Beginner Carnivorous Fish

I'm brand new to keeping fish apart from a betta fish I had a few years back, and I'm looking to get into it. I'm going to college soon, and most colleges will allow you to keep a fish as long as the tank isn't over 20g, some colleges allowing 30 gallon and some limiting you to just 10g. I was hoping to keep a carnivorous fish, preferably one who would eat live feeder fish although I know that it's uncommon for a fish like that to be able to be kept in such small spaces. If there's anything you can think of, saltwater or freshwater, please let me know!

 

Why does it have to be carnivorous?
If you plan on feeding "feeder fish from petsore" I advise you to reconsider as goldfish and rosys are not nutrional at all. If you plan on breeding guppies or some other live bearer then maybe but seeing that youl only be allowed one tanks that could be a problem and very expensive.

For a 20 long I think only carnivores fish is maybe dwarf puffers you could put a few in there as long as there breaks in line of sight. I think there's some other smaller puffers that may be acceptable not sure TexasDomer.

Puffers may eat other fish but its not their prefered diet. I'm not saying feed them fish. Theyre main diet needs to consist of crunchy foods. Snails, clams, crawfish etc... these are also sensitive fish. Tank needs to be cycled prior to introduction or theyll die from ammonia and nitrite poisoning.

Id research dps and see if you like them.

Also go back over the nitrogen cycle to refresh yourself.

 

Larger tetras like black skirt or serpaes, although they don't eat feeder fish, they have piranha teeth (piranhas are actually a kind of tetra)

 

I wouldn't go with any fish that eat other fish with that small of a tank. If you get a 20 gallon long, you could do 6 kuhlI loaches, 6 neon tetras, and some sort of centerpiece fish.

 

I considered a Hairy Puffer fish for my 29 gallon at one point. They eat more snails and other invertebrates. I chose against this one because if I had to trim its beak, I don't think I would have been comfortable doing so.

 

Puffers usually don't eat fish any ways, they prefer snails and invertebrates since they like things that are hard to help trim there teeth!

Anything that eats another fish won't work in a 10 gallon. In the wild there is a chain. Bigger fish eat smaller fish, smaller fish eat microscopic stuff. Another thing that normally goes with this is the more you go up the food chain the more room they need to live in. You can have a couple of rosy minnows in a 10 gallon but if you can only have a couple that means the fish that eats it needs a bigger tank. Most carnivourous fish grows to 12 inches+ .

 

I don't think a hairy puffer would work.
As long as there's a consistent diet of snails and crunchies it should be fine.
Congo puffer is the only one that requires consistent beak treeming as it grows so fast.
MJDutI know of anything that might work in this tank?

 

Hmm, for a single fish...Just ideas, as I only have experience with puffers out of these suggestions:

*lurker puffers (congos, hairies, etc) are an option. You do NOT need to worry about their teeth. Yes they get 'big', but most don't move a lot, unless hunting, which is the best part of keeping them.

*peacock eel - if you're into these type of fish. They will eat anything they can fit in their mouths, which isn't huge, but bigger than they look.

*? leaf fish - might get too big for a 20long, but if they work they look nice and are hunters as well. Heard they can be quite shy though.

*? dwarf pike species - I just know that these are supposedly aggressive and eat anything, but I'm sure that's a little bit of an over reaction. I believe Regani's are the smallest species. I would look into these more as I only heard of them being amazing aggressive fish, just don't know much about them other than they stay small.

If you don't mind going the aggressive non-fish route you could try an African Clawed Frog (come in albino if you like) or one of the fancy crayfish out there. Don't knock the crayfish idea until you see the fancy species, like the Cherax something, aka "thunderbolt"s for instance. They will most likely eat fish at night when they're "sleeping".

I also want to state that fish (fry is best IMO here) should not be the staple diet of anything here, but a treat or supplemental feeding. Live worms are typically fantastic food for fish.

 

Thank you for all the suggestions, I'm looking into them all and more suggestions are always welcome. I'm especially interested in the peacock eel so if anyone has anymore information on that it would be greatly appreciated. MJDutI if you have anymore specific information on pretty much all of your suggestions I would be very interested. Of course, please don't go out of your way for me if it's a problem. Again, thank you all for your help

 

Peacock eels normally don't eat fish just to let you know. They should be fed worms. And I believe they need to be in a 30 gallon tank! They get to be about 12 inches long. And when I say 30 gallon I don't mean a standard 29 gallon. They are more of a bottom dweller so they appreciate the floor space not the height.

 

Ok I'll keep this in mind, thanks

Also, what exactly are Lurker Puffer fish? I can't find a defined list of them or what differentiates them from normal puffer fish. Are they just freshwater puffer fish?

 

They literally lurk waiting for food to pass by. Congos are cool because they will burrow up to their eyes at times doing this.

There's actually a smaller spiny eel other than the peacock that I just can't remember the scientific name for. The problem with spiny eels is that there is a lot of conflicting info online, so someone with experience would be priceless. But then it also comes down to proper identification.

If you just want to feed live food, some options other than fry include baby brine shrimp, mosquito larvae, black worms, even red cherry shrimp

 

These stay smaller (only 7 inches).

 

Also whenever feeding fish to your fish make sure its from the habitat or naturally eaten. Never feed feeder fish such as goldfish or minnows since those are usually diesease since they are kept in crowded conditions and not in good water quality. Also most fish would not come by these fish especially with goldfish. Also anything that eat goldfish normally grow larger than 12 inches.

The only true carnivorous fish you are going to get here will mainly eat bugs and/or aquatic invertebrates such as snails, shrimps, brine shrimps, and other kind of small aquatic bugs.

