hello all, can i get some advice?

[bizzy]

i've kept several different fish over the years, but here are my favorites that i have owned in the past.

here are my favorite setups / fish.

1. redline snakehead. this guy was a beast. they used to be so cheap too, around 12 dollars for a 3incher, i was only able to find them at asian owned stores.
i've actually kept many of these, atleast 5 at different times. once they got to 10 inches i usually sold them or traded them back to the store to get smaller ones. i like the coloring of the younger redlines. then one day BAM nobody was able to get snakeheads, so the one i had, i kept until he was about 14 inches.

2. the 40 pack of exodons. damn these fish are fast, active, eat aggressive, and look pretty cool. these are the only fish that i have kept that killed a pleco.
i've had snakeheads/piranhas with plecos, but none of them ate plecos.
i left for 2 days for a family emergency, and when i came home i saw my plecos head sticking out from a rock.
after a day, i lifted the rock, and thats all it was, jsut a skull, with the spinal cord.

3. the gachua pair. they werent as aggressive as i hoped, but since they paired up, and were pretty active it was fun to watch. at feeding time (live feeders), they werent as exciting to watch as the redline, in my opinion, but i was able to hand feed them, and sometimes if i stuck a piece of shrimp on a fork, they would actually jump out and get it.



since SH are illegal everywhere (i used to get em for 12 bucks), im looking for a nice predator tank. they dont have to be super aggressive, but jsut fun to watch at feeding time.


right now im just doing a lot of research. im hoping for maybe a 125 gal tank, with 1 erythrinus. i would like to get some redfin pickeral..i hear they are nice, and stay pretty small.

i hear mixed results about the red wolf fish ( some active, other not active), but i want to get atleast one Erythrinus, and the other fish i would like to be active.

what would you do with a 125gal? i would like it to be fun to watch during feeding time, and i would like all the species to stay kinda small 8-12 inches max. so instead of having a few BIG fish, i would like to have more smaller fish.

 

[krichardson]

I was never into snakeheads when they were legal.The little red ones didnt stay red when they grew to adults I was told so that was it for me.I now wish that I had kept one in the past because I never tried them.Your 125 might be a nice tank for some type of piranha but whatever you decide on you'd better hurry before that to is banned.

 

[Hao]

ooo a californian having SH haha

 

[bizzy]

i've kept RBP's before, and its not something i want to do again. they are fascinating, but im going for something i've never taken care of before.

i kinda agree with ya Krichardson, i loved the way redlines looked as juveniles, but the bigger they got, they lost the lines and color, and turned brown.

 

[mad ness]

the piranhas would tear the erythrinus apart.

some ace falcatus barracudas would be nice. will need a bit of current and tight lid for them, just set up an wooded or rocked area for the erythrinus to chill.

i believe both fish max out just under a foot.

 

[cichlaguapote]

Piranha are also illegal in CA.

Maybe ATF, Payara, etc?

 

[sbuse]

i had 2 red belly piranha for a while then one ate the other the other lived for 3 years then my fish sitter changed the water to be "helpfull" and killed it! it never ate in front of me so i wouldn't go that route. not sure on small preditors...i only have big ones

 

[cichlaguapote]

i had 2 red belly piranha for a while then one ate the other the other lived for 3 years then my fish sitter changed the water to be "helpfull" and killed it! it never ate in front of me so i wouldn't go that route. not sure on small preditors...i only have big ones

That's 'cause you kept only 2 together. Really you should keep 3 or more if you're keeping pygocentrus species. 1 by themselve is usually skittish, and with only 2 one will kill the other.

 

[bizzy]

when i see barracudas at the store, their noses are always messed up. is this because of tank size? the main reason why im asking questions about smaller predators, is because i
WANT to make sure they have proper space.

 

[mad ness]

yea they're prob crashing into the glass at the shop. but in a 125 they'll be happy. get a korilia current maker, they like flow. #5 should be enough for 125, blow near the top of water level. look out for fin rot, they dont heal easy from it. these are really fragile fish when juvi's. if you must make a choice to get from this batch, choose the ones with bulged bellies, usually if they have an appetite, they'll be ok.
Im not sure whether the high fin sh wont mess with them. birchir's can be fun to watch feed in their own way and compatable