Armatus guys... I need your wisdom! Army + GATF

[DB junkie]

YEA 13 my army is doing good in the community but he is still young. Only fish he ever bother was a small L155 other than that no aggression towards other fish, i think chicx could pull it off if anybody could. Also have moved my army twice with no problems 2 more moves until his final home.

13 tanks must be quite the endeavor! I struggle with just a couple systems.

Little Armatus are a lot different then big Armatus in many ways, they handle any kind of tank mates pretty much, and don't mind being moved, or even shipped. Big Armatus..... well, most of us honestly don't know.... lol. Most die long before they even get big.

What is your Armatus's "final home" ???

 

[Chicxulub]

I had no idea you picked up a 510...... Congrats!!!

I definitely agree, no point in wasting the time, heck I couldn't even plum that sucker the way I wanted it in a couple months... lol. I still haven't gotten my big tank right and I've been working on it since last winter.

Mine is actually a DIY tank. I've been working on it since like March lol. I'm really regretting one major decision with it. I went with a 30" height to get it through the front door of my current house, only to find out shortly after I built the frame that I'm moving so soon that I'll never actually put it in this house. I was originally going to go 3' high and I really, REALLY regret not doing so now.

The 360 is 5.5'x3x3. I'll probably use that for freshwater for a while and then convert it to salt once I get my 'forever home'.

 

[DB junkie]

Mine is actually a DIY tank. I've been working on it since like March lol. I'm really regretting one major decision with it. I went with a 30" height to get it through the front door of my current house, only to find out shortly after I built the frame that I'm moving so soon that I'll never actually put it in this house. I was originally going to go 3' high and I really, REALLY regret not doing so now.

The 360 is 5.5'x3x3. I'll probably use that for freshwater for a while and then convert it to salt once I get my 'forever home'.

I love 30" height. I don't think I'd even want a 3' tall tank. I can't get to the bottom of 2.5'. But you mention salt, lol. Never thought about that. The sight of a group of Morays dancing in a tall tank would be crazy sweet. Especially if it was tall enough to get their entire bodies in the water column. Maybe I want a 3' tall tank now? Nah, 4' would be better. I think Mr. Nibblez is probably already pushing 3'. Damn you Rob.

 

[SharptoothBass]

13 tanks must be quite the endeavor! I struggle with just a couple systems.

Little Armatus are a lot different then big Armatus in many ways, they handle any kind of tank mates pretty much, and don't mind being moved, or even shipped. Big Armatus..... well, most of us honestly don't know.... lol. Most die long before they even get big.

What is your Armatus's "final home" ???

Not really used to have 21 once after i get 3 more big tanks im cutting back to 6 or 7. Tanks have been a breeze since i stop doing water changes with buckets like 15 years ago LOL. I really think people make fish keeping more complicated than it is some from just not knowing what they are doing, and some to stroke their egos in a quest to say mine is better than yours. keeping 10+ adult dogs was a endeavor feeding,walking, giving shoots,removing and replacing hay or cedder, delivering pups and turning the soil plus adding 20 40lbs bags of dirt alone was work. havent decided on final tank yet most likely 405 72X37x36 or 410 130x31x24

 

[Chicxulub]

I love 30" height. I don't think I'd even want a 3' tall tank. I can't get to the bottom of 2.5'. But you mention salt, lol. Never thought about that. The sight of a group of Morays dancing in a tall tank would be crazy sweet. Especially if it was tall enough to get their entire bodies in the water column. Maybe I want a 3' tall tank now? Nah, 4' would be better. I think Mr. Nibblez is probably already pushing 3'. Damn you Rob.

Haha

When I buy the house in which I plan to live the rest of my life in a few years, I'm planning to build a truly huge wall tank that will be deep enough that I have to break out the swim trunks to do anything in the tank. I'm thinking like 2000 gallons. Ideally, it would be 6' deep with a 4' window. One can dream!

I was thinking of slowly building the 360 up first to a nice reef and then adding some sort of predator. I like Gymnothorax as well, they're fascinating animals.

I also like octopuses, they're some of the most fascinating pets I've ever kept. They're NOT reef safe however, they'll eat the entire cleanup crew. I'd like a 90+ gallon corner tank for the octo, plumbed into the same water as the 360. I really want to try an Octopus briareus, I find them to be a particularly attractive species. I've kept Abdopus aculeatus and Octopus mercatoris.

I really miss having salt, but I feel that it would be a bad idea to get back into unless I'm living somewhere that I'll never move from. :/

 

[sashimimaster]

That's exactly what I'm doing right now. My GATF is about 11" and my 3 Armies are around the 4" mark. I'd say within the year when they get to be about 10 or so inches I'll introduce the Armies to my ATFs. My rational is for an Armatus to swallow a 12" GATF it would have to be at least 3 to 4 inches bigger. And that's only if it's really hungry. As long as I keep them well fed they won't be looking at each other as food. So they have at least a year of cohabitation as tankmates and not a potential meal. Hopefully they will settle into being tankmates but I guess with these fish you never know.

 

[DB junkie]

Haha

I was thinking of slowly building the 360 up first to a nice reef and then adding some sort of predator. I like Gymnothorax as well, they're fascinating animals.

I also like octopuses, they're some of the most fascinating pets I've ever kept. They're NOT reef safe however, they'll eat the entire cleanup crew. I'd like a 90+ gallon corner tank for the octo, plumbed into the same water as the 360. I really want to try an Octopus briareus, I find them to be a particularly attractive species. I've kept Abdopus aculeatus and Octopus mercatoris.

I really miss having salt, but I feel that it would be a bad idea to get back into unless I'm living somewhere that I'll never move from. :/

This is why I'm really happy to have a tank of bigger eels. I can't have anything in there.... lol. I'd love to get into reef stuff, but I know better. IF I can't keep happy rays I know better then to even attempt it, yet the curiosity doesn't go away.

I've also always wanted an Octopus, but the whole short lifespan thing is kind of hard to justify. Knowing it would be eaten and need it's own tank makes it easier, but I could easily plum a little tank onto the current salty 400. You're really not helping any man.

Gymnothorax has some nice species, but I'd trade all my Gymnos for a single Enchelycore.

I can't even imagine being able to build my own tank.... lol. I've always wanted to connect a few tanks with clear PVC and turn the eels loose in there. Kinda like the hamster tubes many of us had as kids. I can't imagine how crazy feedings would be with 3' eels rushing through tubes trying to find the tank with the food. Hopefully someday. For now I'd just be happy if I could have all my tanks/systems in the same place.

Back on topic, maybe you should get an Armatus. Maybe if you have one die on you for no reason then you'll understand my burning desire to understand why these things do so friggin poor in captivity. I tried 3 years in a row, 9 fish total, and results seemed to get worse the harder I tried.... lol

 

[1hottuna]

Been there done that.......my goliath turned on my armatus one day and kept hammering him......armatus was like 10" and goliath was 12" at the time......sold armatus and now goliath like 14-15"

 

[cichlaumbriferus]

Set up a different tank for the Armatus for sure. My Armatus detested one another, as well as any other silver fish, once they hit 6". But what an appetite; they put any redtail catfish to shame when swallowing frozen smelts.

 

[Chicxulub]

Dang guys, I might just go with another tat. I'll admit that I am VERY concerned at some of the stories of the tenacity of the armies.

I know I can get a bunch of mesopredators to work in a community with Max, but I'm beginning to think I might have to forget the idea of mixing apex predators. If I do get one, the only thing that's reassuring is that by the time its big enough to be an issue I'll have moved out of BFE and selling it won't be an issue.