60 Gallon tank for arapaima?

[David R]

Welcome to MFK. Please pardon most of the members here, except Bderick67 and Sonsinator, since they CAN'T read, yet they love to display their "knowledge!" You heard right. Arapaima grows fast. Since a 60 gallons tank is 15"-16" wide, your 4"-5" arapaima will grow to that size in 4-5 months.

In 4-5 months you should be planning on adding another zero on the end of the 60g (ie 600g) if you want to house the pima for any length of time. Even that will only be a temporary tank, I can't comment on the time it will take for it to grow to 3-4', but it won't be too long. After that you really need something like an enormous indoor pond, search for threads by the user johnptc to see how an arapima should be kept.

Good luck, no offence, but I'd really suggest something a lot less ambitious if you're only just starting out in this hobby.

 

[ceewah]

Well thanks for all the information. I just was considering it, but after I made all the research, I had to think twice about it and this is the reason why I created this post.

These were actually my choices:

Arapaima (ignored)
Arowana (was thinking of black/blue or a Jardini)
Wolf Fish
Snakehead (hopeless idea)

Please note that I am planning to upgrade to a bigger tank when it is needed. I just wanted to know how much time do I have before I have to upgrade to a bigger tank for these particular fishes above? I just dont want to keep a fish that would be 5" long in a 100+ gallon tank because that would look boring to view.

Again, thanks in advance. I'm here to get information and not here to get flamed.

 

[King-eL]

Well thanks for all the information. I just was considering it, but after I made all the research, I had to think twice about it and this is the reason why I created this post.

These were actually my choices:

Arapaima (ignored)
Arowana (was thinking of black/blue or a Jardini)
Wolf Fish
Snakehead (hopeless idea)

Please note that I am planning to upgrade to a bigger tank when it is needed. I just wanted to know how much time do I have before I have to upgrade to a bigger tank for these particular fishes above? I just dont want to keep a fish that would be 5" long in a 100+ gallon tank because that would look boring to view.

Again, thanks in advance. I'm here to get information and not here to get flamed.

A 60g tank would be good for growing up an arapaima but you need to consider that they will grow fast and will soon outgrow the 60g tank. You will then upgrade to a bigger tank or an large pond to house an arapaima. I used to keep 3 of these giants back in the Philippines and they grew fast from 4" lil babies to 20" big babies within less than a year. You also need to considered how much money you need to spend on this fish. But you now ignored the arapaiama, so I'll just recommend getting an arowana.

If you do plan to get a black arowana, don't buy any smaller than 6-7 inches as they are very sensitive, stubborn and very skittish of all the arowana species. Get a black aro when it's about 7" or bigger, best if it's already at 10"+.

For the Jardini they are avilable from time to time in many LFS but more agressive and hardy than the black arowana. They are cheaper than black arowanas as well.

Happy monster fish keeping!

 

[David R]

I just dont want to keep a fish that would be 5" long in a 100+ gallon tank because that would look boring to view.

It won't be boring to watch, trust me, and you'll get better growth and won't have the hassle of shifting a larger fish when it out-grows the small tank. I know, I'd put a 6" black and a 6" green in 150g tanks...

 

[D-Train]

I dont mean to offend but...... Fail.

 

[jlnguyen74]

I dont mean to offend but...... Fail.

Who? You! Totally agree!

 

[jlnguyen74]

Well thanks for all the information. I just was considering it, but after I made all the research, I had to think twice about it and this is the reason why I created this post.

These were actually my choices:

Arapaima (ignored)
Arowana (was thinking of black/blue or a Jardini)
Wolf Fish
Snakehead (hopeless idea)

Please note that I am planning to upgrade to a bigger tank when it is needed. I just wanted to know how much time do I have before I have to upgrade to a bigger tank for these particular fishes above? I just dont want to keep a fish that would be 5" long in a 100+ gallon tank because that would look boring to view.

Again, thanks in advance. I'm here to get information and not here to get flamed.

That's totally correct, plus a small fish in big tank could get more stress than in a decent size tank. See! I can tell you're not newbie! I would say get a black arowana. You will enjoy him. A vendor here, Infinite Aquatics, has some nice black arowana at very good price. You can't find such quality arowana at that price anywhere. I currently keep two bought from him, and they eat Hikari food sticks on the same day I got them.

 

[FSM]

Well thanks for all the information. I just was considering it, but after I made all the research, I had to think twice about it and this is the reason why I created this post.

These were actually my choices:

Arapaima (ignored)
Arowana (was thinking of black/blue or a Jardini)
Wolf Fish
Snakehead (hopeless idea)

Please note that I am planning to upgrade to a bigger tank when it is needed. I just wanted to know how much time do I have before I have to upgrade to a bigger tank for these particular fishes above? I just dont want to keep a fish that would be 5" long in a 100+ gallon tank because that would look boring to view.

Again, thanks in advance. I'm here to get information and not here to get flamed.

A black arowana will need an 8 foot tank eventually, and if you start out with one thats fairly large, the 60 isn't going to work.
They are a lot more expensive than silvers also, if you don't know. Nicer too, though, and they don't get drop eye.

wolf fish...I'm not sure how big Hoplias malabaricus gets (the most common "wolf fish"), but definitely too big for the 60 gallon. There is a different species Ethyrinus ethyrinus, the Red wolf fish, which only gets about 10 inches at the most. That would be a good choice for the 60

Snakeheads are illegal to own in the United States, sorry

 

[tommyquang]

you gotta be kidding me.

 

[Eric A]

I'll just give you an idea for tank size need for these fish.

Arapaima - 20' diameter pond, or a 20' x 10' x 6'
Arowana - depending what type. Black arowana 8' x 3' x 2.5', Jardini would be the same.
Wolf Fish - 6' x 3' x 2.5'
Snakehead - 10' x 4' x 3'

The best fish in that group to get would be a black arowana. the jardini is very agressive, and no tank mates would be able to live with him, which in my opinion would be a huge waste of tank. A black arowana however are peaceful and a lot more flexible, being able to use the tank more 'freely'.