Armatus size and behaviour?

[Jakob]

Currently I have a 125g stocked with an 8" Motoro, and I'm thinking about some tank mates. I have kept many different set ups, but never larger characins.
How aggressive are Armatus?
Will they eat anything that fits into their mouth?
What are the ideal tank mates for Armatus?
How fast/slow do Armatus grow?
I will be upgrading to a 550g in within a year.

 

[Aw3s0m3]

They're pretty aggressive especially towards their own and other silvery fish. Even if it won't fit in their mouths, they still might try to eat it and they grow extremely fast! Before I sold mine, it grew from 2"-13" in 8 months. As for tankmates, nothing less than 2/3 their length SHOULD be safe, but they get territorial so be prepared to see gashes on anything you might keep it with.


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[Jakob]

They're pretty aggressive especially towards their own and other silvery fish. Even if it won't fit in their mouths, they still might try to eat it and they grow extremely fast! Before I sold mine, it grew from 2"-13" in 8 months. As for tankmates, nothing less than 2/3 their length SHOULD be safe, but they get territorial so be prepared to see gashes on anything you might keep it with.


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Thanks for the info!

 

[amazontank]

They're pretty aggressive especially towards their own and other silvery fish. Even if it won't fit in their mouths, they still might try to eat it and they grow extremely fast! Before I sold mine, it grew from 2"-13" in 8 months. As for tankmates, nothing less than 2/3 their length SHOULD be safe, but they get territorial so be prepared to see gashes on anything you might keep it with.


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+1
They grow so fast you should wait until you get the 550 unless you get a baby and keep him by himself in the 125. Keep us posted sounds like an awesome plan!

 

[fuzzlebug]

Army's aren't outright aggressive, just with those teeth any warning bites or test nips to other fish will do damage. And they grow fast, so get the bigger tank first or you'll be playing catch up with the army after 5 months.


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[Aw3s0m3]

Army's aren't outright aggressive, just with those teeth any warning bites or test nips to other fish will do damage. And they grow fast, so get the bigger tank first or you'll be playing catch up with the army after 5 months.


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I guess it depends on the army. I had 2 and 1 would attack anything and everything that was up to the same size. Bigger fish were left alone with the occasional torn fins. The other 1 was more docile but would still get aggressive a few times a week towards the others.


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[djaalix]

I've had similar experiences as fuzzlebag .... not outright aggressive as far as badgering, like cichlids do, except to other payara ... occasionally mine charges my ATF's but doesnt bite, however any bite has serious consequences with those teeth .... large aggressive eating fish like bass can often outcompete them for food and/or badger them to death ... and they can eat huge meals, and will! As already stated anything less than 2/3 his size is a potential meal, and they grow very fast, usually 12 inches in the first year, then slow down after the 12-14 inch mark

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[I31]

My experience is you need to keep them with hardy fish because they will gouge larger ones even too big to eat. Anything that gets stressed out easily won't survive. I have Tarpon that were badly injured but they are resilient. Had a yellow perch that was too long but that didn't stop Armatus from eating it. What was left was 3 in of the body it couldn't fit.