Minimum tank size for lone Armatus ?
- Thread starter tcarswell
- Start date
I agree,it's the most awesome fish I have had the pleasure of having.DB what are your plans for the ones in your freezer?
DB junkie;3107349; said:
I think people don't intially understand that this fish just in general or because it's a characin need such a large tank to compensate for it's special behaviours(smashing into things). I think most who have interest in this fish/want to keep one just aren't considering normal characin behaviour packaged with a large fish when wanting to keep this fish thus why the question tank size. I would agree with you though that it needs special considerations.
Vamptrev how big is yours now?
Serious question Db, what are you going to do different to keep your next armatus out of the freezer? Or basically, as a experienced keeper of more than a couple armatus what are your plans for your future armatus?
I really want one of these guys too. One of the most interesting fish I have ever seen. Just waiting till I can get a monster tank for one.
Real simple..... NO rays till they get big. Will keep them with pups, but no rays. NO pond, this way I'm able to see them. Kinda hard to tell the health of these fish when in a pond.
They aren't super difficult to keep, I just undersetimated the predatory nature of rays. By the time I figured out what was going on it was too late.
I've got an empty 4 by 3 waiting for them.....
Still undecided what diet will be though.... May give them live for a while this time instead of breaking them so early.
4 x 3 then 300, once that's outgrown IF I don't have a DIY tank done then they'll go into the 750. If I get a house bought and get a DIY tank started it will make the 750 too small to be the sump..... It'll be big.
I really don't understand why I have such good luck with my Rhaph and such poor luck with the Armatus..... Maybe cause the Rhaph knows to run from the rays and the Armatus are stupid enough to think they can throw down....lol
They aren't super difficult to keep, I just undersetimated the predatory nature of rays. By the time I figured out what was going on it was too late.
I've got an empty 4 by 3 waiting for them.....
Still undecided what diet will be though.... May give them live for a while this time instead of breaking them so early.
4 x 3 then 300, once that's outgrown IF I don't have a DIY tank done then they'll go into the 750. If I get a house bought and get a DIY tank started it will make the 750 too small to be the sump..... It'll be big.
I really don't understand why I have such good luck with my Rhaph and such poor luck with the Armatus..... Maybe cause the Rhaph knows to run from the rays and the Armatus are stupid enough to think they can throw down....lol
DB junkie;3107611; said:You could build one cheap.... Easily. Keep it 2.5 high and will easily go through the average door. 6 by 12 should do it.
You could get one now and a 300 would work for a year, hell with carefull ffeeding a 180 may last a year.... If you're saving $500 a month it's palace would be finished before it needed it.
Check out Rich's (VLDesign) build.... He built a friggin shweeeet tank and even went with a few high dollar options and you could build the same tank in a lil over half a year at the rate you're saving......
Don't feel like it can't be done or that I'm trying to imply it's a bad idea... It's just that I feel I made some mistakes with them and it's due to crap info and stereotypes that are floating around. I feel people are misinformed. It's NOT that it's a bad idea to commit to them.... hell IMO they are THE baddest FW fish in existance, but caring for one is a HUGE undertaking that often goes underestimated. They have growth rates that are unmatched by almost any fish I know of and most people start them in small tanks and always fall short of upgrades or don't think about how tough they are to move from tank to tank.
I hope you DO end up doing it!!! They are a VERY impressive fish. I know I will own one again soon..... As they are almost in season........
People just need to realize these are the RTCs of the Characin world and be prepared for that so we can have SUCCESSFULL Armatus keepers and not Armatus havers, cause these fish can't exactly be moved or shipped easily like the ol RTCs can. They are MUCH more fragile.
In short DO IT! BUT be responsable about it, OR you'll end up like me with Armatus outnumbering any other fish in my freezer.
I was planning on plagiarizing Rich's build
The house im in a bidding war for has a nice basement. 
I got 1500 saved so far I put in a little extra to kick it off. The thing Is once my job up here gets finished and passes final inspection I am moving back home to work and hopefully move in to that house I mentioned. But by then I will have about 6 G's saved.
And for everyone curious I would never get a fish that I could not keep in an ideal environment if I get one he is gonna be happy whatever it takes including a 1500 build I got all the tools and a 4000 square foot shop to work on it in
Not to mention zenzo is nearby my shop to help me make a wicked metal stand for it.