THE FEROCIOUS FISH

By the way, it is a common sight for the tanks of H. aimara keepers to have glass covered with algae. That’s because they can’t clean their tanks. The H. aimara is so ferocious it attacks even magnetic glass cleaners. I once asked for a picture of my friend’s 20-inch H. aimara, and I got a pic of an aquarium with lots of algae and a fuzzy image of a large fish behind the front glass panel. He told me the maid refuses to scrub the glass panels for fear of getting bitten. I have an 8-inch H. aimara and even at that small size, tank maintenance is beginning to be a concern. Every time I dip in a hose to siphon off tank water, the H. aimara attacks it. When I remove excess food that he has not eaten using a net, he attacks the net. This is one fish that is always in a foul mood! The H. aimara has a bad temper because it is highly territorial and aggressive. When you approach an aquarium with an H. aimara, you will notice it flare and expand its operculum, much like male Bettas do. This is to show aggression and its fighting stance. When Joely saw that 34-inch H. aimara in Malaysia, he was amazed by its huge size but admits he was scared despite it being inside a massive tank. “I got scared because the fish really wanted to bite me. I get the same feeling when you’re passing through a street and a large dog keeps barking at you,” shares Joely. This aggression will prevent you from ever finding a tankmate for your H. aimara. Any fish will surely be eaten. I believe the only fish you can put in a tank with an H. aimara are tiny ones that prove to be too small for them to bother with. However, any fish that is big enough to be a meal will surely end up as one. So I guess Neon Tetras with a meterlong H. aimara should be a good biotope aquarium.