Hydrocynus vittatus

RTG_Gerry

Super Moderator
I tried with my RTG when he was about 18". The RTG destroyed the vittatus within 48 hours. The vittatus was about 9".
 

RTG_Gerry

Super Moderator
When he was that size, he was totally fine except he also shredded an odoe pike. Now, 2 years later, he does get aggro with certain species. He won't accept odoe pikes and tends to not like pike cichlids either. But he will leave 3" datnoides alone.
 

skynoch

Moderator
Thanks for the info. I might give it a try as my aro has never touched anything in my tank. Now to find one.
 

Gibbus

New Member
The vittatus acts differently then the goliath. Goliath is a massive fish that is an amazing animal to see.
 

JMorash

Moderator
I have kept 2 vittatus and 2 goliath with very little success.

They are only really aggressive towards other torpedo shaped fish, I often find they are the ones to get beaten up or killed. They spook easy and often die from either knocking themselves about too much or from jumping out. They are also very sensitive to water conditions, you have to keep it super clean and no drastic changes in quality. I switched out the filter on my tank with my most recent GATF and he died over night.

They wont bother your rays, but if you want to keep them with gars, arowana or other similar fish assume that the hydrocynus will kill the other fish or stress out because of the presence of the other fish.

I truly don't think they are great aquarium fish, they should really be kept in schools if they are kept, they seem much more relaxed in a school. When not in a school it seems like overtime you turn the lights on they smash around the tank aimlessly hitting everything in their path. Furthermore they should be kept in massive tanks from the get go. I'm going to try one more time with H. Forskahlii, which will probably come in between 4"-6" like most hydrocynus and I will start it off in a 6 foot 130 gallon by it's self and move it into something much larger once it hit 10".

Most of them start off feeding on live food and usually will switch to pellets or frozen food in time. However it's important not to starve them especially at a young age. They die from starvation very quick. I find the youngsters are messy eaters too which makes it hard to keep the tank clean. They go around biting things in half and leaving the rest behind. So it's important to have good filtration and I found using a whole bunch of tiny fish, like small tetras are a good a way to avoid this issue. That way they swallow them whole instead of taking bite sized chunks and leaving the rest.

They come from fast flowing waters that are high in oxygen so provide lots of flow and good water agitation.

On that note some people do keep them very successfully, I think the trick is getting them through the baby stages. They settle down once they are a bit bigger. Vittatus are easily the better choice. I always had much more success with them then goliath.

Good Luck,
JMorash
 

skynoch

Moderator
Great info. I'm kinda leaning towards the fact they won't work in my tanks now unless I re-arrange things.
 

skynoch

Moderator
No sorry I haven't been able to get any time to clean the water and tank good enough to get any new shots. It's around 20" probably now and isn't skittish at all schooling with the barbs and clown loaches at times. Very mild mannered never nipping at anything as I feed shrimp once a day and it seems content with just eating shrimp. I think it must help having it in such a big tank. My big goal now is to try and get my golden dorados to settle down but I don't think that will happen until there growth slows down.
 

slednex11

New Member
ya thats great scott, thats huge! mines not skittish at all anymore and is constantly schooling with the large loaches he is also eating massivore and jumbo carivore pellets. I agree with mike we now definetly need a video, we will wait...somewhat patiently haha
 

exoticaquaria

Active Member
ya thats great scott, thats huge! mines not skittish at all anymore and is constantly schooling with the large loaches he is also eating massivore and jumbo carivore pellets. I agree with mike we now definetly need a video, we will wait...somewhat patiently haha

eating massivore wow thats awesome! well done!
 

JMorash

Moderator
Good job Scott! I would love to see a picture/video.. I'm still trying to track down forskalli, maybe Mike can be of assistance.. Haha
 
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