Home / Fishes / Tigerfish and tripletails / Siamese tigerfish
No federal permit to keepSiamese tigerfish
Datnioides pulcher
Fishes › Tigerfish and tripletails (Acanthuriformes) › Lobotidae (Tigerfish and tripletails)
The Siamese tigerfish (Datnioides pulcher), also known as the Siamese tiger perch, is a species of ray-finned fish belonging to the family Lobotidae, the tripletails and tiger perches.
Intro from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Care at a glance
Species-specific aquarium care
- Tank: At least 78 in long and 30 in front to back for one adult (adults commonly reach about 15.7 in / 40 cm).
- Water: Freshwater.
- Layout: Uses both the bottom and open water: give open swimming space plus cover near the substrate.
Calculated from this species' own FishBase record: tank size from its typical adult length and swimming zone, water values from its recorded ranges. The group guide below fills in general care.
Care guide
Species care notes
- Water: a fairly wide range, from slightly acidic to slightly alkaline, 68–82 °F, pH 5.5–7.5, 2–15 dGH.
- Behaviour: kept alone; not a community fish.
- Difficulty: Moderate (Seriously Fish rating).
Short excerpts from the species profile:
- Setup: “Juveniles and subadults should be provided with a well-decorated, planted aquarium with driftwood roots and branches.”
- Diet: “An efficient, largely piscivorous, predator with highly protrusible mouthparts.”
- Tankmates: “Can be maintained alongside similarly-sized fishes if sufficient space is available, but might be intimidated by territorial or otherwise competitive species.”
From the Seriously Fish profile for this species, which has the full habitat, maintenance, diet, behaviour and breeding write-up 167
Tigerfish and tripletails
Applies to most species in this group. Habitat: The listed Datnioides inhabit deep Southeast Asian freshwater rivers and flooded forests, whereas Atlantic tripletails are warm-water marine pelagic fish. [fg304-microlepis, fg304-pulcher, fg304-tripletail]. Individual species can differ, so compare with the species numbers above and the linked sources.
Housing & setup
- Adult tigerfish need public exhibits or exceptionally large private freshwater aquaria; provide roots and plants for juveniles and surface cover for adults.
- Use large external filters or a sump and protect heaters from damage by adult tigerfish.
- Keep D. microlepis and D. pulcher in freshwater without marine salt.
- Tripletail broodstock were maintained in 28 cubic metre tanks, 4.9 m diameter and 1.5 m deep; this is a research setup, not a demonstrated minimum.
- The tripletail system used 30 ppt seawater, mechanical and biological filtration, protein skimming and heater/chiller control.
Climate & lighting
| Water | 68–80.6°F |
Diet
- Tigerfish: earthworms and prawns, with small portions for juveniles.
- Tigerfish: mussels and fish flesh; avoid terrestrial meat and routine live feeder fish.
- Tripletails: fish, squid and shrimp, as used for captive broodstock.
Social life
- Adult tigerfish can be aggressive toward their own kind; single specimens are conservative, with similarly sized companions only in sufficient space. Tripletail broodstock were maintained in groups; this does not establish compatibility in smaller tanks.
Health watch
- Post-import stress and refusal to feed in tigerfish.
- Fat deposition and organ degeneration from inappropriate terrestrial meat in tigerfish.
- General captive-fish risk: ammonia toxicity.
Understanding the animal
In the wild
In the wild
From this species’ own FishBase record (habitat, bottom type, water and breeding data), not its family. Good care copies these conditions.1
| Where it lives | Lives in freshwater. Uses both the bottom and open water. |
| Water it lives in | Freshwater. |
| Climate | Tropical climate. |
From the sources
From the sources
Quoted from the matching sections of reputable sources for this exact species. Specialist databases are used first; Wikipedia (community-edited, CC BY-SA 4.0) only fills gaps. Other sources are short credited quotes.
| Overview | The Siamese tigerfish (Datnioides pulcher), also known as the Siamese tiger perch, is a species of ray-finned fish belonging to the family Lobotidae, the tripletails and tiger perches. This fish is endemic to Indochina and is assessed as Critically Endangered by the IUCN. — Wikipedia (community-edited) |
| Where it lives | Home ranges Population dynamics Growth parameters Max. ages / sizes Length-weight rel. Length-frequencies Mass conversion Recruitment Abundance Life cycle Reproduction Maturity Maturity/Gills rel. — FishBase |
| Appearance and size | The Siamese tigerfish has the toothless palatine and vomer characteristic of the tiger perches, as is the rounded caudal fin is rounded and rounded lobes on the anal and second dorsal fins creating the appearance of having three caudal fins. This species has 4, occasionally 5, wide vertical bars on the orange-brown body. — Wikipedia (community-edited) |
| Biology | Occurs in the lower to middle reaches, mainstreams, tributaries and larger marshlands. Carnivorous, feeding on fishes and shrimps. — FishBase |
| History and naming | The Siamese tigerfish was first formally described as Coius pulcher in 1998 by the Swiss ichthyologist Maurice Kottelat with its type locality given as Bung Borapet in Thailand. — Wikipedia (community-edited) |
| Conservation | The Siamese tigerfish was targeted by fishers as a food fish in Thailand and Cambodia but was a valued aquarium fish and was mainly fished for export in this trade. This, combined with damming of the watercourses it lives in, has caused drastic declines in its population. It has been locally extinct in Thailand since the 1990s and only Vietnam, occasionally exports live specimens into the trade. — Wikipedia (community-edited) |
Data and studies
The numbers
The numbers
Each bar is what one source reports. Where several sources weigh in, the dashed gold band marks their average.
Adult length
Maximum recorded length. Measured as standard length (snout to the base of the tail, not counting the tail fin). Fish in home aquariums often stay smaller than wild records.
Water temperature
Range the species tolerates; aim for the middle.
pH
Water hardness
Sources for this sheet
- FishBase (Froese & Pauly, eds.), version 24.07 Peer-reviewed researchThe global scientific database on fishes, maintained by a consortium of research institutions; every value is referenced.
- Seriously Fish species profiles Experienced keeper or breederLong-running aquarium reference written and peer-checked by experienced fishkeepers and ichthyologists; each profile covers habitat, tank size, water, diet, behaviour and breeding.
- Seriously Fish: Datnioides microlepis Experienced keeper or breederAdded in the 2026 source-checked care-guide review.
- Seriously Fish: Datnioides pulcher Experienced keeper or breederAdded in the 2026 source-checked care-guide review.
- Saillant et al. (2021): First data on aquaculture of the Tripletail, Lobotes surinamensis Experienced keeper or breederAdded in the 2026 source-checked care-guide review.
- Merck Veterinary Manual: Common Environmental Hazards for Fish Zoo, university or veterinaryAdded in the 2026 source-checked care-guide review.
- Wikipedia (species article) Community referenceFree encyclopedia; useful overviews with their own citations. Intro text is quoted under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- iNaturalist (captive observations) Community referenceCommunity observation platform run by the California Academy of Sciences and National Geographic; observations marked captive show animals living in homes, zoos and aquariums.
