Future Dats Wanted, hep me!

[blurock]

So I have decided I love dats,
and I've seen people with them in with their cats, which is what im hoping for. I could go either brackish or fresh as I do have Columbia Shark Cats that are brackish, but everything else I own are fresh.
Would Dats be ok with Tiger Oscars? And what size tank would I need?
Any suggestions or tips would be a huge help. Thanks!

 

[Razman]

dats grow slowly so the oscars will eventually outgrow the dats unless they are big as it is. all dats thrive in fresh but silver dats can live in brackish if needed. any dat will be fine in a 180 gal. search for DiXon the mod he has a link to his website in his sig, thats a good place to start from when your trying to think of a dat to keep. also the oscars might hog the food.

EDIT: heres dixon: http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/member.php?u=880

and heres his website: http://www.datnioides.com/

 

[blurock]

Thanks! Ill check out the site. I just went to my lfs for fun today and theres a 2" tiger dat for $32! Are they normally this much?

 

[TCZeli]

Actually AT and NGT are both found in brackish waters in there natrual habitat. While both do very well in completely fresh, you would be able to keep either of those in a brackish setup.

The size of the tank depends on the species of Dat you are getting. A 180 would handle any dat for YEARS as they grow beyond slow once hitting the 1' mark, but indos can get up to 18" and ST's can approach the 2' mark. If that happens, your 180 is going to start looking very small, especially if your planning on keeping several dats in the tank. But again, you would be fine with a 180 for a very long time.

The price also depends on the species you are getting, and the size.

 

[blurock]

I really like NGT's but pretty much all but the silver Dats I like. I was really hoping I could find some that were less than $32 for a 2" fish.

 

[Razman]

depending on where you are that might be the best deal.

 

[josefandtin]

personally, i wouldnt recommend that mix. i have 12 oscars and 8 dats. i bought them at the same time. possibly @ 2inches or less. now the oscars have grown to 6inches and the dats? i was lucky to have one grow to 3inches. another problem with this mix is that oscars tend to dominate the food share. therefore, dats are malnourished and unstable. that's a double suckerpunch right there.

 

[xxt2goodxx]

personally, i wouldnt recommend that mix. i have 12 oscars and 8 dats. i bought them at the same time. possibly @ 2inches or less. now the oscars have grown to 6inches and the dats? i was lucky to have one grow to 3inches. another problem with this mix is that oscars tend to dominate the food share. therefore, dats are malnourished and unstable. that's a double suckerpunch right there.

i would disagree i have had my three dats with my 2 oscars one is 8 inches and the other is 13 inches and is fine and the dats range from 3-5 inches

 

[pwmin]

mine is doing fine (eating well, not getting punked) w/ 2 jags, although they are a little smaller. I wish I could find other dats that AT's