African Tiger Fish - New Owner

[smoke187]

Hi Guys,

I just got a African Tiger Fish yesterday and just wanted some general infromation on how I should be looking after him regarding food, general tank setup and such.. so far I have him by himself in a 4 foot tank :) I have avoided plants so he can zoom around and be happy, tossed in two small pieces of driftwood and some rocks so he can hide if need be but he does not seem to be skitish at all.. final touch was to pop in a few minnows for him to "play" with, he has already taken out 3 of them hehehe.. .. I have experience in keeping red bellies for a while, am new to ATF's but just wanted some advice from experienced members on here on how to keep him happy and get him growing into a monster.

Naturally I will post some pics of him if I can figure out how to upload it to my photo account on here.

Thanks to all!

[piranha45]

ATFs require *alot* more space than piranhas. ATFs are very active, open-water swimmers who have bodies designed to propel them at high velocities through the water. They are very prone to literally smashing themselves upon aquarium glass if kept in too small a tank.

a 4-foot tank will work for up to a 6-8" specimen, but beyond that it will seriously need an upgrade. The smaller ATF species (you prolly got vittatus, which is one) get 2-3 feet long, eventually, but fortunately they are not particularly fast growers.

Nonetheless, I strongly suggest that if you plan on keeping this ATF in a healthy manner, your next upgrade should be a 240g (you can get a 125g instead immediately if you want, but then youll just have to upgrade to 240g in another year anyway). Eventually, even a 240g will not be adequate, but that time wont come for a couple years.

They are predators, so feed them meaty stuff and a good quality pellet brand.

[aapl76]

used to own one ATF as well...its better to get a bigger specimen cos smaller ones get spooked easily and they dun strive well in big comm tank....the smaller ones dun feed easily as well. they just dart here and there when they are spooked... :mad:

[piranha45]

aapl you gotta remove "super noobie in mfk", it doesnt fit you at all bro, you're way beyond that

[aapl76]

aapl you gotta remove "super noobie in mfk", it doesnt fit you at all bro, you're way beyond that

no worries brudder......i am still learning....hope to learn more from you guys.... :)

[smoke187]

Thanks for the advice guys, my ATF doesnt seem to be spooked at all, he happly hovers in the middle of the tank and darts back and forth in the tank to stretch his fins lol.. I had a few minnows in the tank before I popped him in and there is just 1 left when I checked in the morning. So far he seems to have seattled in well, theres not much visitors in the room where the tank sits so he shouldnt be getting spooked.

I gotta find where I put my freaking digi cam so I can take some snaps of him and post it up on here for all of yous to check out.

BTW what kind of meaty products should I go for? when I had my red bellies I used to feed them goldfish, whole squid (frozen from a pack), king prawns.. so should I keep in line with this form of feeding?

[rayman45]

i need to get one or 2 atf

[viper]

DO NOT BE AFRAID TO PUT HIM WITH OTHER FISH I HAVE RAISE TWO OF THEM AND THEY GET ALONG WITH OTHER FISH EVEN 2 INCH CORY CATS .I HAVE ONE THAT IS A FOOT LONG AN EATS KRILL AND SOMETIMES RAW PIECES OF SHRIMP FROM THE MARKET,YOURS MUST BE SMALL WAIT TO HE GETS BIGGER THEN HE WILL REALLY BE VERY SKITTIES MINES LIKE TO RUN INTO THE GLASS IF YOU LOOK AT HIM SO I TRY TO KEEP MY DISTANT UNLESS I HAVE TO CLEAN THE TANK BEWARE THEY ARE JUMPERS AND WILL FLY RIGHT OUT OF THE TANK.WHEN I GET A CHANCE I WILL GIVE YOU THE WEB SITE THAT HAS 100 POUNDS 6FEET TIGER FISH AWESOME SIZE AND TEETH

[smoke187]

Nice one thanks for the advice Viper. Yes he is a small lil thing but to be honest he doesnt seem so skitish, when I went to pick up a ATF from my LFS I choose him as he was the most aggressive in the tank, constantly trying to get into the next tank along lol.. I would love to see the 100 pound 6 footer! that must be an evil looking thing.

Got any pics of your ATF at all bro?

[mb26]

cool atf

[joc38]

my atf is skiddish every now and then but he has gotten comfortable in the tank and he kinda hangs out near a big piece of wood(artificial) that I have in the tank,,he also is getting along fine with a couple of the fish I have in there with him,,and when it's time to eat :thumbsup: he wastes no time,,I hope that one day soon to try to get him to eat out of my hand,,he's about 6 inches right now so he won't take the hand or other digits off,,at least not yet :grinyes:

[tigerfish]

a silver dogtoothed tigerfish?

[tigerfish]

how do i get one :wall:

[tigerfish]

how? who should i call?

[tigerfish]

plz

[piranha45]

i dont want anyone to tell this guy where to get atfs.

[piranha45]

http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=441

[smoke187]

Tigerfish - Sorry man but im based in London, UK and picked it up from my local LFS, dont think they ship to the states..

[Ariel]

its available locally there (singapore) , usually vittatus, goliath is a rare catch

[tigerfangs]

smoke187, good to hear that your new ATF is doing well. As p45 pointed out, they need a lot of space (eventually expect a minimum of 360g tank) compared to most of similar size due their speed and skittishness. They become more so as they grow and the tank conditions become tighter. They normally grow 6-9" per year an if the tank upgrade is not done soon enough, they will damage their faces against the walls of the tank. A trick that worked for me while my ATFs were in a 180g was to place a black board on either end of the tank so they could see that they could not go further without taking any of their swim space away. As you noticed, they don't hide, so they don't need large rocks or such. For decor, avoid any sharp rocks such as lace or lava as they could severely injure a fleeing ATF if scraped against. Driftwood would be a much better alternative. Plastic plants are good as they do give them some security if spooked. Also they don't really like bright lighting. You'll see as it gets bigger when you tiurn on the light it'll dart around til it feels comfortable.
Food, try to get it off live as soon as possible to avoid parasites and disease. They are easy to get on krill, chopped market shrimp and then smelt or any other chopped fish as the get bigger. Don't worry they won't lose their predatory instinct by going off live. If every once in a while you want to throw in some feeders, they'll nail em.
In a nutshell they are awesome fish, but can be real pain in the arse if conditions aren't just right.

[hydrocynus7]

Listen to TIGERFANGS. He knows his fish.

[alhollowayjr26]

Nice one thanks for the advice Viper. Yes he is a small lil thing but to be honest he doesnt seem so skitish, when I went to pick up a ATF from my LFS I choose him as he was the most aggressive in the tank, constantly trying to get into the next tank along lol.. I would love to see the 100 pound 6 footer! that must be an evil looking thing.

Got any pics of your ATF at all bro?
Hi. I am looking for an ATF. I am in Virginia. Any idea where I can get some. If I have to get them shipped, I will. Thanks

[piranha45]

Hi. I am looking for an ATF. I am in Virginia. Any idea where I can get some. If I have to get them shipped, I will. Thanks
the Buy/Sell forums on this website have some sellers who get them in...

[alhollowayjr26]

Well I do thank you for your reply.

[hemptation88]

yeh i got 1 also, it gets scared once in a while and bangs into the tank. U should put somekind of backing on the sides of the tank to keep the hitting at a minimum. As far as food goes i feed it mostly forzen krill and minnows once in a while for fun.

[hemptation88]

btw how do u tell the difference between a vittatus and a goliath, anything to do w/ a lyre tail??