135 gallon predator tank

[Gourami Swami]

Would the dat and a singular pike with other fish work

I would post this in the datnoid section.
I would say between pike and lyonsi, pike would have better chance of working. Lyonsi would max that tank out themselves. Pikes often ignore fish that look nothing like them. But I am not an experienced datnoid keeper.
What is your water like? Pikes like softer water with low pH. Not sure what datnoids like.

 

[Predatory101]

I would post this in the datnoid section.
I would say between pike and lyonsi, pike would have better chance of working. Lyonsi would max that tank out themselves. Pikes often ignore fish that look nothing like them. But I am not an experienced datnoid keeper.
What is your water like? Pikes like softer water with low pH. Not sure what datnoids like.

My water is about neutral, I think I’ll go with the pike, dat and a ctenopomma, with some bichirs and a catfish

 

[Keyboard Cat]

My water is about neutral, I think I’ll go with the pike, dat and a ctenopomma, with some bichirs and a catfish

Sounds good, with larger fish like those, be careful not to overstock.

 

[eeJamBOYan]

The Silver Dat Polota will eventually need a brackish setup to thrive. Note the difference between "OK to live in" and thrive.

They can grow from small in full freshwater with no problems. And yes they are the smallest of all Dats.

 

[Predatory101]

The Silver Dat Polota will eventually need a brackish setup to thrive. Note the difference between "OK to live in" and thrive.

They can grow from small in full freshwater with no problems. And yes they are the smallest of all Dats.

Would any other species of dats work in that tank and can they thrive in freshwater

 

[eeJamBOYan]

Would any other species of dats work in that tank and can they thrive in freshwater

Only Silver Dat is 'smaller' but require brackish as they mature. The others no problem in full fresh but 'bigger'.

 

[Predatory101]

Only Silver Dat is 'smaller' but require brackish as they mature. The others no problem in full fresh but 'bigger'.

So I could house an ntt dat in their for life

 

[eeJamBOYan]

So I could house an ntt dat in their for life

Some Powerfeed. Others feed sparingly enough for their fishes to have a normal growth rate.

It depends on you of course.

Personally, I have been growing out Dats. Deworm, train them to eat pellets and sell. They are readily available here so no problem.

What I am getting at is that Dats generally grow slow. With a decent size tank to start, you can enjoy them for years and they can only grow so much.

Long term.. a 5ft by 2.5ft footprint is a decent space for a 10" specimen. They can grow further but like I mentioned earlier, very slow.