New to the BIG TOOTHED critters... Kind of.

[Mr.Manaconda]

Ok, so I've been a cichlid keeper for 24 years, Not a rookie to fishkeeping. I have known of the payara for years but have never owned any. I have a 125 gal that I plan on putting a couple Armatus in. Any suggestions on tankmates, I was thinking Gar and a Red Tail Cat. Also, I found the sticky thread on Payara identifying and keeping a great help, has anyone put one together about African Tiger Fish? I may try to get my hands on some GATF when I get a larger tank and learn much more about their needs.

 

[JD7.62]

Your 125 could be used as a sump that would be needed to house an armatus and RTC!

Use the search feature on here, youll find all the answers and then some.

 

[West1]

Ok, so I've been a cichlid keeper for 24 years, Not a rookie to fishkeeping. I have known of the payara for years but have never owned any. I have a 125 gal that I plan on putting a couple Armatus in. Any suggestions on tankmates, I was thinking Gar and a Red Tail Cat. Also, I found the sticky thread on Payara identifying and keeping a great help, has anyone put one together about African Tiger Fish? I may try to get my hands on some GATF when I get a larger tank and learn much more about their needs.

If you plan on having a GATF/Armartus combo... I suggest you get a GATF first and grow him out. The Armatus will catch size very quick compared to the GATF's growth rate.

Start with the Goliath.... trust me. Also Id say each fish will need about 500glns of water. So you will need about a 1k tank. The only successful combo owners have this amount of water for them

Side note, 125 will not go that far... (GATF probly will need a bigger home at 7" and Armatus maybe at 9-10")

G/L

 

[DB junkie]

Agreed..... a 125 will work to grow Armatus out..... But I moved mine from an 18 in wide tank to a 180 gallon at 6 inches. By 9-10 inches they are ready for something bigger.

You CAN keep them in smaller than this and maybe you'll be lucky enough to get one that will tolerate it....... But in my experience Armatus can be just as timmid at times as the rest of the Payara and therefore need lots of room.

And if you're planning on ATF/Armatus you are going to need something HUGE. An attempt was made in a 600 gallon that failed.

 

[Dovii kid]

^ what happened in the 600gal?

 

[DB junkie]

The Armatus took a chunk out of the GATF and earned himself a swin in solitary (the sump) where it hit a growth spurt from the accelerated metabolism caused by the current in the sump.

Due to the value of the GATF a second attempt wasn't made that I know of.

Joey (R1ridah) could tell us more. It was HIS experience...... Not mine.

Keep an eye on West1. He's got this combo going on right now........

 

[hybridtheoryd16]

If you want payara an d have a 125. I would suggest looking into the red tail variant. The armatus can not be kept together with other armatus's. But the reds are a schooling fish with a very slow growth rate. And 125 would do them for many years. They grow about 1/16'' a month if that. I have 3 reds right now one is a year old and the other 2 are farily new to me. All around 6-8'' and do fine together and hunt in a pack for feeders. ------------Thats my suggestion.

 

[DB junkie]

I have seen up to 1/2in a month out of Tats. They need competition in order to grow quickly.

They do very well in groups. If you were to keep them long enough technically they should outgrow a 125....... Problem is no one has yet.... The biggest I've seen over here were still under or right around a foot.

Armatus can be kept together........ It just usually doesn't go well long term as the hobbyist has to see one of them killed before they realize the enviroment was too small.

 

[channarox]

well.
its pretty much been covered.
but i wouldnt keep armatus,gar,ATF,more armatus and RTC together.
everything will out grow the ATF.
the RTC will eat everything.
armatus are far too aggressive to be kept in a small tank with ATF.
gars like biting silver fish.