Fahaka in a community tank

  • We are currently upgrading MFK. thanks! -neo
Yeah the tiger barbs started to go missing once the fahaka got to around 8 inches.. anything to small will just be a meal. The tank mates need to either be too big to be considered food or aggressive enough to defend themselves (I have recently added a small salvini who is doing well in my fahaka comm tank). Small schooling fish (anything below 6-8 inches) I wouldn't try or expect to survive long term. Smaller sedintary fish I would also stear clear of... a fahaka will test bite anything that does swim away. My catfish I got at 8 and 12 inches each so we're never small. Larger mobile fish are ideal.
 
I guessing fahaka aggression mostly comes down to the individual personality, and how well it's fed. I think that attacking larger fish or catching smaller might be more effort than waiting for the human to put in some crayfish. I just some thoughts from a conversation with my lfs owner. Also, how do you add other fish to the tank? I've heard horror stories of fahakas ok with current tank mates but the second a new one is added... bam! I added the tinfoils a couple of days ahead of the fahaka, and was under the impression it isn't wise to introduce fish into a fahaka's tank.
 
Okay after about a month I am happy to report everyone is doing well and growing. Brando(the puffer) is a little over three inches and the tinfoils range from about 2.5 to 3.5(one is bigger than the Fahaka!). The Fahaka is getting used to the barbs and it seems they're are making him a more open puffer, though he still hasn't completely settled in. I did add in around 20 guppies the other day and now I only see three, so I don't think small fish will work out. Anyway, decided to change my plans and go with one giant fish tank for the Fahaka instead of two monster tanks. It would be a little over 360 gallons measuring 5ftlong, 3.5ft wide, and 2.5ft tall. I figure a bigger tank would just be better and would probably be able to fit a lot more tankmates. For possible future tankmates I'm thinking along the same lines as the tinfoil barbs, large fast schooling fish. So far I've been thinking clown loaches, silver dollar, Frontosa, and tamer Haplochromis species(Buccochromis, Compressiceps, etc). I know the Frontosa aren't as active as the others but I know you have one with your puffer, so it may be worth a shot. What are your thoughts?
 
Sounds fantastic! A school of frontosa would look amazing and because of size and demeanour work very well I found. If you want to keep it an African affair then cool but with a tank that size I would consider 3 oscars and even 3 smaller peacock bass (Orinoco or kelberi) as again similar size and semi aggressive demeanour as the frontosa. That's probably what I would go for as they are more able to survive test nips from a fahaka than SD's or clown loaches.
Guppies were always going to die... small fish never work I found.
 
Adding fish is always hit or miss... generally try and put them all in at the same time, but that's not always possible. Otherwise it's just as case of making sure the fahaka is well fed and leave the lights off... and hope the new fish work out to stay away from the fahaka quickly.
 
Yeah, a couple Oscars might be cool, but might look odd next to around twenty Africans. I wouldn't be getting any wild caught Africans so water parameters wouldn't matter. I might add one. I'm not really sold on SD, already having large schooling silver fish with the barbs, unless I could find some black bar or wild caught red hooks at a reasonable price. With how large the tank will be, I could probably go with a smaller Gar(spotted, Florida, tropical). Not really a fan of peacock bass, remind me too much of a fish I could catch at a creek or pond. I was thinking about a Redtailed Giant Gourami, but the tank probably wouldn't be tall enough. With the sump, the entire system would hold well over 400 gallons. With how big the system would be and having pretty much-unlimited water changes(drip system) I could probably put around 30-40 other fish than I already have(Africans in the 8-13inch range). I would expect the clown loaches to survive a test bite, but they grow slow! Same with Fontosa, so I was planning to raise those guys for about a year in the sump.
 
This is a high anticipation thread. Will they make it will they not. Surprising low casualties for a fahaka tank. The little puffers are freaking vicious I couldn't imagine one 3x the size.
 
I hope you keep us updated! It sounds awesome but I suspect once the little guy gets to 12" or so the 1st year the plans might have to change. Mine was ok when little with fish, but once they get the taste there is no going back.

Not saying it won't work, cautious optimism, but I wouldn't have thought at 3-4" the fahaka would be a murder machine yet.
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: Def Leppard Hysteria and Fat Homer
George.. yep I keep forgetting that in the states peacock bass aren't much of a big deal! Over here they really the holy grail of big fish keepers and large specimens are very expensive. Yeah a gar would be cool but at 5ft long would that be enough? Don't get too hung up on size of the fish before it goes in the tank... it's more about getting the fahaka stable and comfortable with the other tank mate... if the fahaka takes acception to its presence the size matters little. But large robust fish that can recover from a nip work well... my 2 stewartii snakeheads get a few nips but they regrow rapidly.
 
The little puffers are total savages! I have kept hairy puffers before any they make my fahaka look like a puppy! But I have had my fahaka in the 7ft comm tank now for a full year (she is about 2.5 years old) and is about 15-16 inches. K will post some update pictures shortly.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
MonsterFishKeepers.com
Top Bottom