My Brachyplatystoma pics and info

[Jonathan_G]

Hey guys some of you may remember my post from mooooooonths ago... Yes, i keep Brachyplatystoma, and right now i own 3 (only) ps: read all if u have time. Thanks

I have:
1 Brachyplatystoma filamentosum
20in/50cm

1 Brachyplatystoma capaprerum 25in/63cm

Brachyplatystoma tigrinum 20in/50cm

The salton and the Piraíba,



The Piraíba and the Salton are in one tank with pH of 8, while the Tigrinum is in another, with same water parameters.

I bought the Piraíba on mid january earlier this year at 8in/20cm, and the Salton on late august last year at 6in/15cm & the Tigrinum on November last year at 15in/38cm

Feel free to leave a comment down below... And dont hesitate to ask any question or ask for pics... Thanks.

 

[David Chipp]

I think the piraiba is my next big purchase....how active swimmers are they??

 

[Jonathan_G]

I think the piraiba is my next big purchase....how active swimmers are they??

Sometimes they swim around, other times they just swim in one place with current... From what i know though, as they grow bigger, they will swim more. Just make sure u have a good current in your tank

 

[David Chipp]

What temps do you keep them at??

 

[Jonathan_G]

What temps do you keep them at??

Im in Indonesia so i have tropical climate here... My tanks are stable at 30 degrees celcius or 86 degrees fahrenheit...

 

[thebiggerthebetter]

Hey Jonathan! So good to see you are back and your fish have been doing so well.

[1] Let's see - your piraiba grew from 8" to 20" in 10 months - that sounds about the same rate as mine and vincentwugwg 's have been growing at. Mine is too right now at ~20". Vincent's got three and they are bigger now I think.

I have just transferred my piraiba into a 4500 gal two days ago. It has not been feeding well lately and started little by little breaking its snout too in its 240 gal. I am hoping it will be better off in the larger tank. Vincent said his have been doing well in a 3000 gal, competing for food well. My 4500 gal is way boisterous, aggressive. So I am very concerned and on the edge. I am gravely concerned it would be bullied and/or poorly compete for food. The gang in that 4500 gal is merciless.

[2] Your capapretum grew from 6" to 25" in 15 months. Awesome! Mine is lagging behind a lot. I too got mine last Aug-Sept, about 14-15 months ago and it only grew from ~3" to maybe 10". Mine is very skittish, just bolts and runs into everybody and everything often. I admire how the snout of your capa / salton is not too damaged. Mine is way worse, almost ~30 degrees now pointing down from hitting the walls of his 240 gal hundreds of times. I've had enough of this and put it in the other "peaceful community" 4500 gal two days ago. Will see. I had already put him there a year ago when it was 6" trying to save its snout. But he didn't feed, didn't even try to compete for a couple of months, so I pulled it out and he fed in a 240 gal but continued breaking its snout too.

[3] Ok, your tigrinum grew from 15" to 20" in one year. This is more or less what I am observing too - very slow growth after 12". I got 6 right now and the growth varies by a factor of 2x-3x within the group. So, individuality may matter in tigs.

I am looking forward to your comments and updates. What tanks are yours in? I am still amazed how your salton's snout is more or less ok.

 

[Jonathan_G]

Hey Jonathan! So good to see you are back and your fish have been doing so well.


[1] Let's see - your piraiba grew from 8" to 20" in 10 months - that sounds about the same rate as mine and vincentwugwg 's have been growing at. Mine is too right now at ~20". Vincent's got three and they are bigger now I think.

I have just transferred my piraiba into a 4500 gal two days ago. It has not been feeding well lately and started little by little breaking its snout too in its 240 gal. I am hoping it will be better off in the larger tank. Vincent said his have been doing well in a 3000 gal, competing for food well. My 4500 gal is way boisterous, aggressive. So I am very concerned and on the edge. I am gravely concerned it would be bullied and/or poorly compete for food. The gang in that 4500 gal is merciless.

