Tiger Fish

ineedabox

Slash
Jan 31, 2005
178
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0
riiiight here
what is the minimum sized tank for an african tiger fish? i know it's gonna be big...but what do you think it would be?
 
It's an extremely fast fish that can grow to a very impressive 30". Keeping it in a 180g tank would be like keeping a squirrel in a shoebox. A tank with a footprint of 60" x 300" would be a good place to start.
 
Well, they get to like 30-36 inches. Drs. Foster and Smith say minimum 180. I'd go higher, myself. Maybe 225-250. A custom tank would obviously be a nice cheaper option. I've seen some awesome plywood tanks even larger than that, so maybe that's the way to go. That's one large predatory fish and it has been honed in nature for speed and ambush. Obviously a lot of plant cover and some floating plants will make it feel more at home. Watch your fingers when you clean!
 
My absolute personal minimums for habitat are calculated at 4x the fishes length, 2x width and 1.5x height. So for a 36" fish thats 12'x6'x4.5' or 2420 US gallons.
Think about it...
Only 4x's it's length to swim, 2x's its length to turn around and 1.5 its length in depth, that's not much room particularly for this type of predator :eek:
No natural anything when it comes to behaviour of any kind :(

It is my belief that fish such as this and others should not be offered to just anyone without the intent to keep and provide for them throughout their lifespan, adequate habitat, food, medical and other needs.
With the failure to provide such care being subject to charges of animal cruelty, negligence and abuse just as for dogs, cats, horses and etc :mad2 ...

Flame away, but this is JMHO :dance
 
Certainly no flames from me, ChileRelleno.

I just wanted to add that behavior is just as important as size when considering the space that you're going to give a fish. For something that is sedentary, like a freshwater Wolf Fish, a tank of 1.5 times the fish' length wide, and 5 times the fish' length is enough space to observe their behavior w/o endangering the fish. Wolfs are pure ambush predators, who wait amongst clumps of dense vegetation in slow waters for meals to come by.

An African Tiger Fish, on the other hand, is built like a saltwater Bluefish (Pomatomus saltatrix). ATFs come from fast flowing river environments and are built for speed over distance with their elongate compressed bodies and deeply forked tails. Even a tank 10 times as long as the fish' length and 2 times as wide as the fish is likely to result in plenty of crashes into the tank walls, and the secondary infections which often ensue from the injuries.

Visualy it is a stunning fish, but housing one...
 
Researched this fish a little more and :eek: :eek: :eek: :eek: :eek: :eek:
My god man, how could you even contemplate a fish such as this?
Not only that but it is on the prohibited imports list almost everywhere :dance :D
It seems most F&G and etc have common sense on this one ;)
This fish is a freshwater equivalent of the Great White Shark.....
Some range in size from 36"-72" with a mouth full of butcher knives, they hunt in packs like Piranha and there are uncomfirmed reports of attacks on humans.
Extremely dangerous!
 
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