Fahaka tankmate

[Kolossus]

haha.. I'd love being one of those "fast" fish with lots of hiding places.. uhm.. what a f'n life.. always on the run or in hiding.. can't really see the point of that.. hahaha..

...only that some of them swim fast and like hiding spots regardless of if there is a scary predator in their midst or not...

My fahaka likes some fish, and don't like others. For some odd reason, he tolerates two reg plecos (large and small), a pair of small veiled angels and a pair of gymnogeos "El Negros." He also tolerated a shoal of payara (recently sold). But did not tolerate a school of red hook sliver dollars. Its kinda weird what they'll deal with and what they won't. Its just luck of the draw IMO.

 

[1badspilo]

My little guy assassinated one bowfin the first night in the tank and took the tail off the other. I had a bunch of crayfish in the tank as dithers but it did not work. They are garbage disposals always trying to eat. I do not see any good tankmates.

 

[Pufferpunk]

There are about 1% of the Fahakas that do allow tank mates. Even though, everyone needs their own territory & the tank has to be large enough. I happen to have a 12" fahaka that was moved to a 55g (at 5") with 2 with plecos & a soft-shell turtle. Within 2 days, the whole back rim of the turtle's shell was scalloped, so he got his own tank.

He now lives in a 125g with:
12" Goldspot pleco
6" sailfin pleco
10" Yellow-finned chalcius
2 7" Clown loaches
9" Lancer catfish
5" Rainbow shark (eaten after 5 years)
6" Redtail shark (eaten after 5 years)
5" Bosmani rainbow (eaten after 3 years)
7" Frontosa
8" & 9" Elephant noses (20 years old)
12” Black Ghost Knife

Occasionally there is a fin nipped but all in all, he's a wimp & the Goldspot & Frontosa are always kicking him out of his cave. I tried countless small. fast-moving fish like neons & tiger barbs. Neans lasted less than a week. Tiger barbs got larger than any T-barb I've ever seen & then got picked off one by one. After living with all these guys for years, my stepdaughter needed somewhere for her large parrot cichlid, since she was moving. I watch them for about an hour, went out that evening & within the 5 hours I was gone, it was dead--tail & eyes missing. Moral of this story: You can never really trust a fahaka!