My wish list for Stocking a 300 gallon. Is it Realistic?

Cool stock but with any big cats you have to watch out for them eating smaller fish in the tank and they will grow much quicker than most other fish.


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catfishacr said:

Fish I want to add but don’t currently have:
-1 Clown Knife Fish ( Chitala Ornata) Expected max size: 18”-24”

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Smaller than Chitala Chitala, but more than 24" should be doable in an aquarium under proper conditions since Ornata reaches 39" in the wild. Having owned one, so I'm just estimating.

catfishacr said:

I know they get 36"+ in the wild but I really don't think they achieve much over 24" in the aquarium setting. At least all the research ive done states anything over 24" is not common.

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If it's common for an animal---any animal---to reach only 50-67% of it's natural size (18-24" compared to 36") than that says more about the conditions under which the animal is raised than anything else. I assume that you will raise the fish better than most, so I'd include him on the list (like the arowana) of fish you will likely need to re-house.

catfishacr said:

Below is a link from this website that shows common max size at 18-24" for clown knifefish. I get your logic though if there's something im missing and they do commonly get close or over 30" than that change my mind on getting one. I don't want to have another fish I might need to relocate. Thanks for your imput

http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/showthread.php?301832-Clown-Knife-Information

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Right. "Usually in aquariums, they will obtain a decent size of 18" to 24" is what it says, but that's often because people don't raise them with enough space (no stress, no injuries), enough quality food (early and appropriate growth, strong immune system), enough clean water (reduced stress, reduced hormone levels, improved immune system), and / or lose them early to death due to mismanagement (or often just not knowing exactly how to raise it.) There are lots of reasons why it won't reach the proper size.

Given that you are already doing a great job of asking, we know you're ahead of the curve. So, it's prudent to consider that your fish might benefit and grow quite well from other knowledge you have or will acquire. I've not raised these so I'm not going to tell you it will commonly get close or over 30". I'm just saying, imo, if a fish gets to 39" in the wild, then it has the genetic potential to get to that size and even larger if it's well cared for under captive conditions. Your's might not and that may be due to some things I've mentioned or even other things.

On the positive side, it can't get to 30+" instantly and you'll have a lot of notice before it happens, if it does.