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PERCHES


LOBOTIDAE FAMILY
The Lobotidae family consists of a few species of the genus Datnioides . This family inhabits brackish water river estuaries in Southeast Asia.

Siamese Tiger Fish, Tiger Fish
[ Pictures ]
Datnioides microlepis
SYN : None
PD : A thickset, high backed fish with lateral compression. The front portion of the dorsal finis inconspicuous, lying close to the body. The caudal fin is fan shaped and the anal fin is small. The body color is white to yellowish brown with five broad, black vertical bands, The first runs through the eye, while the last marks the caudal peduncle. The first rays of the pelvic fin are white, while the rears parts are black. The other fins are white to brown.
SIZE : To 24" (61 cm) in nature, although rarely exceeds 16" (41 cm) in captivity.
SS : Datnioides quadrifasciatus
HAB : In brackish waters of Borneo, Cambodia, Sumatra, and Thailand
S : bottom, middle
TANK : A 36" (91 cm) or 35-45 gallon (132-170 L) tank is sufficient for fish up to 8" (20 cm) in length. Larger fish require a tank measuring at least 48" (122 cm) with a volume exceeding 50 gallons(190 L). The tank should have subdued lighting possibly with a cover of floating plants. This species requires hiding places such as rocks, wood, or caves. Use plants that can tolerate brackish conditions along the rear and sides of the tank.
WATER : pH 6.5-7.5 (7.0), 6-15 dH (8), 72-82°F (22-28°C). A 1-1.5% addition of salt is suggested. Add 7.5-11 TSP of salt per 10 gallons (10-15 g/10 L).
SB :Keep only with other large, hardy brackish water fish. The Tiger fish is tolerant of its own species and may battle over territory with other species. A good candidate for a species tank.
SC : Scats, Archers, Monos, Puffers, Arius.
FOOD : Live; fish, earthworms, Tubifex, insects, crustaceans; meat, beef heart; occasionally pellets
SEX : Unknown
B : Unknown. Reported to spawn in freshwater rivers in nature.
BP : 10. Breeding has yet to be accomplished in captivity.
R : There is a variation of Datnioides microlepis that had wider bands from the Chao Phraya river.
DC : 7. This hardy and aggressive species requires live foods and brackish water conditions. It reaches a large size and demands a large tank.

Many-barred Tiger Fish, Silver Tiger Fish, Silver Datnoid, Four-barred Datnoid
[ Pictures ]
Datnioides quadrifasciatus
SYN : Chaetodonquadrifasciatus, Datnioides polote
PD : Similar in body shape to D. microlepis except this species is slightly more elongated. The body color is gray white and the head may have an amber iridescence. The body is marked with seven black stripes. The first of these runs from the mouth to the eye where it forks with one part running to the back and the other toward the throat. The base of the caudal fin is marked with two black spots. The fins are transparent except for the pelvic fin which is white and black.
SIZE : To 18" (60 cm) in nature, although rarely larger than 12" (30 cm) in captivity.
SS : Datnioides microlepis
HAB : In brackish water river estuaries in Asia and Australia; Borneo, Burma (Myanmar), Cambodia, the Ganges of India , Thailand , and Sumatra.
S : bottom
TANK : A 32" (91 cm) or 30 gallon (114 L) tank is sufficient for fish up to 7" (18 cm) in length. Larger fish require a tank measuring at least 40" (101 cm) with a volume exceeding 45 gallons(170 L). Follow suggestions for D. microlepis.
WATER : pH 6.5-7.3 (6.9), 6-15 dH (8), 72-82°F (22-28°C). A 1-1.5% addition of salt is suggested. Add 7.5-11 TSP of salt per 10 gallons (10-15 g/10 L).
SB : As for D. microlepis.
SC : Scats, Archers, Monos, Puffers, Arius.
FOOD : Live; fish, earthworms, Tubifex, insects, crustaceans; meat, beef heart; occasionally pellets
SEX : Unknown
B : Unknown
BP : 10. Breeding has yet to be accomplished in captivity.
R : Despite its wider distribution, this species is less common than Datnioides microlepis in the hobby .
DC : 7. This hardy and aggressive species requires live foods and brackish water conditions. It reaches a large size and demands a large tank.


Species Index | Fish Home | Rainforests


Recent news

New Yangtze River dam could doom more endangered species

(06/22/2009) Eight Chinese environmentalists and scientists have composed a letter warning that a new dam under consideration for the Yangtze River could lead to the extinction of several endangered species. The letter contends that Xiaonanhia Dam, which would be 30 kilometers upstream from the city of Chongqing, will negatively impact the river’s only fish reserve. Spanning 400 kilometers in the upper Yangtze, the reserve is home to 180 fish species, including the Endangered Chinese sturgeon, and the Critically Endangered Chinese paddlefish, as well as the finless porpoise.


Fish take less than a decade to evolve

(06/22/2009) Evolution is often thought of being a slow-process, taking thousands, if not millions, of years. However a new study in The American Naturalist found that Trinidadian guppies underwent evolution in just eight years, or thirty generations. Less than a decade ago Swanne Gordon, a graduate student at UC Riverside, and her team introduced Trinidadian guppies into the Damier River in the Caribbean island of Trinidad. They placed the guppies above a waterfall to allow them to flourish in a largely predator-free environment.


Madfish?: scientist warns that farmed fish could be a source of mad cow disease

(06/17/2009) In a paper that shows just how strange our modern world has become, Robert P. Friedland, neurologist from the University of Louisville, warns that farmed fish could be at risk of Creutzfeldt Jakob disease, or mad cow disease.


New report predicts dire consequences for every U.S. region from global warming

(06/17/2009) Government officials and scientists released a 196 page report detailing the impact of global warming on the U.S. yesterday. The study, commissioned in 2007 during the Bush Administration, found that every region of the U.S. faces large-scale consequences due to climate change, including higher temperatures, increased droughts, heavier rainfall, more severe weather, water shortages, rising sea levels, ecosystem stresses, loss of biodiversity, and economic impacts.


Will jellyfish take over the world?

(06/16/2009) It could be a plot of a (bad) science-fiction film: a man-made disaster creates spawns of millions upon millions of jellyfish which rapidly take over the ocean. Humans, starving for mahi-mahi and Chilean seabass, turn to jellyfish, which becomes the new tuna (after the tuna fishery has collapsed, of course). Fish sticks become jelly-sticks, and fish-and-chips becomes jelly-and-chips. The sci-fi film could end with the ominous image of a jellyfish evolving terrestrial limbs and pulling itself onto land—readying itself for a new conquest.


Marine scientist calls for abstaining from seafood to save oceans

(06/08/2009) In April marine scientist Jennifer Jacquet made the case on her blog Guilty Planet that people should abstain from eating seafood to help save life in the ocean. With fish populations collapsing worldwide and scientists sounding warnings that ocean ecosystems—as edible resources—have only decades left, it is perhaps surprising that Jacquet’s call to abstain from consuming seafood is a lone voice in the wilderness, but thus far few have called for seafood lovers to abstain.



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Copyright Rhett Butler 1994-2009

The copy for fish.mongabay.com was written in 1994-1995. Therefore some information such as scientific names may be out of date. For this, I apologize. Feel free to send corrections to me.