African tigerfish

Hydrocynus vittatus

Also known as Tigerfish, Tiger fish, Striped tigerfish

FreshwaterFish

African tigerfish (Hydrocynus vittatus) — Totti · CC BY-SA 4.0

Care at a glance

Temperature: 75–82°F (24–28°C)
pH: 6.5–7.8
Adult size: 29.5 in (75 cm)
Minimum tank: 1,057 gal (4,000 L)
Temperament: Aggressive
Social behavior: Social
Swim level: Middle
Difficulty: Difficult
Breeding: No record
Rarity: Very rare
Origin: Widespread across major African rivers and lakes including the Congo, Zambezi, and Okavango systems.
Family: Alestidae

Overview

This is a huge, fast, highly predatory fish that needs an enormous tank of several thousand liters with powerful filtration and strong flow. It is skittish and does better with room and a group, but it will kill and eat smaller tankmates and can injure itself dashing into the glass. It is strictly a fish for specialists with public aquarium scale space.

In the wild

Hunts in warm, well oxygenated open water of large African rivers and lakes. It is a fast pursuit predator that runs down smaller fish in midwater, often in loose hunting shoals. It favors flowing channels and open lake edges over cover.

Good to know

Hydrocynus vittatus is an African tetra relative in the family Alestidae, armed with large, dagger like teeth that stay visible when the mouth is closed. Fishbase records lengths up to about 105 cm and weights near 28 kg, though most fish are smaller. It is one of Africa's most famous gamefish.

Did you know

One population of African tigerfish has been filmed leaping from the water to snatch swallows in flight, one of the very few fish known to catch birds on the wing.