red bellies?

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ctenopoma

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Mar 14, 2008
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How many RBP's can be kept in a 55g?
also is it true that you have to add them all at the same time for them to tolerate each other?
 
I would say around 3 max, but obviously i kept more than that in a 55g hehe :D
I dont think that is true because they are pretty terrotorial but who knows.
 
Are you talking about for just a couple of months of are you talking for life? Remember that your talking about highly aggressive fish that get up to around 18 inches in the wild. They have serious dentition and will use it in territorial fighting.. i would say you could start with small specimens say from 1-2 inches ang get about 8 of them in there for about a month.. then youll have to start culling your stock.. with that beeing said get a 75 and keep the nicest as a single specimen for life..
 
cepon3;1760101; said:
Are you talking about for just a couple of months of are you talking for life? Remember that your talking about highly aggressive fish that get up to around 18 inches in the wild. They have serious dentition and will use it in territorial fighting.. i would say you could start with small specimens say from 1-2 inches ang get about 8 of them in there for about a month.. then youll have to start culling your stock.. with that beeing said get a 75 and keep the nicest as a single specimen for life..
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Never have I heard of or seen a 18" RBP an 18" rhom yes, RBP no your looking at 12'-14" TOPS in the wild. And normally in the balpark of 10" in captivity
 
cepon3;1760101; said:
Are you talking about for just a couple of months of are you talking for life? Remember that your talking about highly aggressive fish that get up to around 18 inches in the wild. They have serious dentition and will use it in territorial fighting.. i would say you could start with small specimens say from 1-2 inches ang get about 8 of them in there for about a month.. then youll have to start culling your stock.. with that beeing said get a 75 and keep the nicest as a single specimen for life..
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that is one of the weirdest advice i've heard about rbp!

first, general rule for rbp is 20 gal per fish (adult), so you could fit 3 in your 55, but the problem with the standard 55 gal tank is the fact that it's not too wide... rbp are fast growers, but will NEVER go up to 18", that's ridiculous. expect 8 to 10 inches in a tank, and wild caughts never exceed 12-14 like said before. so your 12-14 inches wide tank will be a bit small within 2 years.

so yes, the best tank would be 75, since it's as long as a 55 (wont take much more space) but a bit deeper and higher.

you should not keep a single rbp. they are shoaling fish and will be much much more interesting to watch and less skittish in a shoal. you could put 3-4 for life in a 75.

and please, don't do as suggested above and start with 8 and only keep 1, strangest call ever... i'd say go with 4 in a 75 and if you lose one (canibalism) you'll still have a nice lil shoal. you couldnt put more than 3 in a 55 and if you lose one, 2 is not much... well, my opinion.

and yes it's better to introduce them all at the same time, but that's mainly when they get a bit older (like 6-7months old) young juvi don't already have that strong territorial behavior.
 
would piranhas kill senegal bichirs?? my poor oscar as hole in the head and I need to think of new tankmates if he goes.
 
piranha shoal for defensive reasons not for hunting and whoever says redbellies shouldnt be kept singly obivously has never had one .. i have personally seen 13 inch redbellies and terns.. and if you think about what the best way to keep a fish is it would be wrong to cramp them in a 55.. plus if theres only three their hierarchy will be so unstable that there will be constant fighting.. i would never call my advice wrong or weird.. but what you do with your fish isnt exactley what i would do with mine.. how would you feel if you were stuffed in a bathroom with 2 other dudes ?but anyways 3 in a 55 is way to much..
 
i was thinking of 1 male 1 female, but has anyone kept them with bichirs successfully?
 
i wouldn't recommend putting them with anything you were'nt ready to call lunch because cohabittions with piranha are few and far between and they usually dont last long.plus the fact that that you wanna put them in with a pair.which will be in a hightened state of alert and aggression...
btw cepon3 knows what hes talking about with piranha.. he has one of the nicest collections i have ever seen. I was with him when we saw the huge reds and terns
 
ctenopoma;1762062; said:
i was thinking of 1 male 1 female, but has anyone kept them with bichirs successfully?
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They basically can't be sexed correctly till they get mature and have there matting colors on. and I don't think you want to start with two adults or two at all If your going to get them get 1 or 3 two don't seem to do to well together. The more agressive will attack the less aggressive
 
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