Big aro w/ tiny tankmates?
- Thread starter mikehawk
- Start date
Ive got baby cichlids (1-2inches) with my 7-8 inch silver and he swims with them but never goes for them.
It's like putting a dog treat in front of a dog, and saying dont touch.....It willbe a matter of time before you arro is like mmm that looks yummy...gulp...no more lil fishes! Once on live food, will always eat live food....never seen a veggie arro before 
Back before I moved the aro to a bigger tank, he shared a 55g with a 4" rainbow shark, a 1.5" clown loach, and a 2" electric blue johanni. He never ate them, I didn't even seem him stalk them. He got up a decent size before I moved him and all his little tank buddies were present and accounted for. At the same time, I was feeding him live minnows and goldfish. Almost like he knew which fish were feeders and which were regulars. Although, he did eat the chinese algea eater that I put in there. 
I tried a similar experiment recently with some small minnows (under 1"). My 12" silver aro and my 11" RTC paid no attention to them. However, my peacock bass greedily gobbled them up and my 10" royal clown knife chased them down as well.
I would say that once the aro is bigger, probably in the 16"+ range, you could probably get away with it. But if you fail to feed the big guy on a regular basis, those little neons will certainly become more and more tempting and will likely begin disappearing.
I would say that once the aro is bigger, probably in the 16"+ range, you could probably get away with it. But if you fail to feed the big guy on a regular basis, those little neons will certainly become more and more tempting and will likely begin disappearing.
