Scomb - Worth the Try?

[pwmin]

I've been considering getting a payara and I was kind of hoping for a tat, but all I can find are scombs. One of my LFS has 4"ers for $40 that they've had for quite a while. I know they mysteriously die before 12" and I'm sure mine won't be an exception, but compared to what I've been spending and contemplating spending on fish, $40 doesn't seem that bad to lose after 6 months or however long it lives. The other major problem is where to put it. It would get eaten in my 125 and it probably would be killed in my 55g. I'm wondering if it would be okay w/ a jardini about the same size up until they're both large enough to go into the 125 (which i'm hoping to have upgraded by then).

 

[vamptrev]

ur jar will grow way faster. sorry it wont work. scombs need pristine water conditions and very calm tankmates. mine were healthy as could be and died for no apparent reason. i also noticed they dont like small tanks. i had a few b4 that wouldnt eat at all until i put them in a big tank. to me its not worth it especially because u will never see a scomb eat anyway. IMO

 

[pwmin]

ur jar will grow way faster. sorry it wont work. scombs need pristine water conditions and very calm tankmates. mine were healthy as could be and died for no apparent reason. i also noticed they dont like small tanks. i had a few b4 that wouldnt eat at all until i put them in a big tank. to me its not worth it especially because u will never see a scomb eat anyway. IMO

good enough answer for me. thanks. do you think a tat or vatf would do okay? i'm just starting to learn about characins and i apologize for the newb questions.

 

[vamptrev]

i would do a tat. an atf needs a massive tank

 

[midnight]

ya doesnt sound right for a scomb.
dont the other 2 kinds of p's need a bigger tank then a 125 also?

and just cus alot of people have had scombs die doesnt mean all die fast.

to me its not worth it especially because u will never see a scomb eat anyway.

i see mine eat all the time,even have pix.
but yes,they dont eat like the big bad p's.

im thinking of getting more scombs,found some cheap.
small ones for 22 bucks
i paid 40 each for mine and they were around 4" i think.

 

[pwmin]

i'm working on getting something bigger than a 125 right now. I'm at least going up to a 180, 210 or 240 asap (searching for a cheap one on craigslist) and then to a 300 then maybe larger.

i'd rather have a payara than an ATF anyway. what would you say is min tank size for life for a tat? hopefully, i can actually find one. if a scomb would grow fast enough, i would try one. are tats like arowana at all, i mean are they really fragile when they are small but get hardier once the reach a certain size? I'm not afraid to search for the answer to this question, but i may as well ask since i'm asking a lot of questions: what is the growth rate of scombs and tats?

I'm still trying to figure out if i'm going to have 2 tanks or 1 for my fish and where (if possible) a payara would fit in. I doubt I'll see a tat for quite a while, so I'll probably ditch the idea for now as a scomb doesn't seem like it would fit in any scheme I'm currently contemplating. I'm still trying to figure exactly how i am going to shuffle all of my fish when they get larger.

 

[pwmin]

Mike'sKillerFish has an 8" that I showed a pic of in the armatus ID thread that i'm pretty sure is a tat. would it be ok to try it?

 

[vamptrev]

Mike'sKillerFish has an 8" that I showed a pic of in the armatus ID thread that i'm pretty sure is a tat. would it be ok to try it?

i would go for it, but im a payara nut

 

[pwmin]

i would go for it, but im a payara nut

you should've said no I'm going to wait a little while and think about it, but next time I go back there, I may end up picking it up if it's still there. funny thing is it's not on the stocklist, but it has a label and price on the tank. only thing listed on the stocklist are 2 5" scombs

 

[West1]

i'd rather have a payara than an ATF anyway. what would you say is min tank size for life for a tat? hopefully, i can actually find one.

Between these two fish they both have their ups and downs.
I owned/own one of each.
ATF- Is by FAR my favorite fish!!! Nice teeth, swims a lot!!! and attacks (for real!) food. Awsome fish to keep. Grow fairly slow so you could keep him in the 125 for prob 2 yrs then it might give you enough time to UP GRADE

Tat (currently own)- Dopest looking teeth (except for Armatus) and nice to see eat. Not as fierce when eating (waits for the food to go to him before he strikes) but still a good show. They dont swim that much but do enough to call it a fish. I say the min tank size for Tat is 150 (5x2x2 cause you need depth)