Arapaima Gigas

[bmxer4ever]

Wow - sounds even more involved than keeping one! That's interesting about the young being taken from the parents too early - didn't realise the father did that for them. What age/size do they become independent?
The more you add to this thread Zoodiver, the more fascinated I become. Thanks for helping me get this moving. Hope everyone else enjoys your input as much as I do.
bmxer4ever

 

[Zoodiver]

I will say I have limited hands on experience with captive breeding, so I don't have all the answers on that. From what I've seen, parents pair off and nest in fine substrate. Courting is quite extensive and the pair will say in proximity for an extended period. I've seen the fathers guard the nests. I haven't seen the female act that way, but that's not to say they don't as well. The father secretes a 'milk' from pores in his head that the youg depend on. Like I said, it's similar to discus. It's been shown that when young are pulled too soon, they either die right away, or don't do well, and die shortly after.

I don't have an exact answer on size, but it's rare to see one under 8-10" doing well after being shipped. There are some that get lucky. 12" seems to be the best sizeto ship. Its 'large enough that the animal is well established and healthy enough to take the stress of the trip, but still small enough to be managable in a shipping box.

 

[johnptc]

baby giga is now about 54 inches !!!! 9/20/2006

 

[Redtail_Watcher]

Yall got me intresting how young a A. gigas needs to be in order to make it through life, what do they eat during at a baby age like 6-12inches? because i am on a waiting list for 3 Arapima gigas, i am willing to house it in a really big in indoor pond when i move out. how much does the price range goes around for a A. Gigas? what is the normal size for them? is it 8 feet?

 

[Redtail_Watcher]

"Questions? Should I go into more depth on these subjects, or move on to filters?"

Go on then....we're waiting...! Gigas must produce a horrendous amount of waste!
So is it one room for the tank and another for the filtration system...?!

for that picture? i think it is worng!! it's worng a cruel to keep a beautiful monster in a tank that small.

 

[johnptc]

Yall got me intresting how young a A. gigas needs to be in order to make it through life, what do they eat during at a baby age like 6-12inches? because i am on a waiting list for 3 Arapima gigas, i am willing to house it in a really big in indoor pond when i move out. how much does the price range goes around for a A. Gigas? what is the normal size for them? is it 8 feet?

try www.riverwonders.com he usually has pimas avaible............

http://www.riverwonders.com/index.php?cPath=21&osCsid=3d0814d90f03451a3023586a645d3646

 

[johnptc]

for that picture? i think it is worng!! it's worng a cruel to keep a beautiful monster in a tank that small.

i have heard that this practice is common in places like japan where they love monster fish but the folks live in small spaces............

 

[Zoodiver]

Yall got me intresting how young a A. gigas needs to be in order to make it through life, what do they eat during at a baby age like 6-12inches? because i am on a waiting list for 3 Arapima gigas, i am willing to house it in a really big in indoor pond when i move out. how much does the price range goes around for a A. Gigas? what is the normal size for them? is it 8 feet?

Only buy them in the 10-12" range. No smaller, no larger unless you're transporting the animal yourself.

Young will take live food, and can be slowly worked over to prepared things.
How big of a pool do you have for three arapaima? Just a suggestion, it's better to have the end pool up and running prior to buying young. I know people say they'll have time to build the larger pool as they grow, but I have yet to see it happen. The fish die, or they get sold and the large pool doesn't happen. It takes longer to build and establish a large system than it does for a young arapaima to grow. Do not put them into a new system. I highly reccomend putting them into a tank that has been up and running for at least a year with other fish in it.

To answer your other questions: A normal adult size for one is 12 feet. I wouldnt pay more than $100 for a healthy LEGAL juv animal. By legal, I mean make sure they can send you CITES paper work with the fish to prove it came into the States on the up and up.

 

[Redtail_Watcher]

Only buy them in the 10-12" range. No smaller, no larger unless you're transporting the animal yourself.

Young will take live food, and can be slowly worked over to prepared things.
How big of a pool do you have for three arapaima? Just a suggestion, it's better to have the end pool up and running prior to buying young. I know people say they'll have time to build the larger pool as they grow, but I have yet to see it happen. The fish die, or they get sold and the large pool doesn't happen. It takes longer to build and establish a large system than it does for a young arapaima to grow. Do not put them into a new system. I highly reccomend putting them into a tank that has been up and running for at least a year with other fish in it.

To answer your other questions: A normal adult size for one is 12 feet. I wouldnt pay more than $100 for a healthy LEGAL juv animal. By legal, I mean make sure they can send you CITES paper work with the fish to prove it came into the States on the up and up.

YOur right. I think I will built a tank or pond 8 by12 3feet high do you think that will be okay?

 

[Redtail_Watcher]

what do you think the minumim size it needs to be for 3 arapima gigas? do they grow fast like an RTC?