hello, i am a new member to MFK, i have been following your forums for a long time though and found out a lot of helpful info and was hoping someone can point me in the right direction. my lfs has a vampire tetra for sale which i plan on purchasing because i absolutely love payara, the only problem is that im pretty sure its a scomberoides and i havent heard very good things about their lifespan and id like a fish that will be around for a while, so I'm debating between the payara and an odoe pike. id really like to get an alligator gar but i cant find them anywhere out here, if anyone could help me it would be greatly appreciated!! what ever fish i get will be put in a 55 gallon tank and transferred to a 150 or 180 gallon in about a month.
need help picking out a characin
- Thread starter Pontiac400
- Start date
Well since there is not a single tank in production at the moment that would house a full grown gator gar I would probably stay away from those.
IMO you need to set up your tank and get it good and cycled way before getting into the characin game. The scombs you are wanting do not tolerate ammonia or nitrite very well. As most fish do not so cycledtank is a must.
here is a gator gar
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DzfrvzKRdaU
But if you can house one they have them at TFD in ohio.
IMO you need to set up your tank and get it good and cycled way before getting into the characin game. The scombs you are wanting do not tolerate ammonia or nitrite very well. As most fish do not so cycledtank is a must.
here is a gator gar
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DzfrvzKRdaU
But if you can house one they have them at TFD in ohio.
Alright! thank you very much for the help!! after looking over other sites i saw that the fish was actually a florida gar with dark coloration.
and the tank has been cycled, its been housing piranhas for about a year now and i took them out last week and have been making 20% water changes every other day as well as adding stress-zyme to help clear things up. id really like to get an aggressive fish that that will get large enough to eat a mouse. any suggestions?? i was thinking maybe a jardini but would a 150 or 180 gallon tank be good enough? i really appreciate the help as i want to provide the best possible environment for my fish. also is it true that fish wont outgrow their enclosure? or is that just an urban legend?
and the tank has been cycled, its been housing piranhas for about a year now and i took them out last week and have been making 20% water changes every other day as well as adding stress-zyme to help clear things up. id really like to get an aggressive fish that that will get large enough to eat a mouse. any suggestions?? i was thinking maybe a jardini but would a 150 or 180 gallon tank be good enough? i really appreciate the help as i want to provide the best possible environment for my fish. also is it true that fish wont outgrow their enclosure? or is that just an urban legend?
Pontiac400;3896952; said:
its not an urban myth. YES a fish can't outgrow its enclosure BECAUSE it will die before the walls of the tank "burst from its growth". so its a play on words more than a myth or fact.
i heard these 2 idiots at a petstore one day "yah i had a pacu in my 55... it lived pretty long man, i had it for almost 2 years but then it died and idk why". They had no clue to even consider learning that pacu's actually live past 10 years old and probably go with it and don't even care. this happends so often that this is why the myth remains "true" to every uneducated keeper.
jardinis are the smallest arowana by a few inches (not counting the african butterfly fish aka midget arowana). they could live in as little as 125gal comfortably for life (or footprint: 72"x18"x24" +)
arowanas can't stomach mammalian meat and can actually die from eating mice (though alot of dumb people do it on youtube). the bones, claws, blood, and meat of a mouse doesn't digest well in an aro and can actually create internal injury.
shoulda kept your piranhas for that one... but predatory fish are best served when fed a variety of other fish and insects and not birds and mammals.
Retuks;3897077; said:
Thank you very much for the info Retuks, i was unaware that mice were harmful for the fish, although i have read on multiple sites that in the wild aros will snatch birds out of low hanging branches. and i also read that its good to feed them small lizards every now and then because they are healthy for them and bring out their colors better!
Im thinking im going to go with the Jardini then, since a 180 gallon tank would easily accommodate the fish. any suggestions for tankmates or should i keep him solitary?
72"x24"x24" would be the smallest you'd want for a jardini and it wont be your choice whether you can have tankmates, some jardini tolerate other fish, some will kill everything else in their tank.
also: make sure your tank is 6 feet long and at least 2 feet wide cause jars aren't as flexible as other aro's
also: make sure your tank is 6 feet long and at least 2 feet wide cause jars aren't as flexible as other aro's
just picked up a jardini today 
and thank you aiden, when i get the tank i will definitely make sure it has a minimum of those specifications
and thank you aiden, when i get the tank i will definitely make sure it has a minimum of those specifications
Pontiac400;3898384; said:
yes, Silver arowanas and their different color morphs (black, blue) do jump for anything they see that appears small enough to consider food in branches. not just birds.
however that is just a flaw in their instinct and natural selection kills off alot of animals for what they accidentally/mistakenly eat in the wild (ie. black widows, poison frogs, snakes etc) just because it happends doesn't mean it was meant to be.