Festae grow outs, growth rate and tank size questions....

[David R]

To follow on from this thread with the pics of my festae, I've got a few questions regarding their growth rate and the the required tank size for housing a pair, as it seems there is a fair bit of conflicting information. The fish are currently 2-3" and are in an 80g. They will be moved to a 160g (60x24"x28" wide) in a few months time once I've set up another tank for the fish that are in the 160g. My long term goal is to pick the best two for a breeding pair and house them together in a large tank. So;

1. What size tank should I be planning on keeping the pair in? I'm not a big fan of dividers so if possible I'd rather give them a bit more room and hiding spaces. I'd be happy if I could get away with the 160g, but if thats not going to be big enough I have the option of a 220g (72"x24"x30" wide). Is that likely to be enough space for them to live together safely, or is it overkill?

2. I'm guessing their growth rate in the 160g should be fairly fast, at what age/size are they likely to start breeding?

3. Is it better to separate the males from females to avoid them breeding at a young age/small size if my long term goal is to end up with two big fish?

I know that the temperament of these fish can vary greatly and that there are no hard and fast rules, but there are enough people here keeping these fish to at least give advice based on their experiences. Its an awkward situation, I need to decide if I'm going to go for the 220g for the festae or just leave them in the 160g, as that will decide if I go for a 6' or 7' tank to house the fish that are currently in the 160g. I can only fit 18' of tank across the back wall of my fish room, so I'll either end up with 3 6' tanks or a 6' a 7' and a 5'...

 

[devder1]

whats the footprint of the 160? if its 6x18" or bigger, you will be good imo

 

[David R]

60"long, 24" high, 28" wide.

 

[crisper]

those dimensions would be fine imo. and from what i have seen festae growth rate is not that fast.

 

[devder1]

60"long, 24" high, 28" wide.

your good to go

 

[VRWC]

For me, slower than average growth rate (on par with grammodes), ive seen them spawn at 4 inches and if it were me to do over again, no tank mates once they spawn. My pair killed 13 or so fish in one night when the eggs hatched and that was in a 265. Costly mistake on my part.

I went through 5 (i think) other females before finding one that the male liked. He got to about 10 inches in almost 3 yrs, although I do have to admit his first yr was in too small of a tank with 6 others and water changes about every 2-3 weeks.

By themselves, Ive had males and females with tankmates their whole lives, as a pair they were fine with grammodes pair, 10+ convicts, a jag pair, a synodontis and a pictus. Once the eggs hatched, I woke up on a Saturday morning with everything dead but the jag pair and syno, and the jag pair looked like they had been skinned alive and the syno was on his last leg. One of the jags died and I gave the other 2 remaining fish away.

Heres the thread on them after they killed the fish. I posted pics of all the fish they killed on someone elses thread but cant find it. I saved them in the freezer for a friend in marine biology. He wanted to dissect them.

http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=277758

 

[fishluvr12]

You should be fine with the 160 for several yrs. But even with a strongly bonded pair I wouldn't rule out keeping a divider handy. IMO everything thing is fine until one day the male wants to breed and the female isn't ready.Once these guys get over 10" they can do major damage in a hurry(Like VRWC stated)

 

[David R]

Thanks VRWC, I'm certainly not planning on having tankmates with the pair!! Do you think having them breed at a smaller size slowed their growth rate?

You should be fine with the 160 for several yrs. But even with a strongly bonded pair I wouldn't rule out keeping a divider handy

Fine for several years, meaning that long-term they will need something bigger? If the 160g isn't going to be big enough for life then I'll get a 220g wide for them and sell the 5'. I'll still have the 80g they are in now for raising fry, and it could be used in an emergency if/when separation is needed.

 

[Gruff Master]

Out of six Festae, I am now down to five. They are beginning to slowly weed each other out. Mine seem to grow slow in a 120. The three biggest ones now range from 3.5"-5". I don't know if that's average growth or not. I just wish they were bigger. The tank looks pretty empty! All dithers are killed very quickly!

 

[Jason_S]

unfortunately there's no way to say for sure that the 160 will be fine for life. the pair I used to have were fine in a 125 all the time that i kept them in there. I used a type of divider but it was never really necessary as they never got rough with each other, but that's not to say that they never would have. I also kept several female convicts with them. they were much smaller and could find hiding places but they also helped to disperse the pair's aggression out on them instead of each other. there were actually 2 male cons in as well but overnight the pair killed them once they got too big.

I would think the 160 would be fine for life, but as has already been advised you should keep a divider on hand just in case and you'll just have to keep an eye on them and see how they do together.