Building My 50,000 Gallon Monster Mega Tank

[arapaimag]

I bet you lose some water dont you .

I do sometimes lose a bit but I also have constant water change with an overflow so it fills back up in minutes.

 

[Dav]

I do sometimes lose a bit but I also have constant water change with an overflow so it fills back up in minutes.

Well ill give you that one, so is there a constant water change on the tanks then ?

Dav.

 

[arapaimag]

Ha, yes mars is ok bit hot though ,
OMG ....... just under 4 foot niger catfish and redtails I am rather impressed, nice to see someone who can house them with a massive tank, I had one of those black sharks years ago killed my pacu he was about 11" long and pure evil, but 26 inch ! , thats the biggest ive ever seen ive seen them at 20 inch, but god thats a beast, and planiceps are stunning cats, arnt the wallago like welscatfish ?
would love to see some pictures if possible of those beast!
Thanks,
Dav.

Actually Mars is not hot at all. Summers get up to 70 degrees farenheit (21c) and winters get a little chilly at -220F (-140c) on the poles.

There are lots of pics on this thread of the Wallago and yes they do look like Wels except a lot thicker and I believe very evil compared to other catfish. But I will add a few Rusty took recently.

For many years my female Wallago beat up my goonch (Bagrus yarelli), my Salton or Piraiba (Brachyplatystoma filamentosum) and even my Zungaro (Paulicea lutkeni) before killing all three over time.

My 2 big Hemibagrus wyckii hide 15 to 20 feet from the glass so I seldom ever see them because of the pair of Wallago leerii.

 

[Dav]

, thats one mean looking catfish, they do look alot like the wels but the whiskers and head shape is diffrent as you said deeper, i owned a 3 foot wels before, my mate brought a house with a garden pond he started putting goldfish in and small koi, and they didnt last the night, so i came down and was trying to figure out why they was going , at first i though herron so we brough a load of gold fish about 20 and stopped and waited about 13 hours with his air rifle and nouthing came, then we went down to check on the fish and there was like 5 left, so i brought my fishing rod thinking there was a pike or large striped yellow perch in there, put a small gold fish on a hook 20 minuets later caught a 2 foot wels, i had him for my tank about 7 years ago he just out grew the tank and i gave him to a fishery, will try to find some pictures of him ino ive got one some where, but a wallago killed a jau ??!!!, thats crazy, ino the wels are very mean fish but that supprising it killed a jau! , and they look huge mate, i just carnt get over the size of your tank , ive got a small buil on the go at this moment ill drop you a pm about it as im not doing a thread till it finished.
Dav.

 

[maxcow]

Your tanks are easily the most biologically diverse aquariums I have ever seen. Other than the cichlids and guppies do you ever have any breeding going on in you large tanks (15 or 50 thousand)?

 

[Csababá]

While googleing the fish you post here I found Tor putitora. Are you interested in the species?

 

[arapaimag]

, thats one mean looking catfish, they do look alot like the wels but the whiskers and head shape is diffrent as you said deeper, i owned a 3 foot wels before, my mate brought a house with a garden pond he started putting goldfish in and small koi, and they didnt last the night, so i came down and was trying to figure out why they was going , at first i though herron so we brough a load of gold fish about 20 and stopped and waited about 13 hours with his air rifle and nouthing came, then we went down to check on the fish and there was like 5 left, so i brought my fishing rod thinking there was a pike or large striped yellow perch in there, put a small gold fish on a hook 20 minuets later caught a 2 foot wels, i had him for my tank about 7 years ago he just out grew the tank and i gave him to a fishery, will try to find some pictures of him ino ive got one some where, but a wallago killed a jau ??!!!, thats crazy, ino the wels are very mean fish but that supprising it killed a jau! , and they look huge mate, i just carnt get over the size of your tank , ive got a small buil on the go at this moment ill drop you a pm about it as im not doing a thread till it finished.
Dav.

You must have had fun with the wels and keeping it for 7 years was really good. I know they have a reputation for being a very tough fish but I have never owned one. Also since it is not a tropical fish it would not enjoy my tank's warm water year round. But still a fish of legends for sure.

 

[arapaimag]

Your tanks are easily the most biologically diverse aquariums I have ever seen. Other than the cichlids and guppies do you ever have any breeding going on in you large tanks (15 or 50 thousand)?

The fish do breed in the tanks by laying eggs but virtually none of the babies survive because of all the cichlids eating the fry.

About 5 years ago Jerry Draper and I were watching the tank and were very surprised to see 3/4" barb fry swimming in the small shoal of guppies near the tanks surface. In time they grew up to be adults and a few are still in the tank today. They are Puntius filamentosa The filiament or mascara barb.

It is incredible to think that their eggs survived on the floor of the tank, hatched, found food, avoided predation and then swam up nine feet in the tank avoiding the many hundred of smaller cichlids intent on eating them. Then swimming in the shoal of guppies again being picked off by brycons, arrowanas, triportheus, mono's etc. and actually making it to adult size of 4" or so. To see them swim among all the bigger preds is amazing. There were about a dozen that completed the cycle but that number is down to 4 as of today.

In the 15 only stingrays have been born and removed from the tank. Far less rock in the tank to hide in there for the pacu types. (The real pacu i.e. Myleus, Myloplus, Metynnis etc. not Colossoma, Piaractus which are actually Tambqui and Pirapatinga). I have seen the pacus appear to be laying eggs but the small amount of rocks/bogwood already have african cichlid and central american fry in it eating any other fry from other species hatching and finding their way to cover.

 

[arapaimag]

While googleing the fish you post here I found Tor putitora. Are you interested in the species?

The Mahseer

They are a nice fish and in the Cyprinidae family. They are very large fish and a great game fish able to take temperatures down to 0 degrees C.

I don't see them where I live ever.

 

[Dav]

You must have had fun with the wels and keeping it for 7 years was really good. I know they have a reputation for being a very tough fish but I have never owned one. Also since it is not a tropical fish it would not enjoy my tank's warm water year round. But still a fish of legends for sure.

I only keeperd him for around 2 years but it was about 7 years ago, he was an agressive fish.
Yes he would love you tank he would hit a huge size with the water at a high temp all year, they get like 200lb in spain (got to go fishing over the sometime), emagine him in your tank with the heat it would get about 6 foot !