Dorado. aka river tiger.

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Vincentii

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Oct 31, 2009
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London, U.K
im going on this fish mission this week to buy Dorado's. anyone keep them or had experiences with them?

any information on this species would be appreciated.

my intentions are to buy a group of juvenile in a spare 6x2x2 and in the future,when they grow larger will keep them with stingrays.

thanks in advance.

Vince.
 
A group sounds good,I dont see any problems with them living with the rays as long as they are to big to be eaten.The dorados will grow faster on live and meaty foods but I feed mine floating pellets.
 
My 13"er is on a diet of sinking pellet and shrimp. He's not aggressive like most dorado are yet. I have hope he'll stay calm but you never know with these fish.

Keeping a group you'll be fine. as long as they are feed well.
 
so a group will be safe with rays? i intend to grow mine and introduce them with the rays when they reach 5-6''.
i very doubt rays can go after them due to their speed. ive always wanted these fish. and my importer said they have some wild juveniles available in a few weeks. trouble is they said they will sell for around the £75-95 mark.
how much did you guys pay for your river monsters?
 
The smaller they are the better the price.I got mine from a vendor who brought in three inchers for thirty dollars each.The rays,are they nocturnal?If so they may try to eat the dorado while they are resting.
 
krichardson;3762700; said:
The smaller they are the better the price.I got mine from a vendor who brought in three inchers for thirty dollars each.The rays,are they nocturnal?If so they may try to eat the dorado while they are resting.



i would like to get them small and grow them upknowing it was me who made it how it is. thats the joys of fishkeeping in my opinion. but, my importer said its going to be quite big. so have to go with whats available.

and no. my rays arent nocturnal. i raised them up in bare bottom tanks and got them tame. but, like you say 'they may try to eat the dorado while there resting' hmmm. when they get large enough to move into the main tank, i will add a piece of bogwood as refuge.

how fast did yours grow in 6months @ 3''?
 
Vincentii;3762759; said:
i would like to get them small and grow them upknowing it was me who made it how it is. thats the joys of fishkeeping in my opinion. but, my importer said its going to be quite big. so have to go with whats available.

and no. my rays arent nocturnal. i raised them up in bare bottom tanks and got them tame. but, like you say 'they may try to eat the dorado while there resting' hmmm. when they get large enough to move into the main tank, i will add a piece of bogwood as refuge.

how fast did yours grow in 6months @ 3''?


dorado don't rest very often even at night. Mine is in with a ray and has been since he was 6-7" and the ray is 10" and never had a problem. but that all has to do with the temperment of both fish you may have a nasty ray or nasty dorado and it would most likely be the dorardo that gets the worst end if he gets stung.

they will grow pretty fast if feed well enough. I've had mine less then a year and I got him when he was around 4-5" and now he's 13"
 
Thats good growth Koop,almost scary.I think I got mine in July and it is just about seven or eight inches.
 
krichardson;3762831; said:
Thats good growth Koop,almost scary.I think I got mine in July and it is just about seven or eight inches.

from people that I've talked to who have grown these guys out to over 20" say that after 15" they slow down big time. One guy told me for his to get from 15" to 22" took almost 5 years!!! but IDK what his were eating.
 
thats good growth rate. must of fed it a good diet.
and i had a gut feeling that dorados would be quite safe with rays. dorados are all-out predators and eat what they know that will only fit into their mouths. unlike cichlids, that tend to bully a fish to death over terrotory if its not to their liking.
i think they are just an amazing species. got obsessed with them after watching a David Attonborough documentary about the infamous 'river tiger'.
saw one eat a fish 3/4 its own size . . . and was a fan every since.
 
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