Looking for Little Killers...lol.
- Thread starter r3dbullxxx
- Start date
Glass Headstander (Charax gibbosus)
A medium sized semi-aggressive characin found through parts of the Amazon and Orinoco basins, the Glass Headstander is a loosely schooling fish that in the wild preys on very small fish and may pick on scales and fins of larger fish as well. In the aquarium, they can be nippy but will typically...
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Snub Nosed Payara (Cynodon gibbus)
A smaller growing relative of the Payara or Sabertooth Barracudas found throughout much of South America, the Snub Nosed Payara is a highly adapted predator typically found in waters with moderate to strong current. With their unique, flattened body shape, they spend most of their time hanging...
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Pike Livebearers, Belonesox, are super cool; think of them as Grass Pickerel from a different family. Much tougher to switch to non-living food IMHO; if your friend thinks that he is going to starve them for a week and then have them chowing down on pellets, he is in for a surprise. They need to be out-witted into eating non-living prey, and many aquarists don't seem to have the patience...or the guile...to manage it. Easy to breed but tough to get the babies out before they are all eaten. My idea of breeding fish consists of throwing adults into a tank or pond, and then removing a bunch of inch-long fry a few months later. You won't get many Belonesox fry if you follow that method; they have large broods, many dozens of fry from a big female, but very few survive even a couple of days in even the most densely-planted tanks. You manage to snag out a few if you are lucky enough to find them shortly after birth...and then you have a bunch of carnivorous, cannibalistic psycho-guppies that all want live food, which usually turns out to be...each other. You even need to watch out for the adult females, who get much bigger, eating their adult mates. But...as ferocious as they look...they are not really aggressive to similar- or larger-sized fish.
How about African Leaf Fish, Polycentropsis? I had one many years ago, I think P.abbreviata. They stay small (three inches +/-), have big mouths and big appetites. Predatory but not aggressive, i.e. an eater but not a fighter.
There is also the very similar Polycentrus from, I believe, South America. Never had one but they sound like pretty much the same deal, maybe even smaller in maximum size.
"Predatory" and "aggressive" are two completely different things. Predators eat anything that is an appropriate size, which can include some pretty bit prey for the large-mouthed jobs like these guys...but they aren't necessarily aggressive in their interactions with other fish that are too large to eat. On the other hand there are plenty of aggressive herbivores and omnivores (many cichlids, for example), i.e. fish that eat greens but just like to push other fish around for gits'n'shiggles, without actually eating them. I knew a Goramy once, owned by a friend, which would attack and eventually kill just about anything in the same tank...but never ate even the smallest guppy.
If your friend simply must have both...a carnivorous diet and a bad attitude...and wants to keep the thing in 30 gallons...I dunno what to say.
How about African Leaf Fish, Polycentropsis? I had one many years ago, I think P.abbreviata. They stay small (three inches +/-), have big mouths and big appetites. Predatory but not aggressive, i.e. an eater but not a fighter.
There is also the very similar Polycentrus from, I believe, South America. Never had one but they sound like pretty much the same deal, maybe even smaller in maximum size.
"Predatory" and "aggressive" are two completely different things. Predators eat anything that is an appropriate size, which can include some pretty bit prey for the large-mouthed jobs like these guys...but they aren't necessarily aggressive in their interactions with other fish that are too large to eat. On the other hand there are plenty of aggressive herbivores and omnivores (many cichlids, for example), i.e. fish that eat greens but just like to push other fish around for gits'n'shiggles, without actually eating them. I knew a Goramy once, owned by a friend, which would attack and eventually kill just about anything in the same tank...but never ate even the smallest guppy.
If your friend simply must have both...a carnivorous diet and a bad attitude...and wants to keep the thing in 30 gallons...I dunno what to say.
That Pike killifish looks awesome. I have never seen one for sale in a fish store however…
check out the ones I posted as well
Or you could try a aggressive cichlid.
Or you could try a aggressive cichlid.
They're a PITA to maintain in a store aquarium; gotta be separated according to size, so usually at least 2 tanks devoted strictly to them for big ones and little ones. Otherwise their numbers dwindle quickly, and it isn't because they sell out fast.
It's even tricky to feed a bunch of them together in one tank. Drop in a feeder, it gets grabbed at both ends at once by two fish, they both start swallowing, and when they meet in the middle...bad things happen...
They don't bite off chunks of food; those teeth are strictly used for holding an entire prey item while it is swallowed in one piece. They are fascinating to keep...for awhile...but you get to the point where you simply wonder why you bother with their BS, and eventually move them on to some other unsuspecting owner.
They are like that hot girlfriend you had in university: a terrific experience...wonderful memories to reminisce upon, making you wonder why you broke up...until you remember why and realize you don't miss her...
