What predatory fish in a small tank?

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As a (former) owner of a spotted pim cat (pimelodus pictus)...please don't keep one in a 30 gallon. Once they hit the 4 inch mark, the tank just seems too small for even one. When it's cruising or resting, the pim cat really is okay for a 30 gallon tank. When it wants to expend its energy though...I wouldn't put it in anything less than a 55. I also found that after I moved my pim cat from a 55 gallon to a 30 gallon, it formed what looked like sores on its mouth, from what I can only assume to be from impact with the glass.

African butterflyfish+Ctenopama acutirostre+Erythrinus or small Synodontis species=african predator tank. Add Bolbitis fern and Anubias on mopani wood, and you're good to go.

Depending on your location, you might be able to get a small Channa snakehead species.
 
How about exodons? They'd be fine in a 30g and a small school of these guys look awesome taking down food.
 
Monocirrhus polyacanthus (amazon leaf fish) would be a nice choice.
Also agree with ctenopoma and nandus nandus being a good choice.
 
Patryk Borkowski said:
Hi guys, new to MFK here. I'll be honest, I've had a 30 gallon 'community' tank for a few years now that hasn't been properly cared for (the fish still survived, it wasn't terrible)- but I've found it's due to the fact I'm not exactly 'interested' in my tank setup. I was thinking of giving the fish away to my local fish store, and completely recreating the tank. I'm open to any ideas of fish (predatory fish interest me the most) that would be compatible in a 30 gallon tank. I've thought about tiger oscars, yet I'm almost certain the tank would be too small for even one. Exodon tetras have interesting behaviors, yet they don't look too visually pleasing.

TLDR: 30 Gallon tank, what predatory fish would be compatible? (open to ideas)
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I believe that you can keep a purple spotted gugeon in your tank for most of its life, they only get about 6.5 inches from what I've read, they do adapt to the size of a tank also. I believe if it does reach that length you might want to consider at least a 40... they love live foods and flake, they are ambush predators and sit and wait for their prey in shaded or covered areas and pounce. They also are a very beautiful fish and it is very appealing to the eye, even if you neglect the tank but still feed it regularly it should still thrive, because they are very adaptable and do not need too much oxygen and the ph doesn't effect them as much as other predators, I found that this and a puffer (obviously would have to find one to fit your tank) it a very good combination.
 
duanes said:
By predator, do you really mean piscivore (fish eater) or general predator (insects, larvae, etc)
I find killifish to be interesting and colorful small predators, the gularis I have now max out at about 4", which is about as large a fish as I would do in a 30gal.
I have a bog pond in the front yard that tends to invite mosquitoes, so every day I net out a bunch of mosquito larvae and feed to the killis. Its very amusing predatory action, and saving myself a little evening irritation.

By the way you are correct, a 30 gal is not suitable for an Oscar.
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Patryk Borkowski said:
Killifish do look nice, although i did mean Piscivore. I wasn't sure on what the term was called. Killifish do look nice, however. Also, isn't a planted tank the user mentioned above you extremely high maintenance?
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the bigger killifish are piscavores. I had to give up my golden panchax because they were eating my rainbows and guppies. Favorite fish I've had in a long time. My tank is no fun without them :(
 
Patryk Borkowski said:
Hi guys, new to MFK here. I'll be honest, I've had a 30 gallon 'community' tank for a few years now that hasn't been properly cared for (the fish still survived, it wasn't terrible)- but I've found it's due to the fact I'm not exactly 'interested' in my tank setup. I was thinking of giving the fish away to my local fish store, and completely recreating the tank. I'm open to any ideas of fish (predatory fish interest me the most) that would be compatible in a 30 gallon tank. I've thought about tiger oscars, yet I'm almost certain the tank would be too small for even one. Exodon tetras have interesting behaviors, yet they don't look too visually pleasing.

TLDR: 30 Gallon tank, what predatory fish would be compatible? (open to ideas)
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African butterfly fish
Blockhead cichlids
African glass catfish
Rainbow snakehead
Peacock eel
Dragon pufferfish
Plenty 2 choose from
 
A planted tank with a huge school of small tetras would be cool! You would just have to pick out which ones you like the best. Most predatory fish are going to get way to big for a 30 gallon tank. "Predatory" is a real broad topic. You need to narrow it down a bit more.
 
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