A lot of the bigger puffers like mbu or fahaka seem to do well with little fish, depends on the individual though
Large Fish that Wont Eat Small Fish?
- Thread starter spitz006
- Start date
not always. for instance I used to keep a violet goby with a colony of endlers. Goby had an enormous mouth but wouldn't touch a baby guppy, strictly vegetarian. So there are always those weird exceptions and that's the kind of thing I'm looking for.
Many large pan shaped cichlids are predominantly vegetarian,, they are inept predators and in a large enough tank will not bother with small fish.
But.....in too small a tank, where small fish are easily cornered, and where it takes little effort to catch a bit of extra protein will not be passed up.
Both Central Americans in the genus Cincelichtys, pearsei, and bocourti are large, and mostly vegetarian as adults, and they seldom bother small species, in a large enough tank. (300 gallons or more) anything smaller, is too easy to pass up.
Another pan shaped, large cichlid from India, Etroplus suratensus is also primarily vegetarian, I was able to grow out many juvie cichlids, in their tank.
Etroplus eating dandilions
Of course the S Americans mentioned above, like Uaru, and (at least partially) severums are also in this category, if given proper tank size.
But.....in too small a tank, where small fish are easily cornered, and where it takes little effort to catch a bit of extra protein will not be passed up.
Both Central Americans in the genus Cincelichtys, pearsei, and bocourti are large, and mostly vegetarian as adults, and they seldom bother small species, in a large enough tank. (300 gallons or more) anything smaller, is too easy to pass up.
Another pan shaped, large cichlid from India, Etroplus suratensus is also primarily vegetarian, I was able to grow out many juvie cichlids, in their tank.
Etroplus eating dandilions
Of course the S Americans mentioned above, like Uaru, and (at least partially) severums are also in this category, if given proper tank size.
The size of the aquarium makes a big difference.
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In a 55 gallon my experience was that my 10" female Uaru ate a trio of 3" green swords (the female was pretty thick too) and a dozen 2" Diamond tetras. She swallowed them whole. I never saw aggression or tattered fins, just a happy Uaru saying, "thanks for all the Hygrophilla, what's next?" The fish always disappeared over night. So she lived alone.
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On the other hand, in a 75 gallon I kept a Pseudodoras niger. At 6" tall and 21"long she would not eat live food, not even earth worms. But this species gets really big. I kept her with Dwarf Pike cichlids and Hemiodus tetras. I'm confident she wouldn't have eaten small tetras, but my concern was that some small fish may have nibbled on her fins. The Pikes were pretty small themselves at 3". She was so big that her body and fins made micro-habitats in the current which the other fish swam in.
.
In a 55 gallon my experience was that my 10" female Uaru ate a trio of 3" green swords (the female was pretty thick too) and a dozen 2" Diamond tetras. She swallowed them whole. I never saw aggression or tattered fins, just a happy Uaru saying, "thanks for all the Hygrophilla, what's next?" The fish always disappeared over night. So she lived alone.
.
On the other hand, in a 75 gallon I kept a Pseudodoras niger. At 6" tall and 21"long she would not eat live food, not even earth worms. But this species gets really big. I kept her with Dwarf Pike cichlids and Hemiodus tetras. I'm confident she wouldn't have eaten small tetras, but my concern was that some small fish may have nibbled on her fins. The Pikes were pretty small themselves at 3". She was so big that her body and fins made micro-habitats in the current which the other fish swam in.
Black sharks seem to do better with smaller fish and try to murder larger fish
thats true.It is very dangerous fish when in the same tank are simillary sized fish.
I was threatened with a problem with labeo chrysophekadion. Fortunately, my big ctenopoma ate it...
I've been surprised by giraffe cats. They have a huge mouth that looks like it could swallow a golf ball no problem but they don't seem to have any interest in making even the smallest tank mate disappear.
