Armatus Keepers out there ....

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well, the 2nd and last Armatus is gone .... very unforunate, and more unfortunate because i dont know why, but i guess there's a few theory's and knowledge was gained from the experience, so its not a total loss. I have the opportunity, or at least 2 weeks ago i did, to get an 8 inch Armatus. At the time i said no, and i'm still very nervous considering losing these 2, but i also want 1 in my tank very badly. Should i wait yes, but i'm not known for my patience, and i will not feed this guy smelt!!!! No way, so i have to see if i can still get, and if i'm willing to take the plunge ... thanks all, for the help

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I'd say jump right back in. You have a few theories and new knowledge so why not give it a shot. It's an on going experiment to figure out the cause. If you raise it successfully on food other than smelt than you have a pretty good idea what not to do. And the community would gain some insight too.

And sorry for your loss :(
 
If money is not an issue... why not. but if it is, take your time bud, armatus' grow fast and will catch up to your tankmates in no time :)

I'm sure, like you've said, have gained some insight on what could've went wrong. But keep in mind, it's hard to get payara to get off live. Starting with a new one will probably mean feeding live fish, at least initially. Feeding them goldfish and minnows is just as bad as feeding smelt because of the thiaminase. Sad to see number two go down, but like you said, not a total waste :)
 
well theres a few theories i've got working. I bought a phosphate kit yesterday, and my phosphates are high, about 5 ppm, and i'm sure they were higher. So i've got to increase my weekly water change to 2 a week, and maybe add a phosphate remover to the system like chem pure elite or something ... kind of annoying since i just bought 3 grande chem pures, not elite :( Also, i need to slow down my feedings .... there wouldnt be much waste food in the tank, because i would clean out most of whatever smelt/shrimp was not eaten, however the high volume of food, especially the armatus would eat like 2-3 whole smelts a day, increased the thiaminase a lot in their bodies, whereas if i fed less the concentrations wouldnt get so high, and that coupled with the amount of phosphate produced from all the fish waste from eating so much probably created problems .... I've always known i fed too much, i just figured since i never saw any ammonia/nitrite spikes, and my nitrates were always low, i figured my waterchanges were able to counteract overfeeding, but now i know there is more to it than that. I am nervous about adding a new fish, and having to go with live, but the other 2 Armatus were easy to switch ... 1 ate silversides immediatly, and the other took only a week .... i know its more difficult with pellets, but we'll see ...
thanks again all

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alright, lets try this again, although this guy is really small, and was way to much money!!!! but whatever, got em in my 40 gallon breeder with some small dats, and 1 goldfish who's there to help pellet train everyone ... seems comfortable, had him for a day so far, and he ate a silverside at the store, but i think that was because he was starving so bad, but no pellets as of yet. He'd be lunch in my big tank right now, especially since i'm trying to pellet train and everyone is starving cause thier stubborn! lol! but here he is ...
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if you're trying to avoid silversides or smelt what about anchovies or making your own food? You can find all sorts of frozen small fish at Asian groceries. I also make my own food grinding up everything from tilapia, shrimp, krill, massivore, algae tablets, garlic and hikari sticks. When I feed them that they go nuts. They love it!
 
Although not an armatus, I've been able to get my scomb to eat tilapia and salmon... I just slice it thin, so it resembles a silverside, and he goes after it... As long as it falls in front of his face, he will attack it. I am pretty sure the same will work for armatus, as they are known to be more voracious than scombs. I rotate between silversides, tilapia, salmon... So far so good, and no smelt required. Now I'm tempted to get one too :)
 
i'd have no trouble feeding my fish any sort of fish filet, problem is this, i'm scared to death since my 2 Armatus died, and the most likely culprit is this thiaminase or whatever .... so because of that i'm trying to force pellets ... once they begin eating pellets i'll go back to occasional frozen food for variety, but the bottom line is pellets are the most nutrient packed food. I also need to feed less to keep the tank as clean as possible, which is going to be hard! lol! , but i'll do it ... ya live ya learn, so thats my goal, everyone eating pellets ... thus far, out of my 30 or so fish, the only pellet eaters are the Dorado, and my freshwater stone fish. And my royal pleco, although i think he is gonna have to go .... he used to devour the smelt and silversides, but now that i'm forcing pellets and feeding less he's hungry, and i've caught him a couple times attached to my goonch cats sucking the slime off, so unless he stops, he's going. This is a stressful time, and i'm very concerned with everyone refusing pellets and being hungry, but in the long run it'll be better ... just hope i dont lose anyone in the process

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