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Fish that may eat smaller tank mates

42 species are flagged predatory, likely to eat small fish, or both. Plan around adult gape, not shop length.

Mouth size at purchase is not mouth size at six months. These species are flagged predatory, or as likely to eat small fish, or both. Plan around adult gape, not the polite juvenile you saw in the shop. Anything that fits in the mouth is potential food. That includes shrimp, snails, fancy guppies bought small, and the fry of anything that breeds in the tank.

Predation does not run on a polite schedule. Most of these species hunt at dawn, at lights-out, or all night, which is when the rest of the tank is asleep. Stock the predator last, in a tank that already has cover and broken sightlines, and resist adding small fish later as decoration. Adult gape on a fully-grown specimen rarely matches what the shop tank suggests.

Every row is a real profile in the live library; filters are field-driven, not hand-curated blurbs.

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