saber tooth payara?

[ZOO YORK 207]

I have a 7-8'' redtail payara ( vampire tetra) in a 230 with a 21'' Black aro and 6'' atf, 5 clown loaches,2 7'' bala sharks, one 7'' male Frontosa and 1 synodontis cat and 1 5'' male motoro ray and all is going very well. I keep my fish well fed at all times though. I must agree, the vampire tetra is spectacular to watch hunt and feed. Already at 7-8'', I can see it's teeth 6 feet away from the aquarium. They are really white. They also shed their teeth like a shark and have replacements folded down ready to pop-up into place within 2-3 days. I've also noticed the fish will not feed during this time. I have also noticed that the redtails seem to be quite a bit more agressive and will stand their ground against pretty much anything, at least mine does. I can't wait till it's 12'' or more.

Mike

Your lucky all my lfs has are scomb.

 

[AnDr3w]

I heard a lot of stories where they mysteriously die at around 9-10 inches if the water parameters go off to the slightest bit and theyre difficult to keep.

 

[ewurm]

We have Sabre Tusk Barracuda at the store. Are they Payara?

 

[mike C]

We have Sabre Tusk Barracuda at the store. Are they Payara?

Can you get a pic of them?

 

[Piranhanut]

I had one for over a year, they get pretty borring to watch. They have tremendous appitites but dont grow very fast. Most only get up to 15" in captivitiy. I had a leak in its tank one day and put a divider in another splitting it up from a 2.5" Red bellied Piranha and the Piranha eventualy knocked through the divider and ate my 8" Sabertooth Tetra. There went a $100 meal shipped in from Aquascape.

 

[vamptrev]

i hav 4 species of vamps all in a 140 and they all have a different behavior. the ones i got first are about 1 year old and about 10'' long. all are doing good except one of the big ones seems to be getting clostraphobic, i hope he makes it 8 more months until i get my 500 gal.

 

[KRSwop1]

Ok, hold on guys. You are all talking about different fish. It doesn't help that aquascape has a picture of a different species of payara on the bottom of the page. Ok, scombs are the ones that die at around 12 inches. They are not hardy at all. They need current, and are extremely prone to ich. Water must be kept pristine. The payara that get large in an aquarium are called Redtails (Tats) and the largest is Armatus. These three are all Hydrolycus species (true Payara). Redtails are a lot hardier, and aggressive. They can usually be found with gold bodies and red tails. They are a far more entertaining fish to keep than scombs. They are a lot more active too. Armatus are the largest of the hydrolycus species. They have the largest teeth and the most aggressive. They are a lot more expensive though.

Vamptrev, the ones in the pics you posted look to be rhaphiodon vulpinus. That's not a true payara or of the hydrolycus genus. They are called Biara.

 

[vamptrev]

which one do u call armatus? i dont have that one in my book.

 

[KRSwop1]

Most of the payara pics you see from fishing in SA, are of armatus. Here's a thread with some videos and photos of R1_Ridah's Armatus.

http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=52984&highlight=armatus

Use the search tool to find some more threads on this site. There's a lot of information that has been posted about them this year. Very cool fish to own. I have a 10" myself. Next best thing is the redtails. They are such a better fish to keep than scombs and vulpius. Much hardier, and they grow a lot larger. More aggressive, and colorful. Definately worth the investment.

 

[I31]

cool, what do you suggest for the moving water? a big powerhead

easily accomplished, aquaclear filter produces flow like a waterfall and hook up a power head next to it would give it the full affect.
What do you guys think?