Female vieja synspilum tank size

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Rivers2k

Rivers2k

Piranha
MFK Member
Dec 27, 2011
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I have a female vieja synspilum that I am growing out and I can't seem to find tank info for just a female everything I see is for male sized fish or pairs. I know males can get up 17"-18" but I hear females only reach half that 8"-9" so for a single female vieja syns would a 75 be fine or would I need a 90?

I also believe it is a female cause the head is more pointy and the fins are more round. I will try to get a pic tonight. but it has the same shape as the females I have googled and it is currently between 5-6" I am guessing.
 
Nobody?
 
I wasn't able to get a straight answer good luck man

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There really is not one answer, because frequency of water changes, amount of filtration, and many other factors can all come into play.
The minimum rule of thumb, I use for my own fish, is 10 gallons per inch.
For me, a 7.5" fish needs at least 75 gallons, a 10"er, at least 100 gallons etc etc.
With no other fish in the tank, a 75 or 90 may work, if water quality remains high
 
duanes said:
There really is not one answer, because frequency of water changes, amount of filtration, and many other factors can all come into play.
The minimum rule of thumb, I use for my own fish, is 10 gallons per inch.
For me, a 7.5" fish needs at least 75 gallons, a 10"er, at least 100 gallons etc etc.
With no other fish in the tank, a 75 or 90 may work, if water quality remains high
Click to expand...

Thank you for the response I am aware of the other variables of water changes and such but I know there are minimum guidelines for other fish. like nothing less than 55 for a Green Terror or 75 for an Oscar just as examples. I can't seem to find any such answers for Female Viejas.
 
jaws7777 said:
I wasn't able to get a straight answer good luck man

Sent from my SPH-L710 using MonsterAquariaNetwork App
Click to expand...

Do you have one, if so what size fish and tank?
 
Rivers2k said:
Thank you for the response I am aware of the other variables of water changes and such but I know there are minimum guidelines for other fish. like nothing less than 55 for a Green Terror or 75 for an Oscar just as examples. I can't seem to find any such answers for Female Viejas.
Click to expand...

You can use the average size oscar (~14") as a guideline for viejas since they are roughly close to each other in body mass. So a 75g, with only the female vieja will be good for it's life, imho. A tank with a larger footprint is always better.
 
I have stuck with small, peaceful SA cichlids up until recently. So it wasn't until recently that I came to the conclusion (with help from some of the more conservative members here) that I shouldn't keep a cichlid in a tank that doesn't offer twice its ultimate length in width. So a 10" fish should have a 20" wide tank. This is a good rule for me personally because it ensures I won't ever cram big fish into small tanks because tanks of accurate widths are usually of accurate length for the fish I'm thinking of keeping (with a few small exceptions).

I got into Andinoacara rivulatus recently and plan to keep a pair in a 75. Males generally tend to top out at 10", so the 18" wide tank is adequate and would be the minimum I would think to keep them. However, I am thinking I will actually place the pair in my 125 with a few Cryptoheros sajica for dithers/targets.

Vieja are a fish I had thought about keeping, but even the smaller species females will likely reach 10-12". A 75 or 90 (same footprint with the 90 being slightly taller) would be a bit of a squeeze for a large female because the genus tends to be girthy as well as long, which is where the extra width really comes in handy. It was recommended to me that no Vieja be kept in a tank smaller than 180 gallons to get the 24" tank width. However, if you got one of the smaller species (keep in mind that the smallest female Vieja will reach about 10-12" and the larger ones will reach 14", so there isn't a huge difference), you could do a female in a 75 with good filtration, but you probably wouldn't get much personality (I'm told they are shy when solo) and you wouldn't likely be able to stock it with tankmates.






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Rivers2k said:
Thank you for the response I am aware of the other variables of water changes and such but I know there are minimum guidelines for other fish. like nothing less than 55 for a Green Terror or 75 for an Oscar just as examples. I can't seem to find any such answers for Female Viejas.
Click to expand...

Those minimums are honestly too small IMO. Rivulatus can reach 10" and it would be very cramped in a tank only 2" wider than it is long. It's also a little thick and needs the extra room to turn around. Same for oscars that can reach 14-16" long in 18" wide tanks and they are even thicker than rivulatus. You should think to reassess your concept of minimums if you think those measurements are okay for those species.


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