# Thinking About Getting Into Datnoids.



## Ja'eh

Like the title says I'm really considering starting up a datnoid tank but obviously my knowledge of dat keeping isn't nearly as strong as my piranha keeping knowledge. So some info no matter how basic it may seem would be greatly appreciated. If someone can post a list of dat species from rarest to common would be awesome too.


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## AKSkirmish

Larry Dallas said:


> Like the title says I'm really considering starting up a datnoid tank but obviously my knowledge of dat keeping isn't nearly as strong as my piranha keeping knowledge. So some info no matter how basic it may seem would be greatly appreciated. If someone can post a list of dat species from rarest to common would be awesome too.


Do it
you wont regret it........I enjoy the hell out of mine.

http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=54277

http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=297687

Enjoy....


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## Ja'eh

I took the plunge and picked up two 2-3 inchers yesterday. One I think one of them is a northern Thai tiger. The other one I'm not sure, AK maybe when I can get some good pics you could help me id these guys.


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## AKSkirmish

Larry Dallas said:


> I took the plunge and picked up two 2-3 inchers yesterday. One I think one of them is a northern Thai tiger. The other one I'm not sure, AK maybe when I can get some good pics you could help me id these guys.


ID should be simple man....More than likely you have an IT......ST's,CT,At,etc,etc are alot harder to come by-One should also know by the higher price tags.....

Post em up after they are stable-Just like Piranha's-Will need nice clear profile side shot...Bars on tail included in pics.....


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## Ja'eh

The said that the group that I grabbed the one out of all came from Thailand but who's how much he really knows. AK can you tell me which are the rarest and most pricey?


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## AKSkirmish

Larry Dallas said:


> The said that the group that I grabbed the one out of all came from Thailand but who's how much he really knows. AK can you tell me which are the rarest and most pricey?


The wide bar is the most pricey......Believe scientific name is the pulcher
Datnioides pulcher is the name


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## Ja'eh

There's a lfs near me that is selling a New Guinea dat that appears to be about 8-9 inches for $200 and change, is that a decent price?


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## ArttyFish

$200 is kinda high for 8-9 incher NGT. But NGT are super cool. I would pay $150. Here is a pic of my classic 4 bar Indonesian Tiger Datnoid


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## Ja'eh

That's a real cool looking guy you have real nice stable colors. Mine are only about 2-3" and very skittish, I got them a couple of days ago. As they get older do they lose their skitishness? Also what's their growth rate like?


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## impalass

You might have issues with just 2 dats, one will end up dominating the other, possibly to the extent of its not eating and wasting away. 
The more the merrier with dats, and they do settle down and become stable colour wise, but like to hide alot, they are ambush predators.
IMO you should get at least two more to really enjoy these guys and pellet train asap.
North Thailand Tigers (Thin Bars) max out at 12" and are pretty rare at 8" and up. New Guinea Tigers (NGT) are the hardest to pellet train and can be kept with other tigers, but NOT with each other, no matter how many in the tank or how big the tank.
Siamese Tigers (ST) are mega $$$ Have only seen 12"+ selling for $1500.00+ last few yrs.
I started with STs many years ago, at 10-11" the fighting became serious in my 175g, kept the most stable one and sold the rest. At 12" he decided the tank was'nt big enough for him and my arow. Sold!
Next bought a school of 6 baby Indonesian Tigers (IT) Long story short, same results as with the ST.
Next a school of 6 NTT @ 2" Took 2 yrs.+ to get them to the 6-8" range, got the piranha bug, traded 5 in, which brings us to the present.
Sorry to ramble, I'm no expert but loved dats for years, feel free to pm me if you have any questions.


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## Ja'eh

Thanks impalass! That is some great info, I really appreciate the detail.


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## primetime3wise

good stuff and information. it's cool you guys are into dats cuz i just picked up 2 IT dats, my first dats! i may pick up two more after reading about 2 being a bad number to have. the problem is they are in a 125g with a bunch of other fish.

there's plenty of room now, all these fish are juvis, but the 2 dats are in with: 2 oscars, 2 electric blue jack dempseys, black ghost knife fish, senegal bichir/poly, 6 silver dollars, 2 raphael cats, 4 danios.

so room is gonna be tight in a year or two+, but i REALLY like the dats, so if i do pick up two more i may part with the knife fish. i really wanted a clown knife anyway, but they get too large for a 125g.

my two I.T. dats are about 4" and 5". very cool and i like their looks. they do like to hide and are a little shy but not as much as piranhas. i've only had them a week and already got them eating "hikari sinking carnivore pellets".

the store i got them had another species (wasn't widebar), can't remember which, but would 2 different species be ok, or would 4 I.T. be best?

and what do they really max out as, size wise? I.T. i know it says 18" but what can one expect in home aquariums?

i think my larger one is already starting to pick a little on the smaller one, so, we'll see, 2 more would be really cool anyway.


