Stocking a 220 gal!

[jclyde13]

As much as I agree with this statement, here are some counterpoints.

I have seen plenty of people keeping pbass in tanks as small as 125's. Does that make it right....no. does that make it doable...yes. I think 3 pbass would be alright in a 220 for while. They grow pretty fast but once the hit 12" their growth slows dramatically. I'm not saying it would make it to 4 years, but it would be good for 2-3 id imagine.

The juruense catfish sounds fine to me. I keep a 220 CA/SA tank and I had a thread about these and people said it would be fine with my tanksize, and I agree

I agree the aro is out of the question. I really want one too, but I know that a 6x2 tank could house it for a very short period.

Realistically if you stock this as you plan then it will be nothing more than a growout tank for future monsters. And unless you plan accordingly it can get out of hand quickly. If you are anything like me you get very attached to your fishy friends, and its very hard to get rid of them at that point. This is the main reason people end up with drastically overstocked tanks. They mean well, but just can't house their pets properly.

If it were me, my stocklist would be:
2xPbass
1xjuruense catfish
3xbichir (whatever species you prefer)
1xflagtail
And maybe a large growing pleco (again up to you)

HTH!
Josh

I don't understand your logic there... The pbass are okay, despite their enormous adult size and high level are activity because you have seen them kept in a 125 gallon; a juruense, which could grow to around 36" with a very thick body, can be fine in an aquarium that is only 24" wide.......... but a silver arowana, also topping out at around 36", with the ability to turn around in about a 36"x12" area seemingly effortlessly, is completely out of the question? I have seen them kept through adulthood in 180 gallon tanks with no issues whatsoever, so why are they so different?

 

[ElectricBlueSeanBurch]

I don't understand your logic there... The pbass are okay, despite their enormous adult size and high level are activity because you have seen them kept in a 125 gallon; a juruense, which could grow to around 36" with a very thick body, can be fine in an aquarium that is only 24" wide.......... but a silver arowana, also topping out at around 36", with the ability to turn around in about a 36"x12" area seemingly effortlessly, is completely out of the question? I have seen them kept through adulthood in 180 gallon tanks with no issues whatsoever, so why are they so different?

please READ my advise before you quote me in a reply. I didnt just say that the pbass would be "okay", I said that it had been done before in tanks with smaller footprints, and might I add with great success. I would venture a guess that if you did an audit of all mfk pbass keepers 75% of them would be keeping them in tanks with a 6x2 footprint or smaller for life. I dont think that is enough space personally, so I dont keep pbass any more because I dont have anything larger than a 220. My suggestion was that since the OP had his heart set on them he reduce the number from 4 to 2.

Now on to the juruense catfish.
http://www.planetcatfish.com/catelog/species.php?species_id=566

PC states that this fish grows to just under 24". Though I already know that they are wrong on the lengths of several catfish (I own a L001 that proves them wrong myself). So this is by no means an exact figure.

http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/showthread.php?383012-Predatory-catfish&highlight
this is my thread about what catfish to keep in my 220. I was thinking about a jur or a tig. As you can see people have different opinions on stocking. No one had any problems with tanksize, only with possible conflict with my stocking. A lima shovelnose was suggested multiple times and it grows around 3" or 4" smaller than the juruense. I did alot of research into them because I was sereously concidering buying 1. Everything I found said they grew around an inch a month until 12" and then growth was reduced to an inch every 2 to 3 months depending on specific conditions. So it was my opinion that the OP could house one providing that he bought it in the 2-4" range for atleast 4 years (give or take) However I have no 1st hand experience with these fish and I could very well be wrong.

Yes a silver arowana can be housed in a 220, or a 180, or a 55 to be perfectly honest. I just think that if an aro stays alive it will hit 30"+ on a regular basis. I see them pop up on my local CL all the time at this size. I know they can turn around in alot tighter spaces, but that doesnt make it any less cruel imo. They still need swimming space like any other fish if not more. They are constant swimmers. More so than Pbass, more so than the catfish, pretty much more than anything kept in FW aquariums. They pretty much never stop or rest on the bottom. so aquarium space is more of a premium for them than the Pbass imo.

I am by no means trying to start an argument. Everything I have stated is my opinion and not everyone will agree with it. I am not doubting your fishkeeping skills, and i'm sure your aro is fat, happy, healthy and a beautiful fish.

 

[jclyde13]

please READ my advise before you quote me in a reply. I didnt just say that the pbass would be "okay", I said that it had been done before in tanks with smaller footprints, and might I add with great success. I would venture a guess that if you did an audit of all mfk pbass keepers 75% of them would be keeping them in tanks with a 6x2 footprint or smaller for life. I dont think that is enough space personally, so I dont keep pbass any more because I dont have anything larger than a 220. My suggestion was that since the OP had his heart set on them he reduce the number from 4 to 2.

Now on to the juruense catfish.
http://www.planetcatfish.com/catelog/species.php?species_id=566

PC states that this fish grows to just under 24". Though I already know that they are wrong on the lengths of several catfish (I own a L001 that proves them wrong myself). So this is by no means an exact figure.

http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/showthread.php?383012-Predatory-catfish&highlight
this is my thread about what catfish to keep in my 220. I was thinking about a jur or a tig. As you can see people have different opinions on stocking. No one had any problems with tanksize, only with possible conflict with my stocking. A lima shovelnose was suggested multiple times and it grows around 3" or 4" smaller than the juruense. I did alot of research into them because I was sereously concidering buying 1. Everything I found said they grew around an inch a month until 12" and then growth was reduced to an inch every 2 to 3 months depending on specific conditions. So it was my opinion that the OP could house one providing that he bought it in the 2-4" range for atleast 4 years (give or take) However I have no 1st hand experience with these fish and I could very well be wrong.

Yes a silver arowana can be housed in a 220, or a 180, or a 55 to be perfectly honest. I just think that if an aro stays alive it will hit 30"+ on a regular basis. I see them pop up on my local CL all the time at this size. I know they can turn around in alot tighter spaces, but that doesnt make it any less cruel imo. They still need swimming space like any other fish if not more. They are constant swimmers. More so than Pbass, more so than the catfish, pretty much more than anything kept in FW aquariums. They pretty much never stop or rest on the bottom. so aquarium space is more of a premium for them than the Pbass imo.

I am by no means trying to start an argument. Everything I have stated is my opinion and not everyone will agree with it. I am not doubting your fishkeeping skills, and i'm sure your aro is fat, happy, healthy and a beautiful fish.

I did read your "advise," and responded accordingly. Regardless of how you word it, you still suggested that it is "doable," so my opinion on that portion of your comment remains the same. So, moving on, PC is not very accurate on maximum sizes, they also somehow think that Pterygoplichthys pardalis (the most common 'common' pleco) only reaches 13.8" (which is at least 10" off, based on multiple specimens I've seen in person). And then there's also the 43" redtail, the 55" jau cat, and the 20" lima shovelnose (all of which are well known to exceed the sizes given). But anyway, if what you say is true of the jur's growth rate, I guess that does make sense. However, with the last statement about the arowana, I guess all we can do is agree to completely disagree. lol

And about my aro, incidentally he recently decided that he doesn't like pellets anymore (for some reason he will only go for the frozen krill), so it may be a long while before the "fat," part applies.