Another ATF riddle solved. Brevis & Forskahlii; same tank, same time. How to ID.

  • We are currently upgrading MFK. thanks! -neo
aceface562 said:
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Here is my FATF at 8" and chomping on pellets 


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That's probably the biggest FATF on here! Lookin' good, Aaron!


And on another note, I actually got the little brevis to eat tonight. With a full belly, the third row of scales is VERY obvious. I mean seriously, you don't even have to strain to try to see them. I'll see if I can get some pics...


Edit-

Sorry for the quality of these pics. It's actually a lot more obvious when you're looking at the fish. I just wanted to post these as proof.

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Also, I worked up a head comparison detail.

In this picture, note that the fish are scaled so that the eyes are the same size. If the heads were scaled to be the same size, the eye on the FATF would be significantly larger. As such, when scaled to the same size eye, the BATF has a much larger head. The eye on the FATF is much closer to the jaw. This is what the diagnostic image is referring to as a smaller preorbital bone. The head of the brevis is also much more massive in appearance, as per the literature. I must admit that I'm shocked just how goliath like the head of this brevis is when viewed in person.

batf vs fatf head detail.jpg

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batf vs fatf head detail.jpg
 
BATF definitely have a squared off snout compared to FATF and VATF, looks very goliath like. Thanks for posting this thread, now that I see examples of FATF and BATF side by side, it seems a lot easier to ID them at a glance. I think the tail shape is the most obvious at smaller sizes after seeing them side by side, and then the adipose fin coloration.

I'm really liking these larger FATF, they look really good. The tails on them are so cool.
 
Chicxulub said:
Yes sir!

In about two months I'll have my Nikon back and bill be doing a proper photo shoot. If things pan out, the brevis will be pellet trained by then and fattened up some and healed up nicely.

There's also a reasonable chance I'll have gotten my hands back on a vatf and tatf by then. God I hope so!

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Edit- I'd also like to mention that the fatf is by FAR the most aggressive feeder I've ever had of all my tigerfish. It has absolutely no fear of people and begs for food. It behaves rather like a cichlid than a typical flightly tigerfish. I'm very pleased with this guy. He's got lots of personality. It might just be this individual fish, but it lends a lot of credibility to me to the idea that these are the best species for an aquarium.
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I hate this thread so much, I want a FATF so bad but Mike is out of them and wont get anymore for 2-3 weeks. might have to settle for a tat...
 
Chicxulub said:
I set up my 20L so that it had a buttload of current too. I kept it bare. This kept him from having any issues with hurting himself. The FATF is the first one I tried to train in a 20L and it has had the best results for me. Traditionally I used a 55 or just tried to train them in my 150. It seems that the smaller the tank is (within reason) the easier it is for them to figure out that their food is on the surface. The AC70 by itself on a 30 gallon likely won't have sufficient flow for the tigers. I have a 500gph canister, an AC 50 and a 900 gph powerhead in my 20L.

And I DO NOT attempt to hand feed my tigers. I don't hand feed the tank at all after I had an incident with Max.

I was one time trying to feed Drogo (my black aro) some skin-on salmon chunks that were left over from preparing dinner. Drogo had eaten a couple fillets and I was having a hard time getting him to take the last one, so I was jigging and splashing the fillet on the surface and watching Drogo to try to get him to come take it. I wasn't payign attention to anyone else because I didn't expect Max or a catfish to come up to the top to take it. I was wrong. All of a sudden, there was a shockingly quick, violent tug on the salmon and I got splashed pretty good. I pulled my hand back to find I had a nub of salmon left in my hand with a slightly curved, perfectly clean cut on it. Max cut the salmon with the skin on cleaner and quicker than I could have done with sharp scissors.

I will NEVER give a larger tigerfish the chance to bite me like that. At one point, my sick, nearly dead 4" brevis (the one before the one in this thread) bit me defensively. That tiny fish was able to draw blood and give me a good pinch.