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## Ja'eh

That's cool that you just got into them as well.









I've had these little guys for three days now and man these are some cool fish. They hit their food like a ninja strike, they come out hit the food and they are out in a split second. I just tried feeding them Cichlid Gold sinking pellets and they just gobbled it up.


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## impalass

primetime3wise said:


> good stuff and information. it's cool you guys are into dats cuz i just picked up 2 IT dats, my first dats! i may pick up two more after reading about 2 being a bad number to have. the problem is they are in a 125g with a bunch of other fish.
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> there's plenty of room now, all these fish are juvis, but the 2 dats are in with: 2 oscars, 2 electric blue jack dempseys, black ghost knife fish, senegal bichir/poly, 6 silver dollars, 2 raphael cats, 4 danios.
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> so room is gonna be tight in a year or two+, but i REALLY like the dats, so if i do pick up two more i may part with the knife fish. i really wanted a clown knife anyway, but they get too large for a 125g.
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> my two I.T. dats are about 4" and 5". very cool and i like their looks. they do like to hide and are a little shy but not as much as piranhas. i've only had them a week and already got them eating "hikari sinking carnivore pellets".
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> the store i got them had another species (wasn't widebar), can't remember which, but would 2 different species be ok, or would 4 I.T. be best?
> 
> and what do they really max out as, size wise? I.T. i know it says 18" but what can one expect in home aquariums?
> 
> i think my larger one is already starting to pick a little on the smaller one, so, we'll see, 2 more would be really cool anyway.


At your size of 4-5" they could easily reach 12" in 1-2 yrs. Depending on feeding and water changes, after that their growth slows, and 18-24" is possible, Dragon Aquarium, Mississauga, had a 24" IT trade in around 2 yrs. ago saw it with my own eyes and still could'nt believe it. Was told it reached that size in a 125g 72"X18"X24"
Mixing dats is no problem except for New Guinea Tigers, 1 NGT per tank only. IMO Indo Tigers are the best bang for the buck. At 4-5" one more dat may be enough to spread the aggression around. If you opt for more you can always sell the less stable ones later.
Since they are eating sinking carnivore, try hikari cichlid gold, nothing hits a floating pellet like a tiger.


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## primetime3wise

thanks for the reply. i picked up two more at a lfs. one about 4"-5" and he appears to be a NTT or thinbar...the spacing between his bars is wider and the bars/striped are much thinner than the two i already had. these three strangely came from the same holding tank. i hope he does ok as i heard thinbar/Northern Thai Tigers are more prone to problems.

the 4th is just a very young juvi and only about 2". he was labeled a "borneo tiger datnoid". from what i saw looking up that common name, it is probably another I.T...and he appears to be just that though his bars are quite faded.

also picked up a polypterus delhezi, and i am also getting into bichirs/polys. so, yeah, looking at my stock at least an upgrade to at least a 180g, if not larger, is down the road.


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## primetime3wise

this is pretty wild that i was able to pick up a NTT/thinbar and that he was in the same holding tank at the lfs as the other two IT's.

i'm 90% sure on the i.d. along with being much thinner bars, he has one less than the others, 7 vs. 8 on the I.T.'s.

and the little guy looks better already in my tank vs. the stores, he appears to be a I.T. i just hope he doesn't get picked on too much and that he is able to get some food with the bigger ones around. i do have tiny NLS pellets i can leave around for him.


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## impalass

Small NTT are supposedly prone to SDS, sudden death syndrom, never had any problems myself although I did loose a perfectly health looking 10" thin bar for no apparent reason. Felt gutted.
Congratz on your purchases, and if you don't mind my saying so, you should deffinitly star saving for a 180g asap.


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## xeloR

Post some pics of yours J! ive thought about getting into dats before but never made the switch.


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## Ja'eh

As soon as they stabilize I will definitely post some.


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## primetime3wise

i think i'm getting the poly bug as well







they are very distinct and neat looking...


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## BRUNER247

Datnioides are badass fish! I love the stalk n strike. My 4.5" dat bullies my 8"Gatf. Mine eats bout everything but goes nuts for krill.


