Can't see the picture too well, looks like it might be a type of half-beak (long lower jaw, short upper jaw) from what I can make out. If that's the case, they're not too good at chewing things up and generally will only take food small enough to swallow whole. Ussually they'll take floating food from the surface happily, I'd be inclined to try dropping an appropriately sized insect in there and see what happens.
Otherwise if it's traditional needlefish (two jaws, similar length, load of sharp teeth) you're on the right track with the guppies. It may respond better to struggling food (most predators have trouble resisting an easy meal), so again a suitably size insect might be worth trying or something else that will struggle or move erratically near the surface.
One primarily freshwater needlefish I can think of is the Freshwater Longtom (Strongylura krefftii), they do venture into brackish water but can complete their full life cycle in freshwater. They're an ambush predator and ussually attack from floating cover, so that may be another thing to consider. How likely it is to be one, I don't know... They have been turning up in the ornamental fish scene here in Australia regularly of late, though that may be primarily due to renewed interest in keeping native fish. I'm unsure if they're being currently exported from here, I don't think they're endemic to Australia, so it's possible they're being exported from SE Asia or Papua New Guinea.
I hope you have a suitably long tank, halfbeaks and needlefish are really prone to running into the ends of a tank and breaking their jaws when startled (Blacking out the back and sides does help prevent this).
Otherwise if it's traditional needlefish (two jaws, similar length, load of sharp teeth) you're on the right track with the guppies. It may respond better to struggling food (most predators have trouble resisting an easy meal), so again a suitably size insect might be worth trying or something else that will struggle or move erratically near the surface.
One primarily freshwater needlefish I can think of is the Freshwater Longtom (Strongylura krefftii), they do venture into brackish water but can complete their full life cycle in freshwater. They're an ambush predator and ussually attack from floating cover, so that may be another thing to consider. How likely it is to be one, I don't know... They have been turning up in the ornamental fish scene here in Australia regularly of late, though that may be primarily due to renewed interest in keeping native fish. I'm unsure if they're being currently exported from here, I don't think they're endemic to Australia, so it's possible they're being exported from SE Asia or Papua New Guinea.
I hope you have a suitably long tank, halfbeaks and needlefish are really prone to running into the ends of a tank and breaking their jaws when startled (Blacking out the back and sides does help prevent this).
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