96 x 30 x 24 Tank and Arowana Species

[RD.]

The issue with Asian aros isn't their size, his tank would be plenty big enough to house a single Asian aro for life. But with only 24" in height, having an aro along with comm fish is going to be an issue. An experienced aro keeper gets that, and the whys of that, you won't, until you get to that point. Not everything can be gleaned from an internet forum.

The problem with this tank, and the OP, is that he has zero experience with keeping fish. ZERO. In his mind if the fish fits the tank it's all good in the hood, but it won't be. Not even close.

Want to start with a big tank, I see no problem with that. Go for it. Want to start with a comm tank, with an aro and other fish? Now you have a disaster in the making. You don't even understand the basics amigo. Grow out a good size school of SD's in your tank if that species interests you, then go from there.

Or one day look back at this and regret the fact that you didn't listen to those who knew better, and were attempting to spare you the grief. Good luck.

 

[RD.]

I've been told by some people here that Asian Arowana for example would not be a good starter fish. But at the same time, I've had others tell me that contrary to what many people may think, it is a hardier fish and relatively easy to keep as long as you keep up with cleaning and water changes etc. So I'm getting mixed messages.

The problem with internet forums is you have to take the good with the bad. Some people comment about fish that they have probably never seen, let alone kept in a glass box, but seem to think that they somehow are qualified to speak about those fish. In fact, that just happened in this thread. So be careful who you are taking advice from Zugs, some people who may have good intentions may in fact have zero hands on experience with the species that you are enquiring about.

 

[thebiggerthebetter]

When I wrote my last post, where I said "start small and slow", it had been already set in stone that you are getting the 8x2.5x2. Period. So I wrote my post with that in mind. Again, I see nothing wrong, in fact this is good to start with a 300 gal tank. Start with small fish and start slow - this is what I wanted to say.

The fish keeping hobby is not a democracy where the truth is determined by the majority of votes. That is another reason for you to slow down and learn of who is expert in what. If ten keepers, like RD said, chime in and advise from theory or from what they might have read somewhere or researched online and one guy chimes in who has raised multiple fishes of the kind you are inquiring about successfully for many years and has an established reputation in this aspect, you'd be wise to disregard the ten and side with that one.

This is extreme for clarity. In reality, you must ascribe each advice a weighted value if you aim to be prudent.

But you must know who is talking to you, which will take time. The years on MFK, the post and like counts, etc. aren't always a good guide, no quick fix here.

An example:

some people who may have good intentions may in fact have zero hands on experience with the species that you are enquiring about.

Like me with Asian aros. Never kept one. Kept silvers for 10 years though.

 

[RD.]

I agree completely, Viktor. But in your defense you have indeed kept aros, the previous person commenting to Zugs has not. Not Asian aros, not any aros. I just gave that person what I thought was a fairly gentle nudge regarding some additional info that he posted to Zugs, regarding pbass, another fish that he has never kept, and he appears to have stomped off in a huff. I don't get it? I don't speculate on how best to keep an octopus in captivity, because I personally have zero experience with them.

How Many Cichla Can I Cram Into A Glass Box?

In all seriousness.. how many pbass, if say I went with smaller species like Kelberi and Intermedia, could live life comfortably in a 96x30x26? Theres enough filtration for a fully stocked tank twice its size so thats not an issue. Just want to know how many swimmy bois you guys think I could...

www.monsterfishkeepers.com

Zugs is new to fishkeeping, period, the last thing he needs right now is people guesstimating on how he should proceed with his very first fish tank, that has yet to even be set up.

No wonder Zugs is getting confused from some of the info that he's receiving.



And I also agree with you, a 300 gallon is fine to start with, but the sensible way to approach all of this would be to start slow, and small, and work ones way into the monster fish. Rome wasn't built in a day!

 

[islandguy11]

I agree completely, Viktor. But in your defense you have indeed kept aros, the previous person commenting to Zugs has not. Not Asian aros, not any aros. I just gave that person what I thought was a fairly gentle nudge regarding some additional info that he posted to Zugs, regarding pbass, another fish that he has never kept, and he appears to have stomped off in a huff. I don't get it? I don't speculate on how best to keep an octopus in captivity, because I personally have zero experience with them.

