Festae owners, will this work?

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batang_mcdo

Polypterus
MFK Member
Apr 24, 2006
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Manila
Hi,

Would i be able to keep about 2 pcs of festae with some silver dollars and plecos? or would they be killed by the festaes?
would likt to get about 2 pcs festae hoping to get a male and female?
my tank is an 8x2x2.5 ft tank inhabitants are 12 inch arowana, 15 pcs silver dollars, 3 pcs adult golden severums and 3 2 inch albino gibbiceps.

i have hugs drfitwoods in my tank. if i add the festae , will my silver dollars and pleco be in trouble?

thanks.
 
Well, I'm not sure what "pcs" stands for but I'll give my opinion anyway.

Your severums would not fair well with festae. If they paired off, all the other fish would be in trouble. The silver dollars would probably be fast enough to deal with the situation but the pair will keep all of the other fish at the opposite end of the tank. Everyone unfortunate enough to be in the same tank with a breeding pair will live an uncomfortable lifestyle, constantly on the run.

An active pair of festae do not make good tank mates. A female with a brood is *relentless*. Your silver dollars may make good dither fish and give the breeding pair something to pay attention to but everyone else would find the situation unpleasant. I imagine the Silver Dollars would eventually succumb as well.

Just my .02
 
carpediem;695296;695296 said:
Well, I'm not sure what "pcs" stands for but I'll give my opinion anyway.

Your severums would not fair well with festae. If they paired off, all the other fish would be in trouble. The silver dollars would probably be fast enough to deal with the situation but the pair will keep all of the other fish at the opposite end of the tank. Everyone unfortunate enough to be in the same tank with a breeding pair will live an uncomfortable lifestyle, constantly on the run.

An active pair of festae do not make good tank mates. A female with a brood is *relentless*. Your silver dollars may make good dither fish and give the breeding pair something to pay attention to but everyone else would find the situation unpleasant. I imagine the Silver Dollars would eventually succumb as well.

Just my .02
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thanks. what if i just grow them until they've paired up and move them once they pair up? will this be good?
the festae i'm planning to get would be 1-2 inches.
 
Be prepared... I received 6 F1 juvie A. festae 1.5 - 2.0" from Rapps on 11/3/2006. I just moved my first batch of fry into a nursery tank yesterday 2/11/2007. They hatched out about two weeks ago so it took only two full months to go from 1.5" juvie fish to a viable breeding pair. These guys are prolific and they grow fast.

My point? Have the available tank space BEFORE you order the fish. Have a place to move the other fish should things not work out.
 
carpediem;695491; said:
Be prepared... I received 6 F1 juvie A. festae 1.5 - 2.0" from Rapps on 11/3/2006. I just moved my first batch of fry into a nursery tank yesterday 2/11/2007. They hatched out about two weeks ago so it took only two full months to go from 1.5" juvie fish to a viable breeding pair. These guys are prolific and they grow fast.

My point? Have the available tank space BEFORE you order the fish. Have a place to move the other fish should things not work out.
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hmm, you're the first person I've heard call festae "fast growers". the pair I used to have took close to a year to get to 6-7". IMO 1/2" per month is a good growth rate out of festae. I don't think you'd be able to grow them out fast enough to be able to introduce them with an arrowana without getting eaten. the aro will always be significantly larger and when you introduce the festae they'd most likley become a quick snack. without the aro you've got a much better chance. However there's still the issue of the severums that won't be able to handle the aggression of mature festae, especially if the festae are breeding. you can really only hope the severums stay out of the way of the festae and the festae ignore them though I'm not sure how likely that would be. the silver dollars should be ok though because they should be fast enough to avoid any physical damage from the festae, though they would probably be chased a lot which might lead to a lot of stress for them.

:)
 
My fish grew at least 3 1/2 inches in two months. First festae I've ever raised. It's not the growth rate that surprised me though, it's their willingness to spawn so young. I was also surprised and impressed with their maturity when it came to the eggs/fry. First clutch and I've got fry in a grow out tank. They were very good parents. Other species, at least for me, always seemed like they needed a few cracks at it to get it right.

I don't know about your experience, Jason, but my pair is super aggressive. Even when they don't have fry, they keep all the other fish on the opposite end of the tank. Awesome fish, I can't say enough about them. The female is just breathtaking. The male is no slouch either, especially when they're spawning. I am in love with these fish.
 
thanks everybody :) taz is correct pcs is pieces :)
thanks i also have a divider ready once i encounter a problem would it be better to get 2 or 4 pcs to growout? then i'll just give away or sell the extra pieces once i get a pair :)
 
Taz2478;696803; said:
pcs = pieces

you can put the festae to grow out with the dollars and plecos. should take 4-5 months to get a decent size with good feeding and water changes. once 4-5" you can put them in the big tank.
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the one problem with that is that, while the festae are growing out, the aro will continue to grow as well and at a much faster rate. no matter how much growing out time you give the festae, they will always be small enough to be eaten by the aro.

if you want to keep this mix then the best thing to do, imo, would be to trade in the 12" aro for a much smaller one so that the new aro and festae can grow together and get used to each other from the start. yeah the aro will still outgrow the festae but at least they'll have grown up together so you'd have a better chance of the aro not eating them.

:)
 
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