Heart breaking deaths..... I need to restock

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nmadsen4

Plecostomus
MFK Member
Dec 16, 2008
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phoenix
I had some horrible deaths in the last few days. Lost a ray at 1 house and a jardini at my other place just a day earlier..... it makes me sick thinking about it but restocking will hopefully cure me.

I'm only going to restock one of my 180's at the moment.

I'm thinking of getting 4 or 5 Vieja argentea's at 4-4.5" and a black arowana at 8". That will give me somewhere between 9-12 months before i need to move the aro to a larger setup.

I know the black aro's are sensitive when small but do you think it'll be ok at 8" when the vieja's are only 4"?? what about when the vieja's are older, i heard they're a bit nasty but do u think they would mess with a black aro thats over 2 feet?

all input welcome
 
viejas are nasty. My redhead was a tank at 11 inches and made my 9 inch midas act like a goldfish
 
so you would say that an adult argentea would probably bully an adult black aro? or would they be an issue at just 4-4.5"?
 
Argenteas are very aggressive and more if your going to keep a group with the aro.
 
im sorry im not sure if im reading your post correctly Rey. They are more aggressive in a group or are you saying I should keep more of them if im going to have the aro as well?

forgive me, i've never kept an argentea so i just want to make sure im understanding correctly.
 
Right I've cared for a jardini before so I could understand that. But Blacks are far more fragile and quite a bit more docile. I'm not worried about the vieja's safety, im sure they will be fine, however I just want to understand the Argenteas true temperament at a small size and also as an adult. Also in a group or just 1 or 2.

Does anyone have any clear and direct knowledge on Argentea's at these specified sizes?
 
A 4" argentea could easily overwhelm an 8" black aro. Multiple could even make it worse. Then again you could go with the combo and have no problems at all. I would go with an aro a bit bigger, 10-11" or the args a bit smaller 3-3.5". Keep an eye on them and be ready to separate at a moments notice.

A 24" aro will have no issues with a full grown argentea, in most cases.
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Thank you that was exactly the info I needed. I've order multiple times from jeff so I feel comfortable with his fish, unfortunately he doesn't have a bigger black aro. He might have smaller argentea's tho.... Maybe i'll get the aro first and grow it a bit and then get the argenteas. That'll give it time to be acclimated and get it eating well but then again i'll have to pay shipping twice if I do that.. What do you think?
 
Well putting together odd combos is always intreagueing, but you have to be prepared for if they fail. So if you can separate and house the fish if needed then I say go for it.
 
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