 

Peacock Eels love to eat fish, especially baby guppies. They bury in the substrate and ambush fish that swim by. They will also eat baby cichlids, such as convicts. Their mouth is bigger than it looks. They also like to eat worms.

I had a breeding pair of Crenicichla regani in a long 20, males are aggressive toward other males, but not so much anything they can't eat. They also like small feeders, such as Guppies or other livebearer young.

 

However they need to be in a 30 gallon tank minimum! Not a 10 gallon or a 20 gallon will be right for it.

 

However they need to be in a 30 gallon tank minimum! Not a 10 gallon or a 20 gallon will be right for it.

No, they don't. A long 20 is more than adequate.

 

Where is your evidence?

A 20 gallon is good for when its small but once it reaches 10 inches it should be house in a longer tank.

 

I was looking through this thread and remembered reading about crayfish in the freshwater invert section here. Though not a fish, it said they would eat slow moving fish. Plus, if I remember right, I think it said they need only a 10 gallon. That might make an interesting college "fish."

 

The first and third sites are untrustworthy, and the second refers to a different species of spiny Eel. I've kept Peacock Eels, not just read about them. There are species that do not grow large. However, even a foot long spiny Eel is fine in a long 20, as they are ambush predators and do not move around much, even in a big tank. Their elongate shape and extreme flexibility also make the tank size less important.

The Dwarf Pikes I also kept in a long 20 after growing two pairs out in a 55. I moved them because the dominant male was beating the daylights out of the other male. The male was just over 6 inches, which is what they normally reach in the wild. The female was just under 5 inches, as they are always smaller than the males.

Let us also bear in mind that the OP is only going to be keeping the fish at school, which is less than a year. The eel will not grow that much in a year, and can be traded/moved to a larger home tank at that time. Personally, however, I find Mastacembalid eels to be quite boring in an aquarium. Cute, but boring.

 

However the thing is, is OP willing to take care of this eel for at least 8 years? For big fish like these they aren't dorm fish. They are fish that should be in a nice good size aquarium and live there for the rest of its life. OP would then have to move the eel to a bigger tank. How about the next year? I suggest these should be at least in apartments or homes where they are in a permanent home where you are able to take care of it for the rest of its life.

 

Fish don't need to stay in one tank for their entire lives, that's a silly idea. I move fish around all the time in my fish room, a necessity when one is breeding them.

The eel is going to be in the 20 gallon tank for less than a year. This makes it easier to feed a small fish, as it keeps the food closer for him to find it. By the time it is large enough to need another tank, the school year will be long done.

 

Just make sure that OP can upgrade his tank in a reasonable amount of time. I'm assuming that OP will go to college for the traditional four years, and in that case, they need to make sure that they fish they get will be okay in that tank size for 4 years...

 

Sooooo, you're saying no arowanas and red tail catfish???

 

Maybe I'm just old, but I don't recall most students staying at school for the entire 4 years, they usually went home during the summer months.

 

I just reread the beginning of this post: Bettas enjoy eating meat also (although that would come in the form of fruit flies, brine shrimp, bloodworms, etc)

 

Yes but its stressful on the fish to be moving. College students I believe move out during the summer which means he will have to take down the tank in order to transport it back home. That being said he might have to do a re cycle or at least make sure the tank is still cycled once he sets it up. Keep in mind most dorms only allow a 10 gallon and sometimes although uncommon a 20 gallon however not sure about the dimension.

Overall I don't suggest this fish for a dorm. TexasDomer do you think this is a go or no go

 

I have fed minced, cooked meats to my Bettas, including KFC. I'm not recommending you do that, I'm just saying they'll eat just about any kind of meat

 

Maybe I'm just old, but I don't recall most students staying at school for the entire 4 years, they usually went home during the summer months.

Yes, for 2-3 months, but I'm assuming OP will bring the fish back with them to school, and it'll have to live in a small tank again, 9 months out of the year for the next 4 years. So I'd recommend OP stocks with a fish that won't outgrow the tank size they keep in college, a species they won't have to rehome or upgrade the tank for (since an upgrade in college doesn't sound possible).

 

I'm a college student and a little suprised that the tank size limit was so high. My limit was 5 gallons (my off campus apartment is infinite gallons but don't have any reason nor space to upgrade). Yes you will have to move the fish back home during summer. At least at my school they kick you out at the end of the year. The only time you won't have to move a tank is if your off campus at the same place for all your years (4 to 5 maybe longer it going for more) and stay there over the summer. Also if you do it right you don't have to recycle the tank every time you move it. Finally as a college fish keeper go with the easiest to keep fish/stock you can. Your going to be busy with school and not have too much time to take care a of demanding tank. I've gotten curious and looked into puffers and seem to recall them being pretty sensitive to water quality. Also for me I won't keep a fish (in college) that requires and live or frozen food. It's just that much more work and money. All that being said I might look into scarlet badis. They work in small tanks. I actually want to get some but don't want to go the live food route (although I've read there has been some success with flakes with them). Conclusion, I highly recommend keeping fish in college they are a nice diversion from the daily grind. However be smart on your choices and do your research. You will have a different set of requirements than the typical fishkeeper and you have to keep those in mind

 

Crawfish might be an option

 

Well I guess s hawk just said it too you. I think the best help usually is from people's experience. The idea of a carnivorous fish is nice since you can showoff to your friends but later on the actual work of maintaining the tank and feeding the fish. Also you would have to test the water and such

 

I have fed minced, cooked meats to my Bettas, including KFC. I'm not recommending you do that, I'm just saying they'll eat just about any kind of meat

Do you think they'd like Popeyes as well? ... I'm not going to get myself subpar chicken just for a fish.