in the 30, but not cramped. Eat smaller fish happily, which means you will need a reliable, clean source of feeder fish. Guppies and rosies will be a good choice.
 
Yes, you should definately raise your own feeder guppies if you want to feed live fish. Thta way you know you have aclean food source. A 10 gallon setup will work nicely. Plus you will have another fish tank to have fun with.
 
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