# Predatory Fish



## Weapon-X (Apr 7, 2003)

anyone collect any kinds of predatory fish? could you post pics of your tanks and fish? so far i just have 2 big oscars around 9-10" and some african cichlids, what i want to get is some dwarf snakeheads, or maybe an african tigerfish or wolfish(theres a lot to choosefrom,lol) anyone know of a place that sells em? ok folks lets see your fish!--Jeff


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## The_Phantom (Apr 7, 2003)

I got Bettas. I dont know if they are the kind you are thinking of, but I know they are carnivores.

This is Quartz;


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## Jobe (Apr 7, 2003)

I like snakeheads. Ressilient little buggers.

I lost mine for 2 days and found it under my bed like a dried up stick. Chucked it in water, and like magic, it was back to normal within the hour...

I now have a giant snakehead which i cought a few years back. It is more or less our groups mascot. Violent too.

Im posting from work now, lemme go see if i have any pics of my aquarium in my home system when i get back

-e-


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## Chris (Apr 7, 2003)

I keep a Red Belly Pirahana... I will try and remember to post a pic tonight


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## Weapon-X (Apr 7, 2003)

*cool*

can't wait, cool betta SS is that an albino? anyne ever check out these predatory fish boards kinda cool, lots of info on pirahnas and others www.predatoryfish.net  , yeah jobe i love snakeheads i want some dwarf ones like C. gauchua, i also want a wolf fish i thnk lelle had posted some pics of his wolfish before?


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## Jobe (Apr 7, 2003)

Snakeheads are commonplace here. Just thought id share my connection with this great fishes...since i have the time and i still got nother half-hour till this graveyard shift ends....

The Giant Snakehead (Channa Marulius) was recently recognized officially by the IGFA(international game fishing asst.) as one of the best freshwater game fishes in Malaysia. I will vauch for that ...

Channa Striatus, or the common snakehead, is believed to have medicinal purposes, and we always catch them in the paddy plantations...they also provide a good fight  and also make for some good eating 

Channa Gachua, this particular bugger for some reason a respectable local fishing magazine claims it was recently discovered in Malaysia, although i have seen references online that place its locality here, and i have caught these before in the hills near my home...

But it is true, the Dwarf Snakehead is extremely rare now...

oh dang, ive lost myself typing again...:? ...this is what happenes whe u have too much free time at work...

jeff, hope u dont mind me cluttering up this thread a bit....

peace

-e-


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## Bob the thief (Apr 7, 2003)

Hey a dwarf predatory fish? , hey thats kinda like a cool pet for me


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## Weapon-X (Apr 7, 2003)

*re*



> _Originally posted by Jobe _
> *Snakeheads are commonplace here. Just thought id share my connection with this great fishes...since i have the time and i still got nother half-hour till this graveyard shift ends....
> 
> The Giant Snakehead (Channa Marulius) was recently recognized officially by the IGFA(international game fishing asst.) as one of the best freshwater game fishes in Malaysia. I will vauch for that ...
> ...


    no prob jobe, i love snakeheads! you caught c. gauchua before man i wish i could do that, snakeheads i hear are illegal in some states now which i think is ridiculous, anyhow i found someone who has c. gauchua frys right for 6.00 each or 10 for 50.00 + shipping (which is like 35 i think?) they are 1.5"-2", i am thinking of getting like 4-5 and hoping for  a male and female!


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## The_Phantom (Apr 8, 2003)

*Re: cool*



> _Originally posted by Weapon-X _
> * cool betta SS is that an albino? *


You know, I dont know if he is. He does have a few flecks of black, and blue eyes, so I guess not. But he is  a real cutie. Heres another. I'll post more when I feel more I live. I have three bettas and my mom has one.

This is Ziggy.


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## conipto (Apr 8, 2003)

S_S - how do you keep your cat from wanting to eat your fish  ???

Bill


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## pategirl (Apr 8, 2003)

Spider Saviors first betta pic is an opaque white with a slight greenish wash....I love bettas. I wish my new male would produce some offspring. I can't find a female he likes.


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## The_Phantom (Apr 8, 2003)

> _Originally posted by conipto _
> *S_S - how do you keep your cat from wanting to eat your fish  ???
> 
> Bill *


Hahahah! My old cat, Comet, is WAY too fat to climb up the stairs to get to them. The young cat, Lacey, the cancer cat, , she is only interested in the fish bowls for one thing; WATER! It drives me nuts, so I have to take extra precations to make sure she doesnt drink the water. She has NEVER been interested in the fish to watch or eat them! Wierd ? Shes more of a bird killer and eater.


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## The_Phantom (Apr 8, 2003)

This is my moms fish, Phil.A.O'Fish. SHe stole the name from me. My first betta was named Phil.A.O.Fish. ^.^


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## The_Phantom (Apr 8, 2003)

Heres the last one. His name is Hinote Sakana, which means fire fish in Japanese. I hope ! I just took this pic, since I didnt have one of him. Hes so pretty. ^,^


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## Deathreaver (Apr 8, 2003)

A fish you might me interested in is a African Butterfly fish (Pantodon buchholzi) it eats insect and small fish.  As of right now I have 1 flame gourami, 1 colbalt gourami, 1 normal gourami, 2 goilden, 1 African butterfly, 1 common plec, 2 ramhorn snails and 3 bettas (1 male 2 female).  I would send pics, but i don't have a digital Camera.  The P. bucholzi will get about 6 - 8 inches long, but he does stay at the top of the tank.


