H. Malabaricus tank size..

from what ive read and researched 6x2x2 should be fine for a mala, i love em, had a 6 incher a while back but lost him due to my own stupidity! very cool underated, i found some in the lfs and asked them to feed them so i could pick the most active/aggressive, one really stood out the other two lookedf lazy and boring... its about getting one with a good personality ive heard so thats what i did!-)

My mala was pure evil when he was younger/smaller. Now he's around 12" and mostly sedentary. He'll still lash out if you really piss him off, but for the most part he's pretty well behaved. He shares standard 180 with a 12+ odoe, 10" silver aro, and a 10+" RTC. I honestly think a 120 with a 4x2 footprint would be sufficient for a lone mala, given that they don't really swim around all that much.

Mine lived and grew quickly in 75 gal of water - the mala could not be cohabed - also 1 mala in 180 gal of water would be way too boring for me, they aren't very active fish and most stay around the 12 inch mark in captivity.

Chub_by said:

4' might be a bit short, my 60 is 4' long and if I imagine a 20" mala going for food with a burst of speed.. ouch. 5' could work though, no?

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A 20" mala doesn't have much of a burst of speed... too lazy I think 4' long is fine

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A 4' will be fine. As a general rule you would be doing very well to raise a captive mala to 15"-16". They are particularly as the get older quite sedentary. Personally if you can get a 180 I would do it as you can add other fish.

I agree. They usually pick a spot out in the aquarium that they like and stay there till feeding time. Bigger the tank the better though. I have kept some that were EXTREMELY aggressive towards other malas and would swim 6' just to flare it's gulls and try to intimidate the others. They're also a lot faster than you'd think also. The largest one I have owned personally was 16" in the early 1990's. As far as swimming around and being active, it depends on the fishes personality. That big one I was referring to acted like a cichlid. It was always out and always hungry. I will see if I have a picture I can scan and post of it.