Primitive Fish Riparium Update - April

[Josh's Fish]

Hi, thought I'd do an update since I haven't posted in a while. Is a long one, but have cool pictures to trick you in to thinking it's not boring haha
The tank is 7ft long x 4ft wide x 2ft deep (1400 litres) with a 16 inch tall sliding glass door riparium section.

The riparium plants are all in, finally have some colour to the set up! Went with some humid green ferns and calatheas, and a couple veiny red fittonias.


Filling back up.

I had to get in the tank to plant them. I drained the tank halfway, netted the 2ft long South American Lungfish (this dude chomped through a thermometer like it was a biscuit haha), but I left the others (Bichirs, Gars, Eels, Knifefish and African Arowana) in the tank with me. They were all pretty chill and acted like I was part of the tank the 2 hours I was in haha.

Then with no warning the African Arowana got spooked..
Any of you seen that episode of River Monsters where the Arapaima started jumping out the water and I think they broke Jeremy Wade's ribs?
Well this dude is only 17 inches and wow my ribs can tell they're related haha.


Acting like it never happened, the bastard.

Just adding some sphagnum moss on the soil now, but don't think I'm too happy with how that looks. The idea behind that was the older decaying moss would act as a food for earthworms turning it into plant food, eliminating the need to change the soil so often. I'll give that one a couple of months to see how it kicks off, if not, there are some other moss species I have my eye on.

Next on the list is to pick up some more larger bogwood pieces and tie some java moss and other aquatic plants, then that's the scape more or less done!

Actually bought a couple of very nice Channa pleuropthalma around 9-10 inches a few days ago. When it comes to putting Snakeheads in tropical comm tanks, I know the lowest risk tropical Snakeheads are P. obscura, P. africana, C. pleuropthalma, C. lucius, C. marulius, and C. maruliodes, so was hoping this would work, but nah. By morning the Bichirs buried themselves and the Pleuros were burrowing after them to eat. They were very aggressive to the Lungfish and other fish too, really disrupted the harmony of the tank. Took them back to the shop that morning. Was a real shame as the first night they were following my finger and almost had them hand feeding.



I'm just going to try a Parachanna next, if that doesn't work, I'll just set up a new tank and go full subtropical with a group of Channa stewartii var. special.

The stock is all doing good beside that hiccup, want to sell some though. Yes I know, blasphemy, but there is a logic behind it haha.
Will be selling
• x2 P. endlicheri
• x1 P. weeksii
• x1 P. delhezi
• x1 P. ansorgii
• x1 P. congicus
• x1 Florida Gar (juvenile)
• x1 M. armatus
In favour of reducing bioload and replacing some with higher grade specimens, so if any of you are near Cornwall, England, give me a shout haha.

The Tyre Track Eel (M. armatus) is around 14 inch now I think and is getting to the point of maturity, so the Fire Eel and it haven't been getting on so well. Anyone that's kept mature Spiny Eels together probably know they don't always get on and will see lots of head biting. Very reluctant to put the Tyre Track up for sale as it's always so yellow and active.

Can't part with the Fire Eel though, he has some wicked markings. Here he is flaring after a little scrap with the Tyre Track Eel.



Be picking up some new Polys soon, found a big wild Teugelsi, just waiting on supplier, also a mate of mine has the nicest Weeksii and Delhezi Bichirs I've ever seen, so fingers crossed I can get him to part with them He's promised me the Weeksiis, but those Dels are something else lol.


My friend's stunning "Big mama" Delhezi he refuses to part with hahaha

That's pretty much everything really, hope you like my setup can't wait til it's done!

 

[Chub_by]

As always looks brilliant! Already seen this update on YouTube and iirc on facebook too, but can't get enough of this tank so keep them coming!
I have a few questions though, first of all you said in a YouTube comment you feed several times a day because of the Aros high metabolism. What do you do if you have to leave your house for a week or two?
Also, do you order your fish online and if so where? When I lived in rural England (and cornwall can be considered pretty rural ) I couldn't find anything rare really. (Still better than here, though).

 

[Josh's Fish]

As always looks brilliant! Already seen this update on YouTube and iirc on facebook too, but can't get enough of this tank so keep them coming!
I have a few questions though, first of all you said in a YouTube comment you feed several times a day because of the Aros high metabolism. What do you do if you have to leave your house for a week or two?
Also, do you order your fish online and if so where? When I lived in rural England (and cornwall can be considered pretty rural ) I couldn't find anything rare really. (Still better than here, though).

Cheers matey!

To be more specific, it's less about their metabolism and more about how they feed.
African Arowana were thought to be filter feeders due to their feeding behaviour, but they lack the filtration feeding structure other filter feeding species have, when actually African Arowana just have very small throats. This means they have to sift for food particles and can't eat larger foods, so they have to use the substrate to grind up the larger food before they can swallow it. Both of which burns up weight fast, especially on smaller fish which do have a higher metabolic rate. A smaller one can turn lethargic and die very quickly, but one my size can go a couple of weeks or more without food, but it would lose a lot of fat reserves in the tail, so I still try to feed often to avoid that. When I go away, I just get someone to slap in some pellets for me each day. It holds out fine til I'm back. If it was a smaller one however, I wouldn't go away til I've got it a fair size. I used to feed around 6 times a day when mine was only 7 inches, otherwise it just became too thin.
The best way to keep them when juvenile, would be on barebottom and feed presoaked small carnivore pellets. That way they don't lose food from mixing it up sifting and they don't waste energy sifting itself. They will grow quick, then you can put them in a tank with a substrate where they can take slightly larger pellets. Still best barebottom, but if you want to see more natural behaviour and don't mind feeding little and very often, having substrate is good.

Sorry for the long explanation haha, a lot of people struggle to keep African Arowana for those reasons, so hopefully this helps if you have or want one

I rarely order my fish online (too many bad experiences) although I am getting this Teugelsi online.
My local fish shop is Cuddra Aquatics Saint Austell, most of my fish are from there lol, they've been getting high grade oddballs in at great prices for years!
Had an Ansorgii for £28, 16" Fire Eel for £28, Florida Gar £15, 10" Tyre Track Eel £20 and most of my other Bichirs at fair sizes, rarely more than £28 haha.

If you don't mind paying extra and getting the fish you want sooner, you can try specialist shops or online retailers. There's one in Launceston called Tank Tank Aquatics and a huge shop further North called Wharf Aquatics.
Online ones, there's just too many to list haha, rarely use them, but Wildwoods has some great juvenile oddballs and LJB can find you large ones.

 

[Chub_by]

Very nice writeup on African Aro feeding, might even be worth contacting a mod so they can add it to the sticky about Aros - there is little info out there on Africans.
I definitely plan on keeping one someday, incredibly interesting fish and not the "ugly brother" of the other Aros as people make it out to be!
You're definitely lucky with your LFS, I live in a country with many well known importers of rare fish but still have to drive many many miles or order online which I don't want to..
Btw, you should replace the TT with more fire eels

 

[magpie]

Such a cool setup and great stocking.