Pound for Pound toughest fish?
- Thread starter rumblesushi
- Start date
for lightweight... phago??http://www.nativefish.org/Gallery/Lepomis-gibbosus-x-Lepomis-megalotis-1.jpg
There is a picture of one.
That is a great web site BTW.
There is a picture of one.
That is a great web site BTW.
Phago
INTRODUCTION
I will be discussing only the species Phago maculatus which is known to me. The other varieties found in the subfamily are lesser known and no samples are available for me to properly discuss here.
A very nasty little predator, Phago maculatus is a fin-eater found in African Congo. There are 3 or 4 species of Phago growing to about 160 mm SL and have unique teeth that are compressed and tricuspid, very trenchant and set close together. This structure of teeth allows them to cut the fins of other, sometimes, larger fishes. Their "beak" resembles scissors which move upward when the mandible goes down.
Their body are pike-like along with their other relatives in genera Eugnathichthys, Belonophago, Icthyoborus, and Phago.
Another peculiarity of Phago is the scales, which are rugose, with a median spine forming a sort of longitudinal crest, giving somewhat the aspect of the osseous plates of a seahorse.
The species have a fusiform body shape, their fins are barred as in most other genera, and their elongate body is usually spotted.
A 10 gallon aquarium should be sufficient for this little monster. They will kill (or at least fin-nip to death) any fish placed into the aquarium with them. They kill largely for sport.
Found in West Africa in the Niger River this fish is best kept alone as a single species. The temperature requirements are 72° F to 82°F. They are not sexually dimorphic. They require live food or they will not survive in the home aquarium. They quickly starve to death if not kept well-fed.
Not a suitable fish for the beginner.
REFERENCES
Magallanes, Frank, OPEFE Research Files; 1982-2000 Not for Public Review.
Géry, Jacques, 1977 Characoids of the World, TFH Publications Inc. Neptune City, NJ.
Axelrod, H.R. and Schultz, L. P. 1990 Handbook of Tropical Aquarium Fishes, TFH Publications Inc. Neptune City, NJ.
because they aren't that aggressive. Not that they're docile, but people have kept them with tankmates without much if any trouble. They're much more likely to kill one another than anything else. There's alot of other cichlids out there with at least as much aggression as emperors, and I'd definitely bet on a big dovii over a big emperor.sandtiger said:
