FishProfiles.com Message Forums

TheGoldenDojo we have black bullheads in our pond. They can be very mean fish. I would have to agree on the Fahaka Puffer though because even though it may not be the most agressive freshwater fish (and it is really friggin agressive) it would never loose a fight since its poisonous.

Interesting though is the puffers biting thru the bags to get at the other puffer, a malicious little guy !



The Amazon Nut...

note i said black piranha, not just any piranha. u put a 9in. red belly up against a 9in. jag cichlid and the jag is gonna win. but u put an 18in. black piranha up to an 18in. red snakehead. snakehead go bye-bye very fast.

finally someone who sees the light as i said earlier. i dont know how anyone could compare any cichlid to a piranha.

I have to agree with Tiger9.. The black piranha, having owned one myself years ago.. It was actually silver with black spots and lots of metallic scales, really aerodynamic shape and a set of teeth that wouldn't quit. I have no experience or knowledge of puffers.. But I think they would be Serrasalmus Lunch. The black one tore a red bellied piranha apart.. I got sick of piranhas and then owned several oscars.. Way more personality then piranhas.

Oscars are way down on the ferocity chain..
I've seen a 4 inch african cichlid stress a
10 inch oscar so bad it wouldn't eat and even
had nips out of it's tail.. Oscars are wimps..
But my tiger oscar is still cool in my book.

The Amazon Nut...

hmmm, very tough question there. my bet would be a black piranha, say 5in. n up. absolutely nothin stands a chance. no cichlid, puffer, aro, not even a snakehead of comparable size. they are not only predatory, but unlike most piranha, EXTREMELY territorial. take that attitude add an extremely powerful set of razor sharp teeth. and TA-DA! u have a fish that is unparralleled(sp) in ferocity

While I agree the puffer family of fishes (and most notably the fahaka) rank among the most aggressive of fishes, on my recent trip to Taiwan/Hawaii a few weeks ago, I saw some nice fahaka setups where they were kept with balbas, plecs, other fahakas, and even a RTBS. I assume this is all highly variable depending on the nature of the individual fish, but they can't be THAT mean. Other tetraodontidae (sp?) nasties include pignoses, congos, and the big bad mbu (although I've heard that despite their large size, mbus can be quite friendly).


[span class="edited"][Edited by Klee 2004-08-08 14:08][/span]

[span class="edited"][Edited by Klee 2004-08-08 14:11][/span]

Many Snakeheads can be kept with other fish. Fahakas are so aggressive that they will kill just about anything, even armor-plated plecs (right in half, from what I've heard! ). I've even see pictures of an area of tank bottom littered with halves of feeder fish for a puffer; not killed and eaten, just killed and left there. I can't say I've heard of many other fish that most be isolated by itself when kept.

--------------------------------------------
The aquarist is one who must learn the ways of the biologist, the chemist, and the veterinarian.

Jags are more predatory and territorial, but ime not overly aggressive. They can be, especially when breeding, but otherwise they won't usually kill another fish just to kill it.

Flowerhorns are a mixture of some of very aggressive cichlids so naturally these fish will be aggressive. However, being hybrid there can still be quite a range of aggression from fish to fish.

I definitely agree that fahaka puffers, as well as arrowhead puffers, would have to rank in the top 10 overall most aggressive. These guys will kill just to kill. In fact, if anyone regularly posts in the Puffer forum you'll know who Pufferpunk is. She used to have an Arrowhead puffer that unfortunately died after a few weeks of a bad liver. Anyway, when she went to the lfs and bought the puffer the tank actually had 2 that were still floating in bags. While she was there, she saw one Arrowhead bite through its own bag, then bite its way through the other bag just to kill the other Arrowhead.

As for P. dovii, yes this is an aggressive monster, but several very experienced New World keepers agree that the most aggressive cichlid is Nandopsis beani. The few that have been fortunate enough to keep this fish say it is a real monster killing anything and everything else in the tank just for the sake of killing.

For more information on the most aggressive cichlids you can read through this thread.

Jason

what abpout jags and flowerhorns?

Dovii or a Fahaka. They would be the most aggressive in my opinion. Oscars are nothing compared to them

What would be the most aggressive freshwater fish available and most fish stores? Would it be oscars?

Oscars? Ha! Hehe... Sweety Pie is a good name for an Oscar.

Arowana's are generally peaceful when kept with larger fish, at least in my father's experience. He kept his a a 400g tank with a fire eel, an oscar, and a black bullhead catfish he caught at Lake Havasu.

Malawi Eye-Biters are pretty mean...

[span class="edited"][Edited by TheGoldenDojo 2004-08-07 23:42][/span]

Is there a different name for the needlefish? I can't seem to find it in the profile section.

what about a black or red-bellied piranha

how about snakeheads?

i have seen red belly's and maybe not that aggressive but still nasty buck tooth tetra.

Fahaka Pufferfish are definitely one of the most aggressive freshwater fish. These can almost NEVER be kept with other fish, as they'll rip them apart.

--------------------------------------------
The aquarist is one who must learn the ways of the biologist, the chemist, and the veterinarian.

freshwater needlefish

i want one so bad they are at my lfs all the time i think it the electric cat cause it can electrocute any other fish. i think this was discided in another thread like this one. and no it would not be oscars

how bout puffers heard they could be pretty mean?