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## Ja'eh

primetime3wise said:


> i think i'm getting the poly bug as well
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> they are very distinct and neat looking...


I got the bug too lol! Dats definitely are some cool fish and like BRUNER said you gotta luv their stalk n strike. My dats thing at the moment is blood worms, they'll eat pellets too but blood worms they go bananas for.


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## primetime3wise

my 3 dats in the 4"+ range won't go for bloodworms or brine shrimp, they ignore it must be too small for them to bother. they are on sinking carnivore pellets. my little 1.5"-2" guy, though goes crazy for both those foods.


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## impalass

Man, you guys are making me miss my gang of dats, was tiger crazy for 5-6 yrs. WARNING they are addictive, heard them described as oscars with brains and I agree. the bigger and older they get the more their personalities come out.


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## primetime3wise

well, i had been keeping piranhas almost solely for the past 6-7 years, so almost anything has a better personality














haha, even my small dats have huge personality in comparison









seriously though w/ p's you have to get lucky and hope you get an outgoing one or group...but then they are not that active and fight a lot in groups...i'm sure you are aware of all this...

i had been down about fishkeeping for a while, but what i have stocked my 125g with, def. has me reinvigorated for the hobby.


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## Johnny_Zanni

impalass said:


> Man, you guys are making me miss my gang of dats, was tiger crazy for 5-6 yrs. WARNING they are addictive, heard them described as *oscars with brains* and I agree. the bigger and older they get the more their personalities come out.


Is it bad that as soon as I read that I looked at my oscar to see him swimming in circles like a retard?


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## impalass

Johnny_Zanni said:


> Man, you guys are making me miss my gang of dats, was tiger crazy for 5-6 yrs. WARNING they are addictive, heard them described as *oscars with brains* and I agree. the bigger and older they get the more their personalities come out.


Is it bad that as soon as I read that I looked at my oscar to see him swimming in circles like a retard?
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LOL...O'S are very entertaining and taken for granted imo. When I'm old and gray and can only handle one tank it, will house an oscar.


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## 2PiRaNhA~2FuRrY

I have a few large dats IT indo if you're interested I can ship to you.


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## BRUNER247

Nice n big n a awesome price too!someone should jump on them!


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## Ja'eh

primetime3wise said:


> well, i had been keeping piranhas almost solely for the past 6-7 years, so almost anything has a better personality
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> haha, even my small dats have huge personality in comparison
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> seriously though w/ p's you have to get lucky and hope you get an outgoing one or group...but then they are not that active and fight a lot in groups...i'm sure you are aware of all this...
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> i had been down about fishkeeping for a while, but what i have stocked my 125g with, def. has me reinvigorated for the hobby.


I was feeling the same way too! I'll always have piranhas but I felt I needed to change it up a bit so I decided on a datnoid set up and all I can say is hell yeah! It's on again I'm enjoying the bit of adversity in my fish keeping experience. I've had diversity when it comes to piranhas but that's it, it's nice to have something different in the fold cuz let's be honest p's especially serras can get boring at times and I think I've hit a homer with choosing dats as my other fish keeping interest. They are really great fish.


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## Ja'eh

Found a 5-6 inch siamese tiger for $99, is that a good price?


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## Pirambeba

Larry Dallas said:


> Found a 5-6 inch siamese tiger for $99, is that a good price?










.. . Good price?!?! GREAT PRICE!! They have a 10"ish one up here going for $1,500, which I find completely ridiculous.. if you can get a real ST @ $99 go for it! btw any pics? a lot of people lie about what they sell, just saying.


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## BRUNER247

X2 on great price. Most people don't know the differences between the different dats. 1" datnioides go for 25$ here.


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## Pirambeba

Siamese Tiger dats have four very distinct bands including the one that intersects the eye and are most notable for their brighter coloration where as the Indo Tiger is darker and has more of a uneven strip patterning along the flanks, well at least in juvenile specimens. Hope that helps


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## impalass

Hate to be a buzz kill but chances are it's a indonesian tiger, in the Toronto area that price would be a bit high but not outrageous. 
Theres always some characters around that try to pass three bar indos off as sts. Not saying thats the case here. Good luck.


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## Pirambeba

impalass said:


> Hate to be a buzz kill but chances are it's a indonesian tiger, in the Toronto area that price would be a bit high but not outrageous.
> Theres always some characters around that try to pass three bar indos off as sts. Not saying thats the case here. Good luck.


 Yeah that happens a lot around here, found that it was worth mentioning.


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