Moving a 30" Arapaima from a 2000G to a 2400G
- Thread starter The TRUST
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Whoa!!... didn't even have to wear a raincoat when netting huh?!! 
That's an awesome fish and awesome tanks! Thanks for sharing, Jed! 
That's an awesome fish and awesome tanks! Thanks for sharing, Jed! Jed, I think that was Jed anyway, Todd and I researched all we could on moving jumbo Arapaima Gigas. Most of the advice we got was dont move big Arapaima as they fight kick and scratch to the point of exhaustion and often die in the struggle. What we did not fully understand was that we humans are the ones at risk as much as the fish on monster fish moving day.mjime714 said:
I tested the water in Todds 2000 gallon Sting Ray aquarium in his home. As you might expect he keeps the huge aquarium warm and the water pristine for his giant fresh water Sting Rays. I raised the temperature in my 2400 gallon back yard jumbo fish aquarium to 80 degrees Fahrenheit the same as Todds and did big water changes. Nitrates (NO³) are my problem.
It took about 30 minutes to get the big Arapaima to slow down in the 16 foot long 2000 gallon aquarium long enough to catch him in 2 large rubber webbing nets. When the big fish took a breather the three of us with our 6 hands holding two nets together slowly lowered the Arapaima into the 31 gallon Rubber Maid tub. We had all of one second to get the lid on after the 30 fish rolled out of the nets. I slipped a thick plastic sheet, a towel would have been better, between the tub and the lid to help keep the fish from nicking himself on the sharp plastic protrusions on the lid. It took many bungee cords to secure the lid on his transport tub as the Arapaima thrashed about almost continuously.
At least we know the Gigas is alive in there, said Jed. Forty-five minutes later we rolled the Arapaima Gigas into the 2400 gallon heated aquarium in my yard. That was April 1st, 2006 and today, April 3rd, 2006, the Arapaima is looking over the trout food but did not eat any, yet. Todd has been feeding him large prawns for the past 6 months. I wonder if that was a mistake. Will the monster fish ever take dry food again? Prawns are a $5.00 a day habit.
Acclimate the fish you say? Oh, that can take a while.
those are nice pics i would be really wary about moving a fish that big but you did a good job as you said research is the key
There are 9 Pacu in the 2400 gallon plywood aquarium. The largest is a Black Pacu at 39 and weighing 40 pounds. The Red Pacu loses most of its color when it reaches 30 and the Red Pacu does not appear to grow as large as the Black Pacu.redtailfool said:
This is a photo of how I moved my Pacu from inside the house to the 2400 gallon fish tank in the back yard. I have kept jumbo Pacu out of water for up to 5 minutes with no ill effects.
wtf 39". thats more than 3ft!!!!!Anythingfish said:There are 9 Pacu in the 2400 gallon plywood aquarium. The largest is a Black Pacu at 39 and weighing 40 pounds. The Red Pacu loses most of its color when it reaches 30 and the Red Pacu does not appear to grow as large as the Black Pacu.
This is a photo of how I moved my Pacu from inside the house to the 2400 gallon fish tank in the back yard. I have kept jumbo Pacu out of water for up to 5 minutes with no ill effects.
Sweet Jesus Blood Sweat & tears...LOL It waqs not soo bad, except sealing the concrete, if you don't have a GREAT respirator you will not survive it!!! We will post pics of the build & some tips for all of you fish freaks. My advice is for the ray people is there is no such thing a ray utopia... Always moving rays from one tank to the other, it's not just the males, some females are pretty agro too.... Make sure you have another tank or two for injuries & always understand if you go for rays your will have a tough climb with tankmates!! My big arrow Kosh is a very rare exception as he has lived with rays since he was three inches long & has always been a REALLY mellow cool fish!
