I've kept my 3 ft aba aba with a 2 ft silver aro, 3 1/2 ft aligator gar, 2 pcs 12 inch butterfly pleco, 2 pcs 10 inch flower horns and a pair of red claw crayfish all in a 3000 gals tank! The 40 inch tiger shovel nose has since died but not because of the aba aba. A 2 ft clown knife was bitten to death though by the aba aba! So there is always risk but it sure is cool to see an aba aba together with other monster fish in a tank.
Company? Aba Aba knife
- Thread starter theseducer
- Start date
aba aba-s are unpridictable time bombs, up untill 15 inches my killer was a pleasent community fish (in with a mess of pikes) but then he just became hostile, this was my second experience with these animals, the first was quite similar as well. pleasent and fun to watch, but then suddenly BOOM, a mutilated fishy, currently my fish measures at just around 25, he eats untill his belly buldges, and suspiciously gets very close to my hand when i clean the tank, yes i'm sure he wants to take a test bite, (i NEVER take my eyes off of him) but heres the catch, for the last 3 months i have a gold gurami in that tank with him, and the aba could care less, for now... so the wide bodied fish thing does resonate with me, but hey you never know, i'm sure eventually the gurami gets eaten, but its a real weird thing, this little gurami foloowing the aba aba around, and tickleing him with those feelers, i think the aba aba enjoys it. anyway in my opinion, in terms of sheer meaness, and cruelty my current 20 inch royal tiger knife is TWICE as nasty, he bites first then asks questions LOL...PS John at eczs talked me in to keeping this rare BEAST.
There is an aba aba knife (approx. 4 ft long) housed in a large tank (I think 1100 gallons) at the Shedd aquarium. I'm guessing that this fish lives alone for a good reason although I've read that smaller aba knifes can be community dwellers. Super cool fish but I'll never own one.
they live up to their reputation all right, I have a tiger knife, still only like 6 inches real skinny but he bites anything that gets in his way vicious little guy can't wait till he grows!
Charney said:
Yeah he would be ok, all the way up to feeding time...
Have you looked into rocks with smiley faces painted on them? They can usually hold their own agains the aba aba's
Ha ha! So, what about moving aquarium decorations? would they attack that? I have never had aba abas, always wanted one, but won't be able to any time soon, I guess, considering aquarium size reqs.
I had a marble african lungfish for 10 years or so, and Spike would, when in the mood, attack the siphon of the gravel vac, dritfwood, and anything at all that moved or was simply in his space. He was funny- I'd put four large goldfish in there, three woudl disappear immediatley, and one would live there for months. I would wait til it disappeared, and then add a few more.
I had a marble african lungfish for 10 years or so, and Spike would, when in the mood, attack the siphon of the gravel vac, dritfwood, and anything at all that moved or was simply in his space. He was funny- I'd put four large goldfish in there, three woudl disappear immediatley, and one would live there for months. I would wait til it disappeared, and then add a few more.
theseducer said:
they have the reputation of being the most vicious fish in the hobby, tolerating no tank mates and regularly attacking you when you try to change the water etc in the wild you would be looking at 5feet thats a big P$%%ed of fish
