View Full Version : aba aba knife fish
hi everyone.. i just purchased an aba aba knife fish for my 100gal tank, i've been feeding it baby feeders cause it's still very small 3inches only, you guys know what other food i can feed it? i sure would appreciate any suggestion.. thanks :)
try and train it to eat meaty foods like shrimp, mussels & beefheart even "dilis".. you have to starve it first for it to take those foods.. also, take note that these guys grow to about 3ft so be aware that you would need to upgrade your tank when its gets bigger.. they are also very aggressive and would kill most tankmates and even would bite their owners ;)
Steve_89
10-05-2005, 7:17 AM
Sweet!
Can you get pics??
sob ! that's my favorite fish, but I cant find it here in the US!!! Can't go wrong with that one. Feed it till it gets big and healthy, then you can teach it to eat other stuff. But first, make it big and strong. I think that is the coolest of all the fishieshies.
EDITED BY RTF - Vince i edited your first line..its a bit "too much" :D
redtailfool
10-05-2005, 8:28 PM
Ladez welcome to mfk!
Try blackworms or redworms. Be careful with tubifex as they are known to transmit disease. You could also try earthworms.
sob ! that's my favorite fish, but I cant find it here in the US!!! Can't go wrong with that one. Feed it till it gets big and healthy, then you can teach it to eat other stuff. But first, make it big and strong. I think that is the coolest of all the fishieshies.
EDITED BY RTF - Vince i edited your first line..its a bit "too much" :D
:ROFL:
I didn't think someone would know that word combo.
:lol2:
sowee bout that :)
IoStrisciare
10-05-2005, 10:03 PM
hi everyone.. i just purchased an aba aba knife fish for my 100gal tank, i've been feeding it baby feeders cause it's still very small 3inches only, you guys know what other food i can feed it? i sure would appreciate any suggestion.. thanks :)
anything meaty would do... these guys eat like pigs.
redtailfool
10-05-2005, 10:14 PM
:ROFL:
I didn't think someone would know that word combo.
:lol2:
sowee bout that :)
youd be surprised. theres already 2 in the staff alone. ;)
try some cricket or some meal worms or black worms or brine shrimp
show use pic
I saw one at an aquarium in dallas he was bout 2.5' long
should have no problem getting it adjusted to frozen krill
I hope u have a huge tank. I have always heard they can grow to 6' and have a nasty bite. Like could take your hand off... Ive also heard they can take down crocadiles...
fishnthings
10-09-2005, 10:59 PM
sob ! that's my favorite fish, but I cant find it here in the US!!! Can't go wrong with that one. Feed it till it gets big and healthy, then you can teach it to eat other stuff. But first, make it big and strong. I think that is the coolest of all the fishieshies.
EDITED BY RTF - Vince i edited your first line..its a bit "too much" :D
:cry: My favorite fish too....nice pickup :thumbsup:
redtailfool
10-09-2005, 11:02 PM
Its pretty common in asia. Wonder why we dont have more people importing these
cool fish here in the US ?
Tucc185
10-09-2005, 11:36 PM
I get them in where I work pretty often--and I see them on distributors lists all the time. I think it's just that most LFS owners won't stock the except for special orders because of their care and tank size requirements. Very cool fish though
redtailfool
10-09-2005, 11:40 PM
probably..
Xoltotun
10-10-2005, 5:54 PM
These are great fish, but I've never seen one for sale in a LFS. You're lucky you found one.
fishnthings
10-10-2005, 7:58 PM
These are great fish, but I've never seen one for sale in a LFS. You're lucky you found one.
i bet theyre illegal in cali :ROFL:
Vince
10-11-2005, 12:36 AM
i bet theyre illegal in cali :ROFL:
ssshhhh...they don't know this fish as well as snakeheads yet. If and when I get one, I would grow it til it gets to 6 feet, then invite Fish and Game to come pet it near it's snout. :naughty:
Xoltotun
10-11-2005, 3:49 AM
i bet theyre illegal in cali :ROFL:
Nope, they're not, I just checked. Of course, they probably will be now that I've gone on record of wanting to own one.
McGavinWormFarm
10-15-2005, 2:01 PM
Try feeding earthworms, most aba aba's will feed on them right away.
irwini
10-16-2005, 12:56 AM
put in some tankmate for e aba aba. so when come to feedin time they will fight for food, thus trigger e aba aba to be more aggressive n it will eat even more.
currently my 3inch aba aba is mixed wif goldfish.
hi guys sorry it took a while, this is my aba aba now.. :D
http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d83/ladez_12/IMG_2112copy.jpg
http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d83/ladez_12/IMG_2102copy.jpg
http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d83/ladez_12/IMG_2109copy.jpg
Vince
01-16-2006, 12:41 AM
wowo it's just cruisin the tank? mine hides all the time!! barely sees it. How big is that puppy?
