[Central]

i was just at my lfs and saw in the cichlid isle a lone nile perch, maybe 4 inches long. i never saw or for that matter heard of this fish in a pet shop. what impressed me about this fish was its pure agression, the tanks are isle tanks with glass seperaters in between, this little guy was swiming nearly full stride on the glass going after a group of dovii's next to him. i think what caught my eye though is when he yawned. talk about a mouth! this guys gills shot out and his entire head tripled in size lol. reminded me of a wolf fish flaring his gills. very unique looking fish! he has the look of a bass with a very spikey dorsal fin and a very elongated body. silver in color, otherwise not an eye catcher but judging from his behavior i would be impressed to see this fish coexisting with anything it could fit in its mouth.
of course im sure a dovii would make short work of him on any other day =)
still though, COOL fish

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[elTwitcho]

It is a cool fish but it raises a concern of mine I've always had about pet shops. People complain about pet stores selling pacu but that's small change compared to the aligator gars, mbu puffers or now nile perch that seem to be turning up. With a mbu being the absolute smallest of those three fish and maxing out at over 3 feet long, it's idiotic to think pet stores are selling fish that can't even be housed in ANY tank that isn't custom built for it with a width that is more than most tanks are long.

Cool fish though, they just don't belong in aquariums

[Phatboy]

my new addiction: Lates sp.

these are the coolest fish right next to tiger dats.

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[jan]

Twitcho nailed it

Just watch this link and you will see why this specie shouldn't be considered as a aquariumfish:

http://www.pasar-malam.com.sg/~dragon-gate...e-perch01-l.jpg

[Phatboy]

http://www.piranha-f...showtopic=96157

[Central]

i agree with pet shops selling fish they shouldnt sell. i did research right after i got back home and my jaw dropped when i saw adult nile perch photos. this fish MIGHT make it in a zoo aquarium, but like you said, no way anyone can support something like this.
i think the only reason im angered about other species is that like pacu for instance, theres always a dozen or so in pretty much any pet shop at any given time. thats a lot of tank space.
but the nile perch is a true monster. i hope whoever buys this little dude does a loooooot of research before laying the 49.99 down theyre asking.

[Uncle Rico]

The Nile Perch! That's the bitch who made all those ciclids species extinct in one of the rift lakes in Africa isn't it! I hate that fish with a passion.

[Blue]

ya it was introduced to create a fish population for human consumption... people rock (my c&ck)

[acestro]

6'2" and 392 pounds. That's not an aquarium fish, that's an offensive lineman.

Lates niloticus is one of the largest freshwater fish out there but there are other Lates species that are somewhat smaller. The only other one I can think of offhand is a Japanese species (japonicus) that gets to 3 feet.

[timmy]

acestro, on Sep 20 2005, 05:07 PM, said:

6'2" and 392 pounds.  That's not an aquarium fish, that's an offensive lineman. 

Lates niloticus is one of the largest freshwater fish out there but there are other Lates species that are somewhat smaller.  The only other one I can think of offhand is a Japanese species (japonicus) that gets to 3 feet.

wow, one big fish

[Scarlet]

Peerahnya, on Sep 13 2005, 08:18 AM, said:

The Nile Perch! That's the bitch who made all those ciclids species extinct in one of the rift lakes in Africa isn't it! I hate that fish with a passion.

Lake Victoria. Between the Nile Perch (which they'll never be able to remove) and the algae blooms caused by population impact, there was an estimate of over 80% of the Cichlid species in this lake being wiped out.

[bmpower007]

This perch is nice man, especially a full grown one