# Fahaka Tankmate?



## galland (Nov 7, 2003)

Anyone hear of anything living with a Fahaka? Getting an 6 or 8" F on Tues. I heard someone said Oscars or similar. Any experience?


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## elTwitcho (Jun 22, 2004)

I've never seem them housed with anything but that doesn't mean it can't be done. As much as I hate to plug other forums you'd probably get a better answer on www.predatoryfish.net


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## lemmywinks (Jan 25, 2004)

I know of a person who kept a few datnoids in w/ his fahaka. but I would not recomend doing it. about the only tankmate I would recomend for one is maybe a pleco


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## SpAzZy (Mar 30, 2004)

there's no need to plug other forums. i have your answer..

the answer is... NO TANKMATES have guaranteed survival. fahaka puffers are not to be trusted, they will most definitly kill all other living creatures in their tanks. you can go ahead and put what you want in the tank, but i'm gonna tell you now that they will not survive. if you happen to put something in the tank and it survives for a week, that doesn't mean that you've succeeded, it just means that death is around the corner and lurking.. death WILL come and who knows when it will be. my friends fahaka will kill things as soon as they are dropped in the tank and his fahaka isn't as big as the one you're going have own. good luck, if you try to keep some fish in the tank, make sure you buy cheap ones.









btw, fahakas are cool as hell fish, good decision


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## galland (Nov 7, 2003)

I figure it could be a bad combo. The only reason I ask is that a LFS guy's buddy supposedly has a Fahaka with an Oscar for the past 3 years. Now, I don't know if that is really true but seems interesting. I definitely would rather try with an oscar versus a Datnoid because the cost factor comes in but who knows.
Thanks


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## kellie (Nov 22, 2004)

hey I have a fahaka puffer ( as well as a brazilian, arrow-head, and spotted) And actually, when i first got him he attacked some of my cichlids and ate one of them. that was a few months ago. after he settled down, i expiramented and put in one of my large cichlids (hes about 6 inches). They seem to be okay together, so i added two more cichlids. that was three weeks ago. they are all doing just fine. I think he settled down plus, i keep him very well fed. I have 2 large goldfish in there as well and thats what he chases around when he gets board. he hasnt been able to catch them for some reason.


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## SLANTED (Dec 7, 2003)

It really all boils down to fahaka temperment. I would say though that 80% of all fahakas will kill or maim any and all tankmates. I know of a couple people who have fahaks who are on the passive side who will tolerate tankmates. Of course, it still might be a precarious situation.

And if you are going to try tankmates, just make sure one of them isn't a blue lobster.


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## Gumby (Aug 13, 2004)

I've kept fahakas for years (last one died about a year ago). The guy who said no tankmates pretty much has it right. I tried for 2 years to find a tankmate that would make with with my fahaka.

The only fish that survived was an African Tiger Charicin. It was incredibly fast. I don't reccomend them as pets though. They need a TON of swimming room and are so skittish that they injure themselves on the glass and decorations very frequently. A fish best left in the wild, although they are cool as hell.

Plecos don't work. Puffers love to eat snails. Pleco eyes look just like snails to puffers. You get the picture... Eyeless pleco that gets its stomach eaten out by the puffer. I went through about 5 plecos over a 2 year period due to the puffer eating their eyes.

It also depends on the fahaka, some are nice and some are vicious. Some can kill fast moving things, some are better off eating frozen food and snails. My first fakaha killed anything that moved. The second one just liked frozen food and fish that he could catch. If you want to try anything, try fast moving fish. Just because they're quick doesn't mean they wont get eaten though. Puffers are incredible hunters and all it takes is one bite to imoblize their prey.

Also, be careful while working in the tank. Puffers are very curious and love to bite new things. I had a few chunks taken out of me while doing tank maintenence. I'd imagine a full grown (12-18 inch) fahaka could take off a finger with no problem. Be careful with them.


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## syd (Nov 6, 2004)

is there any species of puffer that can be kept in a 10 gallon all its life?


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## spawnie9600 (Nov 15, 2004)

dwarf puffers and i think figure 8 puffers can be kept in ten gallon tanks


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## SpAzZy (Mar 30, 2004)

although offtopic a little bit, this needs to be addressed. figure 8's are brackish water puffers, they are not freshwater. many lfs will keep them in freshwater which stresses them incredibly. if you want to keep puffers in a 10g, you should get a south american puffer. lfs will call them peruvian puffers, south american puffers, etc.. there are a bunch of names, but SAP is the most common one, they are all the same fish. i own one in my 10g and added 3 dwarf puffers in the tank. 2 of the dwarfs are left right now, one died after 4 days, he died from stress i think, probably from being shipped. a lot of people have told me that i am overstocked on puffers but my puffers are tiny right now and if things get out of hand, i will move some into another tank.

if you decide not to follow our advice on keeping nothing with the fahaka, then i suggest you buy fish that are aggressive also, that will fight back, a passive fish will just get eaten. i would also suggest a fish that is fast, or fish that are inexpensive.


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## syd (Nov 6, 2004)

do green spotted and figure 8's stay the same size? what about just adding one or 2 of them and nothing else b/c those are the 2 i alwayz see nothing else


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## acestro (Jul 7, 2003)

I agree that no tankmate is guaranteed survival.

I also agree that members here can field your question without plugs for other sites (even though I go on pfish too).


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## scottyd (Oct 10, 2004)

There are a few Fish I know that could survive in a Fahaka Pufer tank, a S. Rhombeus might survive, but the Puffer might not... a toss up.... Another one would be of same size (even slightly smaller) a Dovi (Wolf Cichlid), the only problem is the Puffer probably will not survive though, 
This probably would not work, but a thought...You could put them together for just a little bit, and after the Dovi teaches the Fahaka a lesson, then the Fahaka might try and get along better with other fish.

good luck
scott


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## Innes (Jan 13, 2003)

I reccomend you dont add any tankmates to a fakata puffers tank



> I've never seem them housed with anything but that doesn't mean it can't be done. As much as I hate to plug other forums you'd probably get a better answer on www.predatoryfish.net


There is nothing in terms of aquatic information they can help you with that we cant


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