Anybody own/owned a redtail barracuda aka amazon cuda aka acestrorhynchus?

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M

messiner

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Oct 1, 2005
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americas wang
They are also called spotted cachorros from the spot behind the gills and the one on the tail, I love cachorros, Price seems high but it has been a while since I bought one. They are often sold at 3-4" long and a bit cheaper. Falcatus are the smaller of the three cachorros you can find and the most common. they get around 12" max though I have never had one more than 10". They are stalk and pounce predators like northern pike and like stands of plants to lurk in but leave open areas for swmming.
They seem to like groups of three or more. the temp. should be in low 80s and ph should be neutral. The seem to do best with a little marine salt, about 1/2-1 teaspoon per gallon.
I have gotten them to eat floating pellets but they didn't do real well on them, they love live foods like guppies, mollies, gut loaded crickets, and live small earthworms dropped onto the weeds, they also will munch any live shrimp you drop in.
 
ive been thinkin about getting a few of these freshwater barracudas which are the meanest?;) which ones look the nicest;)
 
They are all about the same as far as behavior and will eat anything up to about 1/2 their size, They are not bad with fish their own size. I have only seen 3 kinds, out of 15, for sale in the US, They are the falcatus, 10-12" max. (Sharkaquarium has them @ 5" for $25.), the Isalinae, my favorite because of the longitudinal stripes, 12-15" max, and the grandoculis slender or big eyed) 16" max. the big eyed and the Isaline's are a bit more expensive and harder to find, here are some pics taken by Tom Lorenz

falcatus_lorenz.jpg

isalinae_lorenz.jpg

falcirostris_lorenz.jpg
 
They all look beautiful and mean, but I wouldn't recommend keeping them with other aggressive fish. Their scales are easily damaged, and they themselves aren't aggressive except toward fish small enough to eat. IMO, you should keep one by itself, or with peaceful bottom dwellers and laid back open water fish like chalceus, in a 35g or 55g with a wall of artificial plants running the entire length of the tank - in the center of the tank. Some plants arranged against the sides of the tank are excellent as well. The completed plant arrangement will look something like this when seen from above: l------l. When I finally set the tank up like that for my cachorro, he became a completely different fish and never got spooked. Make sure you feed them single live fish (about 1/4th to 1/3rd the size of the cachorro) once the last one has been completely digested (you can actually see the fish being digested in the cachorro's gut), and eventually they'll accept frozen smelt and shrimp once they realize that you=food. Good luck.
 
Thanks guys for the great info on these fish. mine is very placid and none of my fish are agressive toward him. My tank has plenty of plants for him to hide in. He has a small sore on his nose from rubbing against the tank in the store. He has shown no signs of stress since i got him.
 
:feedback:
 
As long as it is eating it should be fine, watch the sore for fungus but it should heal, the plants help keep it from getting spooky. They are nice, non aggressive predators.
 
He is really active he is really allert and will look at even the slightest movement. he is the single fastest fish i have seen to catch feeders. He shoots across the tank and inhales the fish. If you blink you will miss this. Close seconds as far as speed goes would be pickrel or a hejeta gar :headbang2 :naughty: great fish!
 
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