[2] Your capapretum grew from 6" to 25" in 15 months. Awesome! Mine is lagging behind a lot. I too got mine last Aug-Sept, about 14-15 months ago and it only grew from ~3" to maybe 10". Mine is very skittish, just bolts and runs into everybody and everything often. I admire how the snout of your capa / salton is not too damaged. Mine is way worse, almost ~30 degrees now pointing down from hitting the walls of his 240 gal hundreds of times. I've had enough of this and put it in the other "peaceful community" 4500 gal two days ago. Will see. I had already put him there a year ago when it was 6" trying to save its snout. But he didn't feed, didn't even try to compete for a couple of months, so I pulled it out and he fed in a 240 gal but continued breaking its snout too.

[3] Ok, your tigrinum grew from 15" to 20" in one year. This is more or less what I am observing too - very slow growth after 12". I got 6 right now and the growth varies by a factor of 2x-3x within the group. So, individuality may matter in tigs.

I am looking forward to your comments and updates. What tanks are yours in? I am still amazed how your salton's snout is more or less ok.

Thanks thebiggerthebetter its good to know that my fishes are in normal growth rate... When i first transfered my piraiba into my current tank, it also has problems feeding, especially due to the presence of the larger salton and the tigrinus... But once it grows bigger, it eats more and more... Now, hes only 4-6inches from the salton, compared to 10" a few months ago... Now on the Salton, i started him out in a 55 until he got to about 8", then moved him into a 75 until he got around 16", during that period of time, he was only kept with a ripsaw cat(sold months ago) and then with a tigrinus... I think due to the fact that he was kept alone, he didnt bang against the tank as much as normal saltons do... And yes, its really hard to find a salton with an unbent snout... Not as hard as finding a Dourada with one tho hahahahaaha.. This capa is a crazy eater... He eats 2-3 6" market fish once in 2 days. Actually, my capa should have had a better nose if it wasnt for my tigrinum... Back then, i had no idea tigrinums were that territorial... So my tig constantly bashed my capa and i think thats the time where my capa had the most snout damage from the constant banging.
About my tig... I dont know why but once in 2-3 months, my tig would just stop eating for 3-4weeks without any clear reason, water conditions are great, no bacterial/funghal infection, other fish are doing great etc. and just 4 months ago, he was picked on bad by my capa or fila in my main tank that he didnt ate for 2 months or so before i decided to move him... Still very strong and fighting when i moved him even after 2 months... What a crazy fish hhaahahaahaha

My current tank is a really small 300 gal with a 18ft2 footprint... Im planning to move them into a larger pond in a few months...
Oh and here is a picture of my capa and tig months back...

 

[Jonathan_G]

Apologies, i forgot to insert the picture lol

 

[thebiggerthebetter]

Thanks for your observations. We as a community know so little about keeping the fila and capa, especially into considerable sizes. That's why your and Vincent's input is so precious to me.

Yea, my capa eats well too (that was in 240 gal) but not growing nearly as quickly as yours. My fila is a finicky eater but has been growing more or less ok.

I agree on the rossiauxii too. I don't think there is one capa or dorado in captivity with a virgin snout.

As for the tigs, mine are still much smaller than yours - 6" to 14" and while I do note an occasional fast, they are not as long as you see. I feed pellets ~ twice a day and fish twice a week. My biggest ones take both. The smallest take only fish and ignore pellets, even though they are from the same "batch". The state of things with my tigs is not as clear cut as I put it but it gives the idea of what's going on.

Oh yea, the tigs are territorial when it comes to their kin or any other brachie. At least IME too and from what I've read of others. Not overly viciously but consistently and persistently. This is with respect to the smaller ones. I'm not sure it carries over into their adulthood because some say they didn't see it with their adult brachies.

 

[herman moorr]

Gotta love the brachyplatystoma family. Nice fish. Had all accept fila but that may change sooner or later. Your fish look very healthy and happy.