Super skittish Armatus.

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No not at all the geos kind of just hung in the back by a piece of driftwood till feeding time then they would just swim around picking up left over pieces of food and then go back to there hang out and my Nile perch would just come out to feed once feeding was over he would mostly just hang in the plants and drift wood and the payara usually sat in the current in the center of the tank


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How big was the current?
 
No not at all the geos kind of just hung in the back by a piece of driftwood till feeding time then they would just swim around picking up left over pieces of food and then go back to there hang out and my Nile perch would just come out to feed once feeding was over he would mostly just hang in the plants and drift wood and the payara usually sat in the current in the center of the tank but walk by the tank to close or to fast or if you shut a door to hard or even if something in the room moved to quick he would freak out if I turned on the light in the tank instant freak out I just couldn't take it and decided going another way with the tank it can become very stressful and annoying lol hang in there bud it happens to the best of us nothing you can do


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Sorry for multiple post go by this one lol
No not at all the geos kind of just hung in the back by a piece of driftwood till feeding time then they would just swim around picking up left over pieces of food and then go back to there hang out and my Nile perch would just come out to feed once feeding was over he would mostly just hang in the plants and drift wood and the payara usually sat in the current in the center of the tank but walk by the tank to close or to fast or if you shut a door to hard or even if something in the room moved to quick he would freak out if I turned on the light in the tank instant freak out I just couldn't take it and decided going another way with the tank it can become very stressful and annoying lol hang in there bud it happens to the best of us nothing you can do

As far as taking stuff out I could put the net right next to my tat and move stuff around and didn't phase him at all which I never understood that's what should scare him if anything





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I realized that my armatus started to get super skittish when I removed an artificial plant from my tank.. Could that be why. It was one glow in the dark plant in the center of my tank.

Could that of made my armatus more secure?

The nose is pretty badly bashed up. A tiny part of the curved tip is rubbed flat (I think). Think it'll heal 100%? It extremely not serious.

As far as the glow in the dark plant goes I doubt that would make him feel secure as for his nose if he stops hitting the glass and it not that bad judging by what your telling me he should make a full recovery and my current was my filters double return and a powerhead so it was moving pretty decent enough to shoot his food to him straight down the tank with out it hitting the bottom he seemed to love it


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i would say the plant does make him feel more secure .... i would agree that tank size is a big factor too... i had mine in a 40 gal grow out for like 4-5 months and he was very skittish, then as soon as i moved him into the 220, even with many more tankmates, and some much larger than him, he calmed down a lot

the nose rub is common in Armatus vampires, i've seen mine grow back, but i've heard they can be permanent too, so not sure on that

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the payara usually sat in the current in the center of the tank but walk by the tank to close or to fast or if you shut a door to hard or even if something in the room moved to quick he would freak out if I turned on the light in the tank instant freak out I just couldn't take it and decided going another way with the tank it can become very stressful and annoying lol hang in there bud it happens to the best of us nothing you can do

As far as taking stuff out I could put the net right next to my tat and move stuff around and didn't phase him at all which I never understood that's what should scare him if anything

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I had VERY similar experiences. I raised mine in the bedroom, quietest room of the house, but when moved out the the big tank it was just constant darting and freaking. I did the whole walk on eggshell thing for months and months every year I tried raising groups of Armatus..... I could only take so much before I wanted to get a fish that doesn't mind a pair of Vegas next to his tank and me air guitaring and yelling profanities at him in front of it.

Love the fish, but hate the game involved in keeping them, and the big let down at the end..... I really do hope someone eventually figures out the trick to keeping them. Until then I say bigger tank.

Not sure on Armatus, but I know the Rhaphiodons could easily permenently damage thier snouts. I had one I called poo bear cause so much of his snout was gone. I used plants at the end of thier tanks to prevent the rubbing, but then they'd just do it on the sides. Bigger tank cured the problem.
 
Mine seems to be doing fine. Still not as active during the day as I would like him to be. My guess is it takes them a good long while before they completely settle in. The 120 my armatus is in always has constant movement around the tank (me, wife, son and dog) and he's never spooked anymore. Iv literaly smacked my hand on the glass trying to get him to move and he just sits there. During waterchanges even, I can put the syphon tube right next to him and he doesn't seem to care.

I only have 1 powerhrad running (425gph) and the current from two marineland 400's. So I don't have a whole lot of current, but enough to stir things around and keep debris from settleing on the tile. My lights are on a timer for 6 hours a day (gets natural light also) and iv started feeding every other day or every 3rd day.

My tank is pretty empty too. 2 large plants and 1 fake one, a rock cave I made for the bichir. When I was doing research before I got mine, a lot of sites said they prefere lots of cover when small so they can hide and ambush their food. All the ones iv seen, or read about on mfk seem to prefere open spaces. So I think its all just finding a happy medium point in the middle.

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thanks. My armatus is starting to become more secure. I just hope it'll keep that way once I tank off the black cover. Are the 425 gph powerheads loud?
 
thanks. My armatus is starting to become more secure. I just hope it'll keep that way once I tank off the black cover. Are the 425 gph powerheads loud?

Super quiet, I dont hear anything putting my head right next to it.
 
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