Adding more ATF to a group?

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newyorkmfk

Piranha
MFK Member
Jul 14, 2015
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What's your experience with keeping a pack of tiger fish? And even more.. Adding new tiger fish to a tank with tiger fish already established in it. I have a 7 inch Goliath and a 6 inch vittatus in a 180 grow out at the moment, going to be going into a 400. I want to add another 2-3 vittatus and possibly another Goliath. Mine get along for the most part. I'm not sure how they would be with some new additions. Any advise?
 
I would I,shine it being fine once everyone gets settled in, should add dithers too if you don't have any yet.
 
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Nice, and let's see what DB junkie DB junkie thinks
 
I tried this recently.. with terrible results. I moved all my tigerfish into their 'new' home hoping that would lessen aggression but within 2 days the 'pack' killed a former 'pack' member who has spent the past 10 months growing up in a different tank. The 'pack' also targeted my other non VATF ATF but he is okay for the moment. Good luck! Not all fish react the same.. hopefully you will have better luck.
 
I tried this recently.. with terrible results. I moved all my tigerfish into their 'new' home hoping that would lessen aggression but within 2 days the 'pack' killed a former 'pack' member who has spent the past 10 months growing up in a different tank. The 'pack' also targeted my other non VATF ATF but he is okay for the moment. Good luck! Not all fish react the same.. hopefully you will have better luck.
 
How big were they when you started the original pack together the first time? And how big were they when you had problems with it?
 
My experience is that it generally doesn't work out well.

The best way to have multiple ATF is to get them all at the same time and to grow them out together. Different species tend to be fairly intolerant of each other, with the mesopredatory species being really nasty towards the keystone species. ATF also tend to be extremely intolerant toward anything new in the tank that looks even vaguely like another ATF.

Once they get a bit of size to them, even established groups are notorious for turning on each other. In the wild, ATF of all species school as juveniles, but become increasingly solitary as they grow. The only time they come together in the wild is for mating or in situations where there is a LOT of food around.

One thing that I noticed is that after I added a large arowana to the tank, who was always just calmly cruising around at the top, 'accidentally' dominating the ATF, most of my dominance issues stopped.

Still though, if MY money is on the line, I wouldn't mess around with mixed groups of ATF.
 
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