Hydrocynus vittatus, the African tigerfish, tiervis or ngwesh[3] is a predatory freshwater fish distributed throughout much of Africa.

[6] The genus Hydrocynus is placed in the family Alestidae within the suborder Characoidei in the order Characiformes by the 5th edition of Fishes of the World.

This is a calque of the Egyptian Arabic name for the type species of the genus, H. forskahlii, Kelb el bahr, meaning "water dog".

The specific name, vittatus means "banded", an allusion to the blue horizontal stripes along the flanks of the African tigerfish.

As a result of their ecological and economic importance, African tigerfish have been extensively studied by conservation groups and university researchers.

African tigerfish have declined in some river systems in southern Africa as a result of pollution, water abstraction and obstructions by dams and weirs that prevent migration.

It is locally threatened by unregulated gillnet fisheries and has been placed on the South African protected species list.

In east Africa, threats to populations include overfishing, reductions in water quality due to agricultural activities and deforestation, and pesticide pollution.

[1] According to the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, tigerfish are of least concern with a wide distribution but are protected in some reserves.

The researchers observed an average success rate of 25% for predation attempts, with as many as twenty birds caught per day over a relatively small lake (4.1 x 106 m3).

[4][5] Hydrocynus vittatus has a ferocious appearance, which may lead people to be tempted to keep the African tigerfish as a pet.