Don't take chances with these fish!
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Hmm maybe just until he reaches the size of that 8 incher then haha or just with some tongs. I'd imagine he could, the 6 incher that I'll have soon would for sure take a bit off, I gotta be careful acclimating and such.

I'll get another power head for the 30 this weekend then, the 30 is very minimalist, w/ only some floating plants and one fake plastic I'll take out and put in the 70 while pellet training. Also, I know there is an issue with netting bichirs of breaking their backs in the process, so I usually use a clear pitcher (2 gallon) and a net to guide them in. Should I do the same for the fatf? I'm selling my red thursday or Friday, so I'll be able to have my fatf and my buddies Odoe shipped out soon! Can't wait to open that box haha

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L600 said:
I hate this thread so much, I want a FATF so bad but Mike is out of them and wont get anymore for 2-3 weeks. might have to settle for a tat...
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Hold out for the tiger! You won't regret it! :D


BuffaloPolypteridae said:
Hmm maybe just until he reaches the size of that 8 incher then haha or just with some tongs. I'd imagine he could, the 6 incher that I'll have soon would for sure take a bit off, I gotta be careful acclimating and such.

I'll get another power head for the 30 this weekend then, the 30 is very minimalist, w/ only some floating plants and one fake plastic I'll take out and put in the 70 while pellet training. Also, I know there is an issue with netting bichirs of breaking their backs in the process, so I usually use a clear pitcher (2 gallon) and a net to guide them in. Should I do the same for the fatf? I'm selling my red thursday or Friday, so I'll be able to have my fatf and my buddies Odoe shipped out soon! Can't wait to open that box haha

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To be honest, for smaller fish, I normally just net them out and move them as quickly as possible. If you do this, be aware that the edges of their fins will probably get a little frayed, like the brevis in this thread but not nearly as bad. He looks that rough from shipping. The clear pitcher/bag method would work well. I use that whenever I have to move a larger fish. When I have to get Max he is quite capable of damaging himself trying to get away from me. I trick him into swimming into a clear bag which makes him easy to catch, pick up and move.

When you get your little FATF from Mike you're going to be shocked at how powerful of a swimmer these guys are. The first time I did the fin surgery on Max I just netted him instead of using the bag method and when he got near the surface, he tried to swim down and lauched a two foot tall rooster tail of water out of the top of the tank. I was soaked!

I love tiger fish! :)
 
Chicxulub said:
Hold out for the tiger! You won't regret it! :D




To be honest, for smaller fish, I normally just net them out and move them as quickly as possible. If you do this, be aware that the edges of their fins will probably get a little frayed, like the brevis in this thread but not nearly as bad. He looks that rough from shipping. The clear pitcher/bag method would work well. I use that whenever I have to move a larger fish. When I have to get Max he is quite capable of damaging himself trying to get away from me. I trick him into swimming into a clear bag which makes him easy to catch, pick up and move.

When you get your little FATF from Mike you're going to be shocked at how powerful of a swimmer these guys are. The first time I did the fin surgery on Max I just netted him instead of using the bag method and when he got near the surface, he tried to swim down and lauched a two foot tall rooster tail of water out of the top of the tank. I was soaked!

I love tiger fish! :)
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Oh wow i had something similar happen when i moved my red hi fin wolf from the growout, excpet my buddy was next to the tank at the time and he got soaked! Lol it was a good laugh, he jumped thinking my wolf was going to land in his lap haha. Im so pumped for it, hes the perfect top swimmer for my plans.

Ive already changed up my tank for him, theres nothing other then the actual glass he can ram into. No solid objects, just a few plastic plants any fish over 2 inches can easily push through. Ill pitcher him as not to fray his fins. Hopefully he doesnt rough himself up in shipping too much! He wont be going far, only from northern jersey across ny to buffalo

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Okay, so head is sharp/pointy, dorsal fin is ahead of pelvic fin, and caudal fin is pointy/wide. FATF correct?

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