Congrats on being a free man and thank you for your service. That is a tough decision, if you over stock the 150 you will have to over filter which you said would put a drain on the electricity. Or you will be doing water changes every two days to compensate for the cut back on filtration. The only option is to set up the 510 at your parents as in life one year turns into three. What about a pond to house them?
Life changes, might need to change stock up. What would you do?
- Thread starter Chicxulub
- Start date
Fish will always come and go. Now that you're out of the army do what you can to get yourself into a position where you will be settled in a long-term home so you can get that dream 500g+ tank and not have to move it, even if that means giving up or seriously reducing things now. I've had four different black aros over my 15+ years of fishkeeping, and in hindsight this time is the first time it has ever realistically been a "for life" fish...
Wow, thanks for all the replies everyone!
I'm getting that a lot of folks are a fan of setting up the 510 in my parents house. The issue with that is that the tank simply won't fit in the trailer; its gonna have to go into storage.
Another circumstance that I forgot to mention in the original post that is immediately relevant to the discussion at hand is the recent change in the behavior of my gatf.
Since the failed cohabitation of my blue catfish, and Max's need to defend himself while all of that was going down, his previously sedate and calm personality has flown out the window. He's started actively attacking other fish again, he hasn't done that in over a year since he was pellet trained in June 2012.
Now both of my catfish are forces to constantly stay in hiding for fear of the wrath of the tiger and the arowana's fins are in ribbons. The loaches never come out anyway so they've pretty much gotten off scott free. Max has also killed and eaten two of my three bamboo shrimp and my red tail black shark.
He's completely reverted from sociable and almost tame to a territorial predator; its quite saddening.
I'm thinking with my housing situation and the new aggression of Max, I might have to sell off most of my stock and keep Max with disposable, cheap dithers in the hope that he calms back down and then try again. I'd be heartbroken if he killed my aro.
Thoughts?
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I'm getting that a lot of folks are a fan of setting up the 510 in my parents house. The issue with that is that the tank simply won't fit in the trailer; its gonna have to go into storage.
Another circumstance that I forgot to mention in the original post that is immediately relevant to the discussion at hand is the recent change in the behavior of my gatf.
Since the failed cohabitation of my blue catfish, and Max's need to defend himself while all of that was going down, his previously sedate and calm personality has flown out the window. He's started actively attacking other fish again, he hasn't done that in over a year since he was pellet trained in June 2012.
Now both of my catfish are forces to constantly stay in hiding for fear of the wrath of the tiger and the arowana's fins are in ribbons. The loaches never come out anyway so they've pretty much gotten off scott free. Max has also killed and eaten two of my three bamboo shrimp and my red tail black shark.
He's completely reverted from sociable and almost tame to a territorial predator; its quite saddening.
I'm thinking with my housing situation and the new aggression of Max, I might have to sell off most of my stock and keep Max with disposable, cheap dithers in the hope that he calms back down and then try again. I'd be heartbroken if he killed my aro.
Thoughts?
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Any thought of getting a rather/inexpensive Rubbermaid tub to keep 1 of your larger fish in? May not be pretty to look at but it should fit through any trailer doorway & ou would still be able to keep our prized pet..
I agree w/ this if its feasible... keep the fish that are almost impossible to replace as long as you think you can... life does change and you never know how... but I also agree w/ David... no fish is worth your future ect.. I am having a similar issues in reguards to my horse I've had for 15yrs... with kiddo number 2 otw and needing a car... finding him a home is the only option I have to make that happen. Fish are cheap compared to horses, but I feel for the dilemma because as we raised them and watched them grow ect they become in many ways part of the family. But you can't sacrifice the rest of the family for the interest of one. =/ sometimes I hate growing up...
Well thanks for all of the input guys. Based on all of the advice everyone has given me I've come up with a tentative plan. I think this may work, I'd like to know what you all think. I'd also like to solicit any suggestions or further advice you all might have to offer for this. I'm going to have to sell some fish, but I think I'll be able to keep the ones that are special.
Thanks everyone.
Here's the tentative plan:
1- Upgrade the electrical system as best as I can in order to handle the draw of the tank. If I can cut down the pull of the tank buy shutting down some filtration, this shouldn't be too big of an issue.
