RTG; your opinions about barbels

[StiffMeister]

Guys, i have the option to buy this RTG. Hes around 35 cm and nicely colored. The only thing: his barbels are fecked. They are almost completely gone and he hasnt shown much improvement over the last 2 months.
What are your opinions about a (full) recovery of his barbels?

[rust9000]

if they have been gone for a while then i say non....if its only been a week or so there is a posibiltiy :D

[Gr8KarmaSF]

depends on how deep the cut off point is.

can you take a pic of the actual barbels? (yes i realize how hard this is :D)

[xxblwn408]

An Aro with no barbles does look kind of funny, but its still an ASIAN aro. So I would say go for it if the price is right.

Don't count on the growing back. it looks like they broke off at the base. Keepers in asia prick the barbles with a needle to promote growth. I have no idea if this works or not??

[MistirE]

An Aro with no barbles does look kind of funny, but its still an ASIAN aro. So I would say go for it if the price is right.

Don't count on the growing back. it looks like they broke off at the base. Keepers in asia prick the barbles with a needle to promote growth. I have no idea if this works or not??

Makes sense to me.......408 huh? bay area?

[StiffMeister]

i might see go see the aro this weekend and if possible ill make a decent pic. But if the barbels are "broken" off at the base there is no hope of recovering?

[Chaos32]

If the break is at the base, then chances of recovery is slim but not impossible. A frontal pic will be more telling. If the barbels recover, there is a good chance it will be of uneven length & thickness.

[Miguel]

I' d say go for it regardless of the barbels..35 cm RTG is impressive, with or without barbels...and I don't know if you get a lot of options in holland...

in these here parts I would jump for it:) :)

[T1KARMANN]

you can prick each barbel with a pin sometimes it helps the grow back

[275ti03]

I hate to see such a nice aro w/ barbs missing... the barbs are gone... finito... yea, if the base of the barbs are gone... no chance of them growing back...

[Steve_89]

hmmm

Only time will tell.

Its a risk you are going to have to take. If the price is right and you are personally are happy with the fish then go for it. It doesn't matter what others think. Looks like a very nice fish regardless.

[StiffMeister]

very true, thats why im gonna see it asap. ill will post pics of the barbels afterwards. ive seen another small pic which does show a small regeneration so maybe there is hope!
If the barbels arent completely gone, chances on recovery are good??

and yes, RTG at this size are quite hard to get here...

[filiportela]

if it looks like an rtg,if its big like an rtg and it moves like an rtg the who cares about them barbels... i'd go for it in a secound:D

[VVateverzYo]

yeah they are very expensive maybe u can get a deal on him

[Boydo]

T1KARMANN you can prick each barbel with a pin sometimes it helps the grow back

:iagree:


Definatly get the price reduced. I have heard of them growing back after pin picking or lancing the last little bit of barbel.

[DiXoN]

my old green lost barbels twice and they grew back, the then owner sharptooth used the prick technique and it worked both times.

[DeLgAdO]

whats the science behind pricking the barbels with a pin?

[playa7]

if i seen that RTG asian aro down here in Hawaii, i'd pick it up in a second. an asian is an asian, barbels or not...just be lucky you can aquire a beautiful asian aro like that ;) :D

-ROB

[StiffMeister]

thanks for the comments guys.
IF i will buy it, im really thinking about giving him those pricks on the barbels. Is there anybody who has some sort of article on this?

[Miguel]

I don't think I could do it...but if you can, i suggest grabbing the aro in a wet towel, before introducing it into your tank ( so you avoid it the stress of catching it up again )..I have read that you scratch the barbels roots untill you draw some blood..
I do not recollect where i saw it, but perhaps somenoe could help..

[StiffMeister]

Yeah, i was thinking the same thing. Maybe drug it a bit in the bag before handling and then draw soem blood before i put it into the tank. Any opinions about the sequence of handling here? If i adapt the fish first, then drug him or wind him in a towel and cut and then introduce to the tank?

[Nova 8]

I think it looks sleek without the barbels, I wouldn't remove then purposly but looks good with out them, something different.

[Miguel]

yeah..go get it before it is to late, Hollander:) :) :) :)

[StiffMeister]

hahaha thanks :)

Ive made appointment for friday, so lets see what it looks like in real life.

Any comments on handling the barbels are still welcome :)

[Loubard]

I just bought it Stiffy! ;) ;)

[Arofanatic]

You beat him to it?? The science behind pricking the base of the barbels is to stimulate the scarring and stump to regenerate more tissue and hopefully regrow the barbels.

[StiffMeister]

hehe koen, i dont think you have the money after all those expensive bichirs :p

[Miguel]

You beat him to it?? The science behind pricking the base of the barbels is to stimulate the scarring and stump to regenerate more tissue and hopefully regrow the barbels.

But does it really work HP? Is it worthwile massacreing the aro? Do the barbels grow back or is it one in a million?:)

[T1KARMANN]

But does it really work HP? Is it worthwile massacreing the aro? Do the barbels grow back or is it one in a million?:)

yes it works i have doe it twice and talked the owner of the green dixon is talking about shaptooth throw it

drugs are you best bet if you know how to use them safly which i dont so i just covered the whole fish with a wet towel then stab the base of the barbel with a pin until you draw blood

i have done this on asian aro and silver aros

for some reason the barbels on black aros dont grow back aswell as other aros i have tryed on a black aro but it didnt work at all

[Miguel]

Okay.. if you've done it and state it works, ffor me it is settled. Still don't know if I could do it, though..

[StiffMeister]

thanks for the comments guys. ill see how bad it is and if i buy it, i will deffo try the pricking of barbels. I think i will just ask a friend and opt for the easies and quickest way: a wet towel all around the fish.

[Loubard]

Your right Stiffy, I should probably wait. Get it while you can, it's on marktplaats pretty long so I guess you can do a deal on the fish.

[T1KARMANN]

Okay.. if you've done it and state it works, ffor me it is settled. Still don't know if I could do it, though..

i will admit one thing non of the fish were mine :D

[T1KARMANN]

thanks for the comments guys. ill see how bad it is and if i buy it, i will deffo try the pricking of barbels. I think i will just ask a friend and opt for the easies and quickest way: a wet towel all around the fish.

just out of intrest does the aro belong to frank or a guy from rotterdam called steven

as we dropped 5 x RTG over to holland a few years ago when you see the paperwork have a look if the import contry was the UK :)

[StiffMeister]

will do bro. dont think this one is part of that group tho. i did see Stevens RTG and thats a superb fish.

[T1KARMANN]

will do bro. dont think this one is part of that group tho. i did see Stevens RTG and thats a superb fish.

steven had 3 x RTG and frank 2

but if this aro is 35cm if it was the same batch it would be bigger now

[frozen-fire]

that rtg resembles my old one a lot. if you do get it, hopefully the barbels regenerate.

[StiffMeister]

yeah, that would be awesome.

[kriztu]

sorry, but i think there aint much chance if it hasnt grown back for quite a while. it has nice colors, scales and body but personally, i wont get an aro without barbels. its a beauty thing.....