Comments: This is a Premium Pet Fish, and we never see Premium Fish like this in any of the live fish stores that we visit.

Premium Pet Fish are more energetic, hardier, and have brighter colors with a beautiful metallic sheen. Click here to learn more about Premium Pet Fish.

Origin: This Wild Fish was caught along the West Coast of Tropical Africa.

Maximum Size: This Fish is said to grow to be over 15" long, but we've never seen one bigger than 8" long, including the tail.

Behaviors: Sometimes they'll move around during the day, but usually they hide during the day and become more active at night.

But when there's food to be eaten, they become very active looking for it.

They'll also eat very small fish like Neons, Guppies, and other fish small enough fit into their mouths.

They are very ornery to each other, so there is usually only one Tamandua in an aquarium.

Compatibility: Some recommended tank mates include any fish that are not too aggressive toward them. They can also eat smaller fish so be careful when choosing tankmates.

Click here to read more about various compatible groups of pet fish.

Temperature: They live well from about 75 to 82 degrees F., but they're probably most comfortable at about 78 degrees F.

Click here to learn about aquarium temperature, aquarium thermometers, and aquarium heaters.

Feeding: They need to eat worms and frozen brine shrimp and bloodworms. Rarely will they eat premium pellet food.

Water Conditions: This Wild Fish seems to be tolerant of a wide range of water conditions. Probably a pH of about 6.5 with moderate hardness is best.

Most water in the US is different but seems to be OK, so it's probably best NOT to adjust the pH or the hardness of the water.

Here in our facilities the water is hard and the pH is usually about 7.8. We ship them in this water.

Click here for a lot more information about aquarium water conditions.

Aquarium Size: It's probably best to house these fish in at least a 50-gallon aquarium, but bigger is better. Eventually even one Tamandua will need an aquarium with at least 100-gallons of water.

Decor: They do not need gravel, and a layer of gravel more than 1/4" thick will usually fill with bits of uneaten food that will contaminate the water.

Click here for more about aquarium gravel. Pieces of aquarium-safe driftwood are also nice.

Live Plants are beautiful and improve the water quality.

Aquarium Filter: Bio-Wheel Filters are highly recommended. A Penguin 350B Filter in an aquarium with 50-gallons of water is OK to start, but eventually they'll need a larger aquarium with several Penguin 350B Filters or a large filtering system.

Click here to learn more about aquarium filters.

The addition of aquariuim-safe Lava Rocks will keep nitrates in the ideal range. Click here to learn more about using Lava Rocks in aquariums.

Life Span: These Wild Fish can live for several years, probably many years provided they are fed properly and kept in a very large aquarium with very fresh water.

Gender: It is very difficult to determine the gender of these fish, the female may become plumper when ready to breed.

Breeding: There are no known reports of successful breeding in captivity.

Popularity: This Wild Fish is somewhat popular but rare ... very rare.

Names: The scientific name is Campylomormyrus tamandua.

Variations: This Wild Fish lives across a wide range in Western Tropical Africa, so there may be variations, but we have seen any.

We hope you've enjoyed reading these comments.