The natural themed monster fish tank build

[14crazychris]

Finally finished preparing the alder cones to go onto the substrate, need to collect some oak leaves next. The arowana and ray are feeding really well in QT on prawns. They don’t like the tilapia or mussels. Maybe in time they will warm to them. The arowana isn’t very active now and keeps sitting on the bottom since his two buddies went to my friends. I think I need another active fish like a Datnoid or something to keep him on his toes. My final stocking plans did include the Datnoid but I don’t want to buy another fish for the sake of it, needs to be for the long term. Was thinking of getting the silver dollar shoal otherwise. Maybe some tiger striped.

thanks

 

[Matteus]

Finally finished preparing the alder cones to go onto the substrate, need to collect some oak leaves next. The arowana and ray are feeding really well in QT on prawns. They don’t like the tilapia or mussels. Maybe in time they will warm to them. The arowana isn’t very active now and keeps sitting on the bottom since his two buddies went to my friends. I think I need another active fish like a Datnoid or something to keep him on his toes. My final stocking plans did include the Datnoid but I don’t want to buy another fish for the sake of it, needs to be for the long term. Was thinking of getting the silver dollar shoal otherwise. Maybe some tiger striped.

thanks
View attachment 1478045

Yikes. I would never put anything like that in with my rays. Especially not pups.

also when you say “an active fish like a datnoid”…. I suspect you haven’t kept any dats before? lol

If you are looking for activity, the sds are a sure fire way to add movement. But they will eventually outcompete the others and you will need to feed much heavier than usual, just to get some food down to the ray.

 

[Matteus]

If you are trying to introduce them to new food, soak the new food in with old food so they start to resemble taste and smell.

so if I am feeding frozen and training to eat pellets, I crush up a couple pellets and add the powder and some chunks to the bowl that I am thawing out the frozen food in.

I often feed 2-3 times daily while training. Each time I feed, I add a little bit more pellets and leave more chunks and less crumble. Eventually I just soak whole pellets with the frozen food, then I don’t feed them for a day. Now that they are used to eating 3 times a day, they are hungry and ready to eat anything. I drop in pellets that are soaked. Then eventually dry pellets and no extra work.

I have trained over 1000 tricky eaters to eat pellets this way.

 

[14crazychris]

Yikes. I would never put anything like that in with my rays. Especially not pups.

also when you say “an active fish like a datnoid”…. I suspect you haven’t kept any dats before? lol

If you are looking for activity, the sds are a sure fire way to add movement. But they will eventually outcompete the others and you will need to feed much heavier than usual, just to get some food down to the ray.

any reason you wouldn’t add the alder cones? I just like the idea of some natural foliage on the sand bed, and when I say active I don’t mean zooming around lol, I mean not a catfish that will just sit on the bottom and do nothing. If the Datnoid is competing with the arowana for food Im hoping it will stop it from becoming complacent and fussy. Will hold fire on the silver dollars that’s one thing I didn’t think about but makes total sense!
thanks

 

[14crazychris]

If you are trying to introduce them to new food, soak the new food in with old food so they start to resemble taste and smell.

so if I am feeding frozen and training to eat pellets, I crush up a couple pellets and add the powder and some chunks to the bowl that I am thawing out the frozen food in.

I often feed 2-3 times daily while training. Each time I feed, I add a little bit more pellets and leave more chunks and less crumble. Eventually I just soak whole pellets with the frozen food, then I don’t feed them for a day. Now that they are used to eating 3 times a day, they are hungry and ready to eat anything. I drop in pellets that are soaked. Then eventually dry pellets and no extra work.

