Mad Max the GATF and Chicxulub's other ATF

Sm0ke

Feeder Fish
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May 3, 2011
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Coming along nicely, thanks for sharing. I keep mine in a decently planted tank, with driftwood, as well as moss. There's a section with strong current, so he can enjoy a nice swim, but whenever he feels a bit insecure, he has his "territory spot" behind the driftwood where he will chill until he thinks it's safe. So far, he's had no issues with face bashing etc. (knock on wood). I really like how yours is growing out, and looking forward to more updates. He's definitely put on some meat since last time.
 

Chicxulub

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Aug 29, 2009
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yeah, i hate when the poor guys bang up their face, in my experience though, ATF's are like tanks and are very resiliant ... i think they must smash into stuff in the wild too, cause they recover way too well for them not to have thousands of years of practice at it

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You're probably right about that. My gatf occasionally spazzes still and he's normally good to go in a week or so. These are some surprisingly hardy fish!

How big do they grow?


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In the wild they get about three feet, with two feet and 20 pounds being more common. Wes reports one being kept in captivity that's about 30 inches.



Thanks for the kinds words everyone. I'll keep the updates coming! :)
 

Chicxulub

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Ok guys, instead of doing a buttload of new threads every couple of days for pics of my growouts, I've decided that I'm gonna just put all my pics in one place so everyone can watch them grow.

As of 1 January, I have two babies that I'm growing out-

First is a Hydrocynus tanzaniae from fugupuff. At the time of this post, he's five and a half inches long.

Second is a Hydrocynus vittatus from OSA. At the time of this post, he's four and three quarters inches long.

Some of you have been following my pics and know that I've been having a nightmare of a time getting pics of these little torpedoes with my cell phone since my wife is out of town with the Nikon. Well, tonight the planets aligned or something because both fish decided to be nice and calm and right next to each other which resulted in some wonderful comparison pictures of these two extremely closely related fish. I also finally took the tinfoil barbs out and moved them over to the big tank where they will have to fend for themselves. I moved them because they were starting to outcompete the tigers. The tigers don't need them as teachers anymore anyway, they both feed well off of the surface. The teaching method worked flawlessly, however. I'm happy with the results.

Enjoy!












I love this picture of the vittatus. Easily the best one so far! :D





 

sashimimaster

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Mar 7, 2010
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Be careful about not having dithers. I still 3 albino Tin Foils and just came home to a 3" slash down the side of one of my VATF. It literally looks like somebody took a knife and slashed him down the side. The TFBs do fight for the food but they're also pretty good at picking up all the little pieces of food floating around and clean it up.
 

Slippery K

Piranha
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Dec 5, 2011
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Nice update thread Chicx. Keep it going even if you decide to sell some of your stock. We need your tigerfish knowlege!
 

johnnytaboo

Fire Eel
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May 4, 2005
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Nice! You better believe I'll be following this thread after my most recent acquisition.

What's you tank set-up for these guy right now? I'm curious about the size/filtration you're comfortable with for these guys at this size.
 
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