Update on Indo

[robroy]

He’s my biggest Indo tiger-I bought 2 at under an inch in July last year. This is the bigger one and he is the Alpha tiger in my tank of three.
He’s slowly starting to colour up – they’re all usually black but he has a long way to go before I’m happy with his stability. Of course the bigger question is whether he will never be stable.
I If had to guess I would say he’s over 7 inches now and enjoys his pellets.

 

[Katie_Ca]

I have 5 dats, 3 NTT and 2 Indos. All are unstable...I have had them from between 4-10 months. These days, it seems that the bars show on the one that gets bullied, and only when it's being bullied. Few mins after that, the bars are gone again. Seems like the stable/unstable is reversed to me. Stable ones lose the bars and unstable ones show the bar...but it's a mystery in the hobby.

 

[The Morning]

Forgive my ignorance but what does stable mean? I assume that it has to do with their coloring and black bars but what causes that? And does it get better with age?

 

[Katie_Ca]

Forgive my ignorance but what does stable mean? I assume that it has to do with their coloring and black bars but what causes that? And does it get better with age?

Stable should mean that the fish has settled into the tank and it's environment, eating well and is not stressed. It has also been used loosely to associate with distinct bars on dats. The consensus is that if the fish is stable, the bars show up. In my tank's case (and robroy's and some dat keepers), it seems like it's the exact opposite...a stressed fish shows the bars. It's still a mystery to some of us.

 

[robroy]

Forgive my ignorance but what does stable mean? I assume that it has to do with their coloring and black bars but what causes that? And does it get better with age?

Like Katie said I was referring to the colour in the showing of the bars. I’ve kept tiger fish for 15 years now and I’m now of the opinion that they are actually at their most colourful when they are most stressed. Catch one in a net and it will show beautiful stripes as is the case when I first put them in the tank.
Having said that one of my all-time favourite fish was a new guinea tiger fish I kept a few years back – always colourful and active and happy. I do find the Indonesian Tigerfish however tend to be the most unstable as it were-I have to say that’s the ones I currently have got bigger they are starting to show a bit more patterning and coloring. It’s been the first time I’ve ever kept tiger fish under an inch in length so it’s been a new experience for me so to speak