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## Deathreaver (Apr 9, 2003)

found a pic of the African butterfly off the net.... here it is


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## genious_gr (Apr 9, 2003)

Eh, do you feed your betas crickets or mealworms???


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## Mister Internet (Apr 9, 2003)

*Re: re*



> _Originally posted by Weapon-X _
> *no prob jobe, i love snakeheads! you caught c. gauchua before man i wish i could do that, snakeheads i hear are illegal in some states now which i think is ridiculous*


*

The only reason you think it's ridiculous is because you want one and you can't see past that... there are VERY good reasons for them to be illegal.  They would be, effectively, a superpredator if ever naturalized into American rivers.  They are a vicious predator that is NOT NATIVE, and they have no business being introduced into American waters!  If they were ever introduced into the North American waterway system, they would pretty much decimate game fishing as we know it.  Of course, some idiot would release them into the wild eventually (hear about the pond in NC they poisoned when snakeheads were discovered there?).  

Now, I'm not a fan of legislating intelligence... I don't think Tarantulas should be illegal just on the chance that someone could release them and poof, we have an established pokie population in Arizona.  However, if a certain SPECIES of Tarantula was: impervious to environment, incredibly adaptable, a voracious and indiscriminate predator, and very reproductively inclined, then yes, I would say that I DON'T WANT that spider coming into the states, just based on potential damage to our environment.  Mind you, I wouldn't be for banning ALL T's... just one species... and that is what we're talking about here... ONE SPECIES.  Of course, as soon as you tell someone they can't have something, it automatically becomes the COOLEST THING EVER.*


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## Bob the thief (Apr 9, 2003)

*Re: Re: re*



> _Originally posted by Mister Internet _
> *
> However, if a certain SPECIES of Tarantula was: impervious to environment, incredibly adaptable, a voracious and indiscriminate predator, and very reproductively inclined, then yes, I would say that I DON'T WANT that spider coming into the states, just based on potential damage to our environment. *


You just gave a discription of a usambara.


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## sunnymarcie (Apr 9, 2003)

No more fish tanks here
I had to get rid of them because we needed the space.
I use to keep Africans and Oscars  
I'll have to look around and see if I can find a picture
of my tank, I know I have a few. Just need to rummage 
through some old books and scan them into my system.
That's if I can find the books!


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## Mister Internet (Apr 9, 2003)

*Re: Re: Re: re*



> _Originally posted by Bob the thief _
> *You just gave a discription of a usambara. *


 well it's a good thing someone isn't trying to make me look silly...

Ok, let me clarify... when I said voracious predator, I wasn't talking about something being a scourge to the local cricket, roach, lizard, and mouse populations... I'm talking about endangering things at or above said organism's slot in the food chain. These snakeheads can handily kill fish three or four times bigger than they are... and they can be 3 feet long full grown!  Does that leave ANY freshwater fish out of danger?? No, not really... not in this continent (the exceptions being White Sturgeon in Canada, and Blue Catfish that are older than God).


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## Chris (Apr 9, 2003)

Actually folks... too late!

The snakehead is infested all over the northern states and even here in Canada.  They are really destructive to the ecosystem in that they clean out a lake then walk over to the next one.

They are catching them in droves at the dam near here.


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## The_Phantom (Apr 9, 2003)

> _Originally posted by genious_gr _
> *Eh, do you feed your betas crickets or mealworms??? *


Niether. I give them Betta pellets, and ocassionally I give them freeze dried blood worms. Not too much or it makes them constipated. Heres an interesting tidbit; if you see a string of poop hanging from your betta, it means its constipated. So boil up a frozen pea, and peel the skin, feed the betta a tiny piece of the inside. It will clean em out. Believe me it works.


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## Deathreaver (Apr 9, 2003)

Though betta will eat smaller fish, their man food (in captivity) is betta pellets and vegie flakes.  They are not a sleek predatory fish, more like a see food eat food type thing.


Peace,
DPS


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## Deathreaver (Apr 9, 2003)

sorry for the mistakes.  Though bettas....main food....are betta pellets and veggie flakes..........thing.


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## The_Phantom (Apr 9, 2003)

Uh, they as far as I know should only be fed pellets, because they are meat-a-tarians...carnivores. They should never be fed a plant only diet. Certainly never human food. Peas are just for constipation.


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## Deathreaver (Apr 9, 2003)

True, but betta will eat live plants and "tropical fish flakes" or veggie flakes as I call them.. I my males has manage to eat all the roots of a plant i put in his tank.


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## Deathreaver (Apr 9, 2003)

Pellet food are by far the best for betta, that is normally all I use, with the exception of my male that like his lil Chew toy. =D


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## Jobe (Apr 10, 2003)

*Re: Re: re*



> _Originally posted by Mister Internet _
> *The only reason you think it's ridiculous is because you want one and you can't see past that... there are VERY good reasons for them to be illegal.  They would be, effectively, a superpredator if ever naturalized into American rivers.*


hey yeah tom! i remember reading about a snakehead infestation in some of the ponds in the US(or was it one pond, i cant remember)...something about someone releasing a few and they bred incontrollably...

We have a common introduced Cichlid here with that same problem, although it doesnt kill of all other fish by hunting them, but rather it kills off everything else by depleting the pond of all small life, which in turn knocks out all other fish over time. It has been seen in almost all the smaller ponds on my island...

Believe it or not, the only way me and a few friends of mine cleared a pond near my house of this menace was to introduce giant snakeheads 
Worked like a charm, since most native species here have survived with the snakehead, the pond was almost 100% cichlid free in a year, and the snakeheads were big, fat and strong for the fight 

-e-


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