Building My 50,000 Gallon Monster Mega Tank

[vass69]

Wow that is a lot of reading.

I might be in Buffalo/Lockport area March 12.

Any exciting fish in at the pet shops?

You know what, I go into the fish shops you have named in Lockport and N. Tonawanda quite often. They always have a good supply of just about anything you can think of. I know something interesting I have seen lately is a couple Aba Aba Knife fish in Hamburg at ET Tropical Fish.

If theres anything you are ever looking for then feel free to let me know. I probably stop in all the for-mentioned stores at least once a week. I can keep my eyes open for you.

 

[arapaimag]

You know what, I go into the fish shops you have named in Lockport and N. Tonawanda quite often. They always have a good supply of just about anything you can think of. I know something interesting I have seen lately is a couple Aba Aba Knife fish in Hamburg at ET Tropical Fish.

If theres anything you are ever looking for then feel free to let me know. I probably stop in all the for-mentioned stores at least once a week. I can keep my eyes open for you.

Thank you very much I appreciate that. I love aba aba and still have mine. Rusty just took a new picture of it on Sunday.

 

[Horiyoshi III]

If you like biggies. Here is a video of Ryan and SimonL from Aquatic Kingdom catching a 40" fire eel from a hobbyist named George's house. The language when they encounter the eel is not the best.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xz_Vp09n1WU

That was a great video!
Have you ever seen a fish wriggle harder and faster than one of those when it's its the ground?They spaz, and wriggle so fast they almost stay in mid air.More of a vibration with a bigger range of motion!
I couldn't beleive that thing didn't go 15'000 RPM'S when they netted it!


When I get a bit of time I need mine id'd.So far everyone say's Tire Track.It's not.It's almost like an un id'd species for what Ive gathered on in terms of true M.Armatus.24" so far, VERY simmilar to a TT, obviously...but definitely a variant.
I need to set up some good, up to date pics.
I bet you've seen it in your travels.

 

[sje106]

I didn't realise that the Wallago would look so similar to Silurus Glanis. They look Great.
Do you have any full body shots?? or any shots to compare the size of them too.

Are they the biggest fish you have/had?

 

[arapaimag]

I didn't realise that the Wallago would look so similar to Silurus Glanis. They look Great.
Do you have any full body shots?? or any shots to compare the size of them too.

Are they the biggest fish you have/had?

Rusty did not have a wider angle lens so no new full size pics. Older pics are taken a while ago and don't show the length of the fish today.

They do look like the Wels catfish just a lot fatter and perhaps a lot meaner. Remember they are the fish that pounded my goonch and salton (Piraiba, Jumper cat, Goliath cat) and kept their growth rates down due to bullying. Also that female ate a 33" Arapaima.

The biggest a female is about 60" and 125 lb (bought in 1991 from Aquarium Services Mississauga at 11-12" for $50.00) the smaller is a male about 48" and 88 lb (bought at The Fish Place N. Tonawanda NY) at 16" for $60 in 1999.

My Arapaima arapaima are bigger and friends estimate heavier at 72" and about 150 lb.

Where are pictures you were going to show us?

 

[arapaimag]

That was a great video!
Have you ever seen a fish wriggle harder and faster than one of those when it's its the ground?They spaz, and wriggle so fast they almost stay in mid air.More of a vibration with a bigger range of motion!
I couldn't beleive that thing didn't go 15'000 RPM'S when they netted it!


When I get a bit of time I need mine id'd.So far everyone say's Tire Track.It's not.It's almost like an un id'd species for what Ive gathered on in terms of true M.Armatus.24" so far, VERY simmilar to a TT, obviously...but definitely a variant.
I need to set up some good, up to date pics.
I bet you've seen it in your travels.

Please take some pics of your 24" eel.

I thought mine was also another species of spiny eel but over the past year I found pics of tire track eels with the same pattern as mine had. Don't go by the pic of us measuring him when he was dead. That was taken 2 days later and after he had dried out when my daughter was visiting and available to take the picture.

 

[arapaimag]

A few more Rusty Wessel pictures of various fish in my other tanks.

#1 & #2. Protopterus annectens the african lungfish. Given to my by Marian and Ronel owners of Arlington Pet Shop in North York, Ontario in 2001 at 22". The fish had been in their store for more than a decade in a tank about 100 gallons. It has been in various tanks and ponds since I've owned it and is now 36". Presently it is in a 250 gallon tank (946 litres) and does go outside in the summers into a 8' by 8' pond. It is very personable like "Reilly" the P. annectens I gave Neil Burgess (African Fish Zone) in 2000.

#3. A young Brachyplatystoma tigrinum (formerly known as Merodontus tigrinus) bought from Aquarium Services (Big Al's) on Kennedy road Scarboro in 2010 for $134.99 at 4". It is still in it's quarantine 55 gallon tank and grown a couple of inches. I bought one in 1989 from the same store (They used to be about a block south of their present location) when they went for $1999.00 each ( I did get a 10% discount but $1,800 still hurts) so this helps average out the cost a little........................

#4. My Apalone ferox the florida soft shell turtle. Appears to be the same genus as Jonathan's turtle "TheFishGuy" . By the way on construction, filtration and breeding ca and sa cichlids contact Jonathan is friendly, fantastic and always very helpful. Mine is kept in a 225g with a shoal of daffodil Lamprologus brichardi I bought at 50 cents each at a Kitchener Aq. Society auction in 2009.

He eats fish but they have a large rock pile and bogwood corner protected from him where the brichardi live, breed and venture out from. He was 2 1/2" when I bought him from Aquarium Services Kitchener (Anthony's store) also in the Big Al's chain and is now 8". I will put him outside in the summer this year.

 

[Horiyoshi III]

And you keep a softie!
I have GORGEOUS A.spinifera , aren't they the best?
Have you ever seen a turtle swim so fast?
Contrary to popular believe, I keep mine with a few non-softshelled turtles.
They evolved around a lot worse.
What's the longest you've kept, and largest you've grown a softshell to?

Thank You.

 

[arapaimag]

What's the longest you've kept, and largest you've grown a softshell to?

I've only had one other one and for only 4 years. Inspired by Carl's Seaway Serpentarium in Welland and his monster turtle tank I bought one from Petmart
at either 1119 or 1261 Kennedy Rd Scarboro Ontario in 1994. It was 3" cost $29.95 and died in my big tank in 1998 at 12". Initially I raised it in a 180 then outside ponds in the summers, Then 15,000 but it nipped the smaller catfish too much so I moved it to the 52,000 and it did really well but only lived the 4 years. Really nice turtle I agree.

How long have you owned yours?

Do you have any fly river turtles (Carettochelys insculpta) ?

 

[swervo513]

I noticed you said you have a bird sanctuary above the tank. Have a video?

8)