Steve_89
01-16-2006, 4:47 AM
Wow very cool!
loach43
01-16-2006, 9:53 PM
Great Knife! I love those upsidedown devils!
wowo it's just cruisin the tank? mine hides all the time!! barely sees it. How big is that puppy?
it's 14" now.. still small but very aggressive everytime i look into it's tank it would try to attack the glass in front of me :D
Big Business
01-30-2006, 1:19 PM
I just bought my 3rd aba. (the other 2 were killed by tank mates) it's about 7"
when do the start to get tough?
also what did you get yours to eat at this size?
i feed it medium feeder guppies.. my aba loves them :D also small shrimps when they are available in the LFS, mine's always been tough i have 2 abas and when they were small i placed them temporarily in a 50 gal tank separated with a glass divider and they would try to bully each other :)
rumblesushi
02-11-2006, 2:31 PM
how active are they in general?
my abas like to swim alot... likes to chase it's tankmates too
Stone Like Fish
02-12-2006, 5:07 PM
drool drool drool drool drool, more pics!!!
Vince
02-12-2006, 10:05 PM
drool drool drool drool drool, more pics!!!
:iagree: . Can you upload a movie while it is cruising? My aba-aba is about 10 inches, and it hides all the time. I am thinking of getting a 24" specimen, but I think that size needs to have it's own tank. I am scared to let it go in my 330 with my big Dats.:naughty:
Pangong_ilong
02-13-2006, 12:35 AM
Wow. Nice aba aba you got there.
ladez
02-20-2006, 10:33 AM
i don't know how to upload a video, i'll ask my husband to teach me i'm such a techno ignorant, thanks for the comments.. i'll upload some new pictures soon :D hey pangong_ilong nice name
Are aba's HArd to get off feeders?
Pout
rumblesushi
02-20-2006, 11:57 AM
hey ladez - do you know if Manny Pacquiao keeps fish? :)
pout- my aba likes to eat bloodworms, shrimps, guppies and occasionally some unfortunate tankmates (i learned this the hard way when my husband bought 6 hujetas and put it in the same tank with the aba cause we thought they're too big to be eaten, after an hour we checked on the hujetas only 5 were left and the abas stomach is bulging).. i think if your aba is fed different kinds of food from the start i don't think it's hard to switch.. :D
rumblesushi- i don't know what kind of pets pacquiao keeps, i'll ask some of my friends who might know :)
rumblesushi
02-20-2006, 3:22 PM
What was the size difference between the aba and the hujeta?
I'm very curious about aba aba, I've heard stories about them being vicious killers, but to me they don't look mean at all.
I've never seen one for sale either, how hard are they to come across?
KRSwop1
02-20-2006, 6:29 PM
nice fish
abas from what ive read can grow up to 5ft or more, hujetas are much smaller.. i'm have not done some research about them cause it's my husband whose interested in hujetas... maybe someone who knows can help me here?.. abas look cute but they really are very aggressive.. mine always want a piece of my hand whenever i clean the tank :D
rumblesushi
02-21-2006, 9:59 AM
haha, indeed hujetas only get around 10 inches or so. But what I mean was, when you put them in the tank - were the round about the same size or the hujetas much smaller? :)
haha, indeed hujetas only get around 10 inches or so. But what I mean was, when you put them in the tank - were the round about the same size or the hujetas much smaller? :)
we just put them in the aba's tank thinking they're too big for his mouth, the aba then is around 10in and the hujetas are 3-4in, we are cleaning the tank where the hujetas should be, formerly occupied by our jags.. by the time we're about to transfer them one is already missing :D
hi guys.. i know it's been a while but here's an updated pic of my aba aba, it's 21 inches now :)
deangelo
03-17-2007, 2:31 AM
nice..:)
Sunpoe
03-17-2007, 9:07 AM
Great looking aba!:drool:
What's his temperament like?
Miguel
03-17-2007, 9:34 AM
awesome! That beast will, however, kill everything you put in there....
summer_rain
03-17-2007, 9:37 AM
wow!:nilly: ... where'd you get that monster?! :D:D:D
Sunpoe
03-17-2007, 9:54 AM
awesome! That beast will, however, kill everything you put in there....
That's what I thought...................:(
ladez
03-17-2007, 11:47 AM
awesome! That beast will, however, kill everything you put in there....
i know, that's why it's alone in it's tank, it's very aggressive :) i got when it was only 3", they grow very big like 5ft or more from what i've heard but they grow slowly..
johnptc
03-18-2007, 12:15 AM
ocean blue in orange calif has a bunch........believe he ships
:ROFL:
I didn't think someone would know that word combo.
:lol2:
sowee bout that :)
black_monster
03-18-2007, 1:52 PM
holy ****! it grew like 18" in 1 yr!
holy ****! it grew like 18" in 1 yr!
for me they are so cool even if they have to be alone in the tank.. cause they're awesome.. i have another one in grandma-in-law's house, it's 2 feet :)
update is here ....... http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=60798
Dixon
update is here ....... http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=60798
Dixon
thanks modes :)
deangelo
03-18-2007, 3:49 PM
for me they are so cool even if they have to be alone in the tank.. cause they're awesome.. i have another one in grandma-in-law's house, it's 2 feet :)
Holy cow there's a monster in gramma's house!!!!:WHOA: :) :) :)
Holy cow there's a monster in gramma's house!!!!:WHOA: :) :) :)
she's complaining cause the aba eats like crazy :D but she admits watching the aba swim makes her relax and calm.. :)