How Many Cichla Can I Cram Into A Glass Box?

In all seriousness.. how many pbass, if say I went with smaller species like Kelberi and Intermedia, could live life comfortably in a 96x30x26? Theres enough filtration for a fully stocked tank twice its size so thats not an issue. Just want to know how many swimmy bois you guys think I could...

www.monsterfishkeepers.com

Zugs is new to fishkeeping, period, the last thing he needs right now is people guesstimating on how he should proceed with his very first fish tank, that has yet to even be set up.

No wonder Zugs is getting confused from some of the info that he's receiving.


And I also agree with you, a 300 gallon is fine to start with, but the sensible way to approach all of this would be to start slow, and small, and work ones way into the monster fish. Rome wasn't built in a day!

Understand your feelings Neil: on an Asian Arowana ID thread not so long ago the guy you reference above was trying to suggest to OP his Asian was a Jardini or African lol, even after saying he'd never owned any Arowana. Stuff like that isn't only confusing for OP's but also those who may happen upon the thread later.

And Zugs, anyone trying to tell a person new to the hobby that Asian Arowana (or Silvers or Jardini) are "...relatively easy to keep..." is irresponsible imho, if not off their rocker. Relative to what, and to who's experience level?

Just spend some more time looking over current and older threads in the Arowana sub-forum and see how many threads/posts there are about Aros jumping out of tanks and dying (it's a constant paranoia for owners, esp. when you're talking about a $1,000 dollar or so fish); having health issues; or suddenly stop eating for no apparent reason (it will drive you crazy), or fighting with/killing other fish, etc., etc. Then let us know if the 'other' people's statements in this regard are accurate or not. Esp. for someone newer to the hobby, guppies and mollies are relatively easy to keep, Arowana are not, take it as you will and look forward to seeing your tank when it's finally set up.

 

[The-Almighty-Zugs]

The issue with Asian aros isn't their size, his tank would be plenty big enough to house a single Asian aro for life. But with only 24" in height, having an aro along with comm fish is going to be an issue. An experienced aro keeper gets that, and the whys of that, you won't, until you get to that point. Not everything can be gleaned from an internet forum.

The problem with this tank, and the OP, is that he has zero experience with keeping fish. ZERO. In his mind if the fish fits the tank it's all good in the hood, but it won't be. Not even close.

Want to start with a big tank, I see no problem with that. Go for it. Want to start with a comm tank, with an aro and other fish? Now you have a disaster in the making. You don't even understand the basics amigo. Grow out a good size school of SD's in your tank if that species interests you, then go from there.

Those are some very good points that I had not considered.

And I think I may go that route. Start with a school of Silver Dollars. The are relatively cheap. Would my tank be able to comm an Asian Arowana and a school of SD in the future once I gain more experience? Given it's height? Arrow at the top and silver dollars in mid level to bottom? Or is this a no go for sure no matter the experience?

 

[fishhead0103666]

Heads up with the silver dollars, if they’re like mine then they will eat any plant you put in there. Including Anubias.

 

[Hendre]

The king of DIY struggled to get his aro enough food with the voracious appetites of SD's. That was one person's experience.

 

[The-Almighty-Zugs]

The king of DIY struggled to get his aro enough food with the voracious appetites of SD's. That was one person's experience.

How similar are Red Hooks to Silver Dollars in behavior? Silver Dollars like wide/thin bars (Myleus schomburgki) and Red Hooks (Myloplus rubripinnis)? I know both are considered dithers so I figure they're not too different.

 

[Hendre]

How similar are Red Hooks to Silver Dollars in behavior? Silver Dollars like wide/thin bars (Myleus schomburgki) and Red Hooks (Myloplus rubripinnis)? I know both are considered dithers so I figure they're not too different.

I can't say, not from North America so I know nothing of dollars

Have you figured out your Water change system yet? I may have missed that