I wanted to get a group of 5-7 in my 210 gallon but am afraid due to them getting bacterial infections.... How hardy are these fish exactly?
scombs
- Thread starter SandNukka15
- Start date
As long as nothing is picking on them and causing injury, and you do your part as a fishkeeper with water maintenance and whatnot, they're reasonably hardy fish. They're not a beginner's fish, but if you've been a member of this site for five years, I'd assume you SHOULD have the requisite knowledge to handle them.
Thanks and yes I know enough about them just trying to get more opinions .... If I go with them I think prob 5..... And 3 motoros also considered 3 motoros and 1 army or 3 motoros and 1 vatf
I had 11 scombs in a 240 for about a year (give or take a month). Well, when they were small I grew them in a 60 gallon until they were about 6" and then I transferred them over to the 240. The tankmates were dats, nandus, couple of red hooks and a pleco. Never got to training them to eat non live food, however 
. And after that, they all started dying off one by one, for no obvious reason. And a lot of people @ MFK have had the same 'sudden death syndrome' with scombs.
As far as bacterial infections, they're an okay fish as long as the water quality is good. One thing I've noticed when I had scombs is that you can determine how healthy a scomb is by the size of their tail fin (apart from other obvious signs of ick, cloudy eyes ect...). Healthier ones have a (comparatively) bigger tail fin with a 40-60 ratio of clear (the outer part of the fin) and black (the part thats nearest to the tail). Where as the ones that are not that healthy have a lot of black. Notice the circle in the picture I've attached.
. And after that, they all started dying off one by one, for no obvious reason. And a lot of people @ MFK have had the same 'sudden death syndrome' with scombs. As far as bacterial infections, they're an okay fish as long as the water quality is good. One thing I've noticed when I had scombs is that you can determine how healthy a scomb is by the size of their tail fin (apart from other obvious signs of ick, cloudy eyes ect...). Healthier ones have a (comparatively) bigger tail fin with a 40-60 ratio of clear (the outer part of the fin) and black (the part thats nearest to the tail). Where as the ones that are not that healthy have a lot of black. Notice the circle in the picture I've attached.
Thanks for clearing that up....... did they all start dying at 6 inches?..... i thought it was when they started gettimg close to 12 inches...... did they all die?
A big part of the deal for them IMO is that they stress easily. I had mine for a year and he went frmo 5-8 inches and he had no health issues. The tank was a dedicated silver tooth fish tank and he just schooled with everyone happy as you please.
EDIT- He didn't die, I sold him.
EDIT- He didn't die, I sold him.
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Wow sorry to hear man...... looks like i def wont even bother to attempt this..... thanks for the help guys