Distichodus sexfasciatus Size

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I looked into these fish after seeing a couple at my lfs. Beautiful fish but everything i seemed to read always pointed to them being very temperamental, i have a peaceful set up and i didn't want to upset it so i got a flagtail instead, no regrets there. One thing i did notice though is that those beautiful colours are absent in large adults. They go a horrible grey colour, their stripes disappear and they just look very drab. Mind you the specimens i were looking at were huge, probably very old fish. Younger specimens are stunning though.
 
thebiggerthebetter thebiggerthebetter

There are smaller species around as well, some staying under 12" or so
 
I find the input from everyone above to be consistent with my small experience and helpful. They indeed can be tolerable and can be horrible to tank mates. Tank size is critical in this.

As for their max size, I believe 40" max but I guess almost no one ever grew them up to that great size of 30"-40". The biggest I had seen before I got mine 3-4 years ago were indeed around 18". My biggest now is ~20"-22". The other I got 2 years ago is ~12"-14".

Drstrangelove said:
They apparently grow quickly to around 10-12" (1 year.) Some have lived for 25 years and kept growing, so it's reasonable that many people never see it in it's full potential. As for shoaling, the general rules are 1 adult or a lot of adults. And no other fish in the tank with stripes as these get aggressive!


http://www.stamps4fish.co.uk/fishclub/FISH/DISTICHONTIDAE/Distochodus.htm

Here's more info on growth rate and age. I think a 300 gallon is a good start.

World Fish Records indicates a 39" one was caught, but unlike most of their records, that one was pretty sketchy. These are likely in some public aquariums, so they would be a good reference.
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The link leads to 404 error for me.

KAWAMIKIE said:
I picked up one two weeks ago. It's small about 3".
I hope it turns out more peaceful then the 15" Lusosso I've had in the past. The Lusosso would destroy the fins of any tank mates.
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I thank you for this info. I suspected my two lussosso have been damaging fins of their tank mates in 4500 gal but now I suspect it much more.

Drstrangelove said:
Haven't raised these but I was looking into them and I'm always hopeful to have them.


They reach 30+ inches in the wild. That's the correct size if not larger.

One of the reasons they "rarely exceed" 16" is probably the same issue as with many large fish. If someone raises it in too small a tank (e.g., a 50 or 75 or 100), it will likely be stunted or die well before it's natural lifespan due to inadequate tank size. These also appear to be shoaling fish, so I'm not sure if one only has 1 or 2 of these, how it will do, but it often doesn't work out.

If you have a lot of room for them and can fit in a shoal, feed them and have great water conditions, I think you will exceed 16" comfortably. I don't see why 25-30" isn't attainable. According to this article they get to 40".

http://www.tfhmagazine.com/details/articles/the-sixbarred-distichodus-full-article.htm
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Great article. Read it before and now read it again with pleasure. catfishacr catfishacr the article answers your questions.


12 Volt Man said:
I had one that I raised from a baby to 12" in a 90g back in the early 2000's. grew fast and was very colourful.

problem was, it became very aggressive towards my other fish (tinfoil barbs and redhooks) so had to be rehomed.

they are nasty when they get big.
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I've experienced their nastiness both when small and large but the larger their tank, the exponentially less aggressive they get, IME. Very different in 120, 240, and 4500 gal.
 
thebiggerthebetter said:
The link leads to 404 error for me.
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It just worked fine for me. I guess my assumption of what a 404 error is wrong then, because I assumed it meant the link was dead. Maybe your browser blocked it? I don't know.

Could it be you have an "l" at the end? The link should say .htm at the end and not .html. .html will yield a 404 error.

Maybe your browser auto changes it? Idk.
 
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Drstrangelove said:
It just worked fine for me. I guess my assumption of what a 404 error is wrong then, because I assumed it meant the link was dead. Maybe your browser blocked it? I don't know.

Could it be you have an "l" at the end? The link should say .htm at the end and not .html. .html will yield a 404 error.

Maybe your browser auto changes it? Idk.
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It must be my problem then. It happens once in a blue moon. Not a matter or "l":

Capture.JPG
 
We know this is viktor because there are 2 catfish related tabs open :D
 
Ok, I'll try it again. I had 2 posts with 2 different links and I was testing the first one only.

Okay, the second one is a dead link. Sorry. My assumption I had posted just once with one link proved to be erroneous.
 
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