Hi, I am thinking of getting a fish to add to my community tank of birchirs and ctenopoma acutirostres. Was considering a tigerfish but after seeing their aggression in some videos, I've decided I rather stay on the safe side and go for an African Pike Characin. However I'm finding it hard to differentiate them from the tigerfish and do not wish to accidentally end up with a tigerfish. Can anyone help me tell the difference or give me tips to be able to tell them apart?
Differences between African Pike Characin and Tigerfish
- Thread starter IceGunner
- Start date
They look extremely different. And price range is extremely different. I'll post Some pics when I get the chance, but you really don't have that much of a chance of anyone confusing the 2.
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for one odoe have a much longer snout. African tiger fish have a short snout. Odoe's snout is also much flatter on the top like that of a gar, ATF have a rounded mouth like that of most normal fish. Juvy odoe View attachment 971680 . I don't have any ATF pics myself with permission to use but someone can post one up. Also if the price is 60 or under it's probably an odoe. ATF go for around 100 and up usually
Thank you very much for your reply. I was looking for some tell tale signs in terms of finage or spots/stripes and I found these pictures on the web.
Seriously fish and web pictures on African pike characin,
There's a small black spot/fin between the dorsal fin and the tail. Then I look at pictures of tiger fish and I see some pictures with the black spot/fin too.
I'll try to look out for the jaw shape from now onwards. So tiger fish has a rounder jaw shape while african pike has a flatter jaw shape.
Thanks for your prompt reply.
Note: I got these pictures of the internet and if there's a problem, please remove them or I will remove them if there's an issue.
Seriously fish and web pictures on African pike characin,
There's a small black spot/fin between the dorsal fin and the tail. Then I look at pictures of tiger fish and I see some pictures with the black spot/fin too.
I'll try to look out for the jaw shape from now onwards. So tiger fish has a rounder jaw shape while african pike has a flatter jaw shape.
Thanks for your prompt reply.
Note: I got these pictures of the internet and if there's a problem, please remove them or I will remove them if there's an issue.
Price is going to be a huge difference, Odoe Pikes (the usual name of african pikes) are going for around 45$ and the cheapest tiger fish ive ever seen for sale was 70$, ive seen tigers go all the way up to 200-250$. I think that will be the easiest way to differntiate
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Really they dont look alike at all. They should be easy for you to differentiate.
The black thing is called an adipose fin. Nearly all characins (the group of fish to which these two belong) have one.
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The black thing is called an adipose fin. Nearly all characins (the group of fish to which these two belong) have one.
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I don't think a reputable shop would ever confuse the two. As long as you're ordering from a place that knows what they're doing, there's probably a 0% chance of them getting the 2 species confused.
And to echo the comments above, an odoe and ATF probably have the same chance of aggression towards tankmates. If your other fish are at least the same size or larger than either species, they are normally left alone. If you're limited on tank space, an odoe would probably be a much better choice (although they still get pretty large when full grown).
And to echo the comments above, an odoe and ATF probably have the same chance of aggression towards tankmates. If your other fish are at least the same size or larger than either species, they are normally left alone. If you're limited on tank space, an odoe would probably be a much better choice (although they still get pretty large when full grown).