2- Cut down on filtration. I am currently obscenely overfiltered and the level of filtration I'm using is likely entirely unnecessary. So, I'm planning to cut down my huge pool filter, my AC100, my Marineland 60 pothos colony, my Magnum 350 and four of my six 1200+ gph powerheads. But to do this, I have to:
3- Cut down on stock. As it sits right now, I desperately need to transition my fish into the 510 for them to continue to thrive. Considering how long its taken me to make progress on building the tank, there's no point in actually putting it up now just to tear it down in 3 months or so. So in order for my fish to thrive, and since they're going to be stuck in the 150 for the time being, I need to get rid of some fish. This has been an incredibly hard realization for me to come to and has involved some very difficult decisions. I've decided that I'm going to keep Max the gatf and Dottie the goonch. Dottie doesn't really do much of anything and I think she could stay with Max for now with a minimum of consequences. However, it won't be too long before Max needs a bit more swimming room. So,
4- I'm going to have to upgrade to an intermediary tank. It is readily apparent that one can get a 240 with a stand for about $300 if you're patient. It doesn't have to be pretty for me, it just needs to hold water. Obviously this isn't ideal for the gatf, but I feel that I could safely get him up to ~20" or so in this tank if I keep it focused to his needs (which I certainly intend to do). I feel it'll take a couple of years before he gets there anyway so hopefully I'll be back in a house of my own with room to play before it ever comes to that. An 8x2 footprint is the largest I could actuallly manage to get into the house.
I hope all of this works out. The last thing I want to have to do is a GATF for sale thread!
Thanks everyone.
Here's the tentative plan:
1- Upgrade the electrical system as best as I can in order to handle the draw of the tank. If I can cut down the pull of the tank buy shutting down some filtration, this shouldn't be too big of an issue.
2- Cut down on filtration. I am currently obscenely overfiltered and the level of filtration I'm using is likely entirely unnecessary. So, I'm planning to cut down my huge pool filter, my AC100, my Marineland 60 pothos colony, my Magnum 350 and four of my six 1200+ gph powerheads. But to do this, I have to:
3- Cut down on stock. As it sits right now, I desperately need to transition my fish into the 510 for them to continue to thrive. Considering how long its taken me to make progress on building the tank, there's no point in actually putting it up now just to tear it down in 3 months or so. So in order for my fish to thrive, and since they're going to be stuck in the 150 for the time being, I need to get rid of some fish. This has been an incredibly hard realization for me to come to and has involved some very difficult decisions. I've decided that I'm going to keep Max the gatf and Dottie the goonch. Dottie doesn't really do much of anything and I think she could stay with Max for now with a minimum of consequences. However, it won't be too long before Max needs a bit more swimming room. So,
4- I'm going to have to upgrade to an intermediary tank. It is readily apparent that one can get a 240 with a stand for about $300 if you're patient. It doesn't have to be pretty for me, it just needs to hold water. Obviously this isn't ideal for the gatf, but I feel that I could safely get him up to ~20" or so in this tank if I keep it focused to his needs (which I certainly intend to do). I feel it'll take a couple of years before he gets there anyway so hopefully I'll be back in a house of my own with room to play before it ever comes to that. An 8x2 footprint is the largest I could actuallly manage to get into the house.
I hope all of this works out. The last thing I want to have to do is a GATF for sale thread!
Life sucks sometimes but you'll find a way, Max is a supreme specimen and deserves someone of your dedication to tend to his daily needs. Hope you find a 240g or even a 210g to keep the monster at bay until you can get on your feet. Worst case scenario Im sure you can find a nice person around you who can babysit the fish temporarily until your ready. I would but im all the way in Canada XD Also you'll regret it if you sell em, I always regret getting rid of King. Just saying, hope things work out for you man. Goodluck
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I regret getting rid of my tatf 
hope his happy
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To be really, really honest with you Rob - I'd sell Max. Yes you love him I understand that but how I see it, he is the only thing in the way of just keeping the others in the 150 till you get the 500 set up. Of course, it's your decision and you're not giving your baby away. Just my opinion!
You could also ask a friend to hold Max.
You could also ask a friend to hold Max.
