Goliath tigerfish

Care at a glance

Overview

The Goliath tigerfish is a giant apex predator from African rivers. It is really a job for a public aquarium, not a home keeper.

Caring for the Goliath tigerfish

No home aquarium can hold the Goliath tigerfish. It needs at least 3,963 gal (15,000 L), and where it is kept at all, it lives in public-aquarium raceways. Its tank needs enormous volume, strong current and industrial filtration far beyond home equipment.

Keep the water warm and well oxygenated, at 73 to 81°F (23 to 27°C) and a pH of 6.5 to 7.5. Feed meaty foods and whole fish.

The Goliath tigerfish is a strong, fast, nervous swimmer that bruises itself on glass. It is aggressive and will eat any tank mate small enough to swallow, so use extreme caution with company. In the wild these fish move in groups through big rivers, but in captivity they are best treated as a solitary specimen.

Juveniles are sold now and then as lively little fish. Think very hard before buying one, because this is a decades-long commitment to a giant predator. There is no captive breeding record, and in the wild it is a migratory river spawner.

Good to know

Hydrocynus goliath is the giant of Alestidae, the African tetra family, and the largest of the tigerfishes. It can weigh around 50 kilograms. It is one of the continent's top freshwater predators, taking fish up to a third of its own length. It is also known as the giant tigerfish and mbenga.

In the wild

The Goliath tigerfish hunts the largest, fastest waters of the Congo River basin, including rapids and the outflows around Lake Tanganyika. This is warm, well-oxygenated open river, not a planted tank.

Common questions

Related species

• 

  African tigerfish

  Hydrocynus vittatus

  29.5 in (75 cm) · 1,057 gal (4,000 L)

  29.5 in (75 cm)1,057 gal (4,000 L)75–82°F (24–28°C)

• 

  Red-tail brycinus

  Brycinus macrolepidotus

  20.9 in (53 cm) · 264 gal (1,000 L)

  20.9 in (53 cm)264 gal (1,000 L)73–82°F (23–28°C)

• 

  Nurse tetra

  Brachyalestes nurse

  9.8 in (25 cm) · 106 gal (400 L)

  9.8 in (25 cm)106 gal (400 L)73–82°F (23–28°C)

• 

  Spot-tail tetra

  Brycinus imberi

  7.9 in (20 cm) · 65 gal (245 L)

  7.9 in (20 cm)65 gal (245 L)72–81°F (22–27°C)

• 

  Long-fin tetra

  Brycinus longipinnis

  4.9 in (12.5 cm) · 50 gal (190 L)

  4.9 in (12.5 cm)50 gal (190 L)72–79°F (22–26°C)

• 

  Hilgendorf's Congo tetra

  Alestopetersius hilgendorfi

  3.9 in (10 cm) · 42 gal (160 L)

  3.9 in (10 cm)42 gal (160 L)73–81°F (23–27°C)