A few questions from a newbie Aro keeper

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fishy knickers

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Oct 5, 2009
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Castleford, UK
Hi, I'm not totally new to fish keeping, but have recently bought a baby (5") silver Aro and 6x2x2 tank and have a few questions about the transfer and set up to the larger tank once cycled.

We currently have :

5" silver arowana
5" sunshine pleco
5" black ghost knife
7" wild angels (measured tip to bottom of fins) x 2
breeding pair of ellioti
4" bristlenose x 4
4" pim pictus catfish x 2

Now, we are keeping the 260 litre (55g) tank running, and know that some fish will probably have to go. Hubby really, really wants a red tail catfish to keep in the big tank(6x2x2) with the Aro....

My questions are...

1. how long would we be able to keep the aro in that size tank for?
2. would a RTC be a good companion? If so- how would would we expect to keep him for in the bigger tank?
3. would an FX5 filter be enough or should we have a second smaller filter running at the other end?
4. would we be able to put any of the other fish in from the other tank when they get bigger..ie BGK on sunshine plec or even the wild angels- and if so at what size?

Basically- what would be the best combo/set up for the fish that we have across the 2 tanks?

Many thanks,

Lisa (AKA Fishyknickers):screwy::goldfish:
 
1. It all depends on feeding regime, water temp, water quality etc. but say 2 years if you don't powerfeed.

2. yes, but not in that tank. you will also like to buy a bigger aro than cat since the cat will have the higher growth rate.

3. it all depends on what filter media you go for.. there is a sticky "filtration 101" in the setup and filtration section that is very informative. I say you'll be good for a while but eventually you would like to aim for a more powerful filtration.

4. with the aro alone, most likely. with the rtc, most likely not they have voracious appatites and VERY big mouths!

good luck and welcome to MFK, the fastest growing community for large predatory fis blablabla.. ;)
 
Thanks for the reply. Hubby is getting a 3" RTC baby, which is nearly half the size of the aro, so the aro has a head start. We reckoned (from what we have read) the two fish have a similar growth rate in the first year or so. Please be honest if you think that the growth rate of the two fish aren't compatible. As for the other fish- they should be fine in the 55g for a while yet.

As an experienced aro keeper, what would you consider a steady (i.e NOT power feeding) diet for my young aro?

What do you reckon to feeding him the occasional earthworm or garden caught woodlouse?

How have you arranged lighting above the tank? I mean if the aro jumps - so it doesn't get burnt!

We are in two minds about what to do later on..whether to sell on the RTC and the silver aro and upgrade to an asian aro, who should just about be ok in the 6x2x2 for a longer while.....or to get a bigger tank. I suppose we will know at the time- depends on how attached we get to them!!

Cheers,

Lisa
 
fishy knickers;3556710; said:
Thanks for the reply. Hubby is getting a 3" RTC baby, which is nearly half the size of the aro, so the aro has a head start. We reckoned (from what we have read) the two fish have a similar growth rate in the first year or so. Please be honest if you think that the growth rate of the two fish aren't compatible. As for the other fish- they should be fine in the 55g for a while yet.

As an experienced aro keeper, what would you consider a steady (i.e NOT power feeding) diet for my young aro?

What do you reckon to feeding him the occasional earthworm or garden caught woodlouse?

How have you arranged lighting above the tank? I mean if the aro jumps - so it doesn't get burnt!

We are in two minds about what to do later on..whether to sell on the RTC and the silver aro and upgrade to an asian aro, who should just about be ok in the 6x2x2 for a longer while.....or to get a bigger tank. I suppose we will know at the time- depends on how attached we get to them!!