I have trained over 1000 tricky eaters to eat pellets this way.

good idea I’ll give this a go! thanks, I’m sure they will turn into greedy little monsters at some point and eat anything. Might try some locusts or crickets for the arowana as well.
thanks

 

[Matteus]

any reason you wouldn’t add the alder cones? I just like the idea of some natural foliage on the sand bed, and when I say active I don’t mean zooming around lol, I mean not a catfish that will just sit on the bottom and do nothing. If the Datnoid is competing with the arowana for food Im hoping it will stop it from becoming complacent and fussy. Will hold fire on the silver dollars that’s one thing I didn’t think about but makes total sense!
thanks
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first off, I would be highly concerned that they would chew on the cones and choke on a piece they manage to lodge free from the cone. Second you don’t want anything sharp in the tank with them because they can cut them selves up while they are rummaging around. With that being said, you also need to make sure the heater is covered properly as well so they don’t burn themselves. They need to be treated like children, they are not going to see the dangers that we put in their tanks and avoid them.

next I would be concerned about what those cones will do to your water quality. If they drop your ph, then every time you do a wc it spikes back up, then drops again, this can cause huge stress. It’s best to keep ph as consistent as possible. So I always avoid altering ph as much as possible, or else you need to always do that.

I appreciate that you want to do something different with your tank, and are trying to do a biotope of some sort?? I think it potentially could have a lethal result if the pup chokes on something you thought looked good in the tank. Rays are always moving things around and messing with stuff, my sand is never in the same place every morning I wake up. They are always on the move, day or night, rummage, rummage, rummage. If not it typically means something is wrong.

 

[Matteus]

any reason you wouldn’t add the alder cones? I just like the idea of some natural foliage on the sand bed, and when I say active I don’t mean zooming around lol, I mean not a catfish that will just sit on the bottom and do nothing. If the Datnoid is competing with the arowana for food Im hoping it will stop it from becoming complacent and fussy. Will hold fire on the silver dollars that’s one thing I didn’t think about but makes total sense!
thanks

And yes datnoids are very much like catfish where they don’t do very much until food time. They are ambush predators, similar to most catfish, and they often will stay in their spot for days or even longer, rarely exploring. Of course there are some dats that are always cruising around, but in my experience only about 30% are like that. But I think there is an element of how comfortable they are in their environment that goes along with this. I find if they have hiding places and a few dither fish, they often gain confidence over time. But overall dats are typically shy fish. No matter what size.


This one is by far the biggest I have ever come across in real life. I had messed around in his tank pulling adult rays out for about an hour before I even realized he was in the tank. They are masters of disguise even at this size.
The tub is 26” for scale

 

[Matteus]

I’m not trying to talk you out of it, just helping understand what to expect more than anything.

I love dats, just about to go pick up some more here tomorrow.

 

[14crazychris]

This is good to know! And one of the main reasons I made this thread! I’d rather gather all the information now and learn from other peoples mistakes or lessons before I put everything into action and get it set up. The alder cones where collected for free so no loss if I don’t use them. pH was something I considerd and was going to keep a small handful in at once, I’m in a hard water area so the effect would be negligible, but the sharp edges and potential choking hazard is an important one! Not sure how they deal with this in the wild though. I couldn’t find many/any videos of natural environment so I might just stick to the sand.
thanks

 

[14crazychris]

And yes datnoids are very much like catfish where they don’t do very much until food time. They are ambush predators, similar to most catfish, and they often will stay in their spot for days or even longer, rarely exploring. Of course there are some dats that are always cruising around, but in my experience only about 30% are like that. But I think there is an element of how comfortable they are in their environment that goes along with this. I find if they have hiding places and a few dither fish, they often gain confidence over time. But overall dats are typically shy fish. No matter what size.

View attachment 1478074
This one is by far the biggest I have ever come across in real life. I had messed around in his tank pulling adult rays out for about an hour before I even realized he was in the tank. They are masters of disguise even at this size.
The tub is 26” for scale

awesome! Thanks for the first hand experience! Something that is hard to find especially as I don’t know any monster fish keepers in my area. I do like to research fish in depth And not impulse buy anything. Maybe I’ll hold fire for the moment unless I come across something good! I just feel like the arow needs a companion or something in the tank to make him feel more comfortable. Looks a bit insecure now his two pals have left haha.