Cheers,

Lisa
Click to expand...

the rates are compatible.. the cat is just one of the fastest growing fish you can possibly get.. the aro is just one "division" lower.. that's why its good with a head start. sure they grow at the same rate in length.. sideways is another story.. a 20" rtc is 8" wide and a 20" aro is 2" wide. I would say that it would have to be pretty extreme circumstances for a 18" rtc to go for a 20" aro but when they are small the aros are so skinny they are more or less transperent. but with a 3" to 6" difference you should be fine.

good diet is a high quality pellet base with shrimp, fish filet, earthworms or bugs are great food for little aros =) if you catch bugs/spiders etc just drop them and see if he decides to eat them. People will say that they may catch something from the wild caught bugs but personally I think that the keratin and other nutrients more than make up for that. they have after all survived a couple of million years on bugs.

I highly recommend the hikari foods! they make floating pellets that are great to regulate feeding to the aros' advantage. the surface is his territory. the catfishs' metabolism is also made to starve from time to time so you can feed only the aro without feeling guilty.

about the jumping you should be VERY (I can not press this issue hard enough and a LOT of dead aros are (not) here to witness) careful of any glitches or holes in the cover. their survival is dependent on their aim so there is no such thing as a
"one in a million shot that he will make that jump", he will with ease!

this post is getting very long and "parenty" haha.. I'm sorry for that but they can be quite fragile when little.. look around here and if you see an aro/rtc that is well taken care of don't hesitate to pm the owner and ask for advice. there are also stickies for almost everything. the search function is great but I hope this will work as guidelines. even more experienced keepers will chime in later I'm sure!
 
Thanks again for the lengthy "parenty" REPLY....that's why I like this site...people can be bothered to post "proper" replies.and not just sarchy comments!!

I already have him on the Hikari foodsticks, woodlice, worms, small crickets and bloodworm (even a moth once!). I'm trying to vary his diet....but it's more the amount/frequency I need to know how to control.

Cheers.

Lisa
 
fishy knickers;3556760; said:
Thanks again for the lengthy "parenty" REPLY....that's why I like this site...people can be bothered to post "proper" replies.and not just sarchy comments!!

I already have him on the Hikari foodsticks, woodlice, worms, small crickets and bloodworm (even a moth once!). I'm trying to vary his diet....but it's more the amount/frequency I need to know how to control.

Cheers.

Lisa
Click to expand...

when he is that small 6"? you can feed him until he doesn't want any more.. you can feed him 3 times a day.. the more size, the less fragile =) then it's up to you to decide how fast you want him to grow. what I did was when they no longer were transperent I cut down on the food and mine did just fine.
 
Yes, once they pass 12" you can cut down to a more normal feeding schedule like 2x a day...smaller than that I'd feed him whenever he'll take food. And the insects are a great and natural food source for them.

My understanding of the Asian aros (not firsthand, since we can't have them here :( ) is that the greens are the largest, while the golden, RTG, XB are smaller. You could likely keep a non-green (or a jardini) in your 180 for life. I nice size compromise on the silver aro & RTC might be an Asian aro and lima cat.
 
CTU2fan;3556812; said:
Yes, once they pass 12" you can cut down to a more normal feeding schedule like 2x a day...smaller than that I'd feed him whenever he'll take food. And the insects are a great and natural food source for them.

My understanding of the Asian aros (not firsthand, since we can't have them here :( ) is that the greens are the largest, while the golden, RTG, XB are smaller. You could likely keep a non-green (or a jardini) in your 180 for life. I nice size compromise on the silver aro & RTC might be an Asian aro and lima cat.
Click to expand...

or asian and tig since money doesn't seem to be an issue.. hahaha..
 
What's a "tig" ?

Anyway- don't be cheeky...

"or asian and tig since money doesn't seem to be an issue.. hahaha.."

It's hubbies dream....and he would give a kidney for one if he could!! Seriously though..we're breeding the ellioti, some angels, bristlenose and occasionally apple snails to erm..."feed the habit" !!!

Trust me ..if money wasn't an issue...we would have an asian in a custom made tank NOW!!! (instead of a skanky but solid second hand tank with a home made lid!!):nilly:

Lisa
 
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