Smaller pima in 4500 gal, ~16"-18"
- Thread starter thebiggerthebetter
- Start date
Live and learn. Timid predators like black ear sharks, IDS, lima can turn unreasonable predators preparing for the spawning season. First time I see this with lima shovelnose.
what does one do with a 5' dead fish thats non native? dry out and burn, burry? grind up for other fish food? whats the play here?
The best way is to bury them, unless you or your friends routinely process large game.
An interesting and informative YT exchange with a peer pima keeper from India Poseidon Fernandes. He reports that his arapaima doesn't jump out of its rather tight tank. I am amazed by this new knowledge!!!
(From the comments under this video:
)
G Gobrian44 I’ve noticed that some pimas run against the backwall all day long. Is that common?
F fish -Story Not from my humble experience. It's hard to guess why without many details. In many fish, not only pimas, this is a sign of stress and/or wanting to get out / swim through glass wall.
@bose535 Yes mine did the same the moment i got him and use to bolt around the tank the moment anyone approached the tank. Tried many things but wouldnt help. Shifted him to a pond and everything stopped. Now he is around 5.8ft in (4yrs)
F fish -Story Thank you for this. What was the size of the arapaima and the size of the tank? Lucky you were able to move to a pond, I guess no dangerous predators lived there then. 6ft in 4 years is pretty good, congratulations! How big is the pond and is it indoor / protected from the elements?
@bose535 I had msged you about this issue on monster fish keepers. I got the arapaima at 4inch but this fish grows like crazy in the 1st year. It reached 4ft in the 1st yr itself, 2nd year 5.5ft and then slows down. The fish was in a 150gal tank at 4inch all alone i waited for 3 months which he grew around 16inch. I couldnt belive how fast this fish grows. Then i shifted him to the pond with other smaller fish. He grew up with iridescent, giant gouramis and redtail. Many said that he would eat them but he never touched any of the fish. But i cannot introduce any other fish in that pond cause as soon as he notices that there is a new fish in the pond thats it that fish is eaten. The pond is outdoor more like a pool. Its L15×B7×H4ft. Its small but he has adjusted to this. He comes to the top to eat whenever called and later goes and rests at the bottom with the redtail.
F fish -Story Thank you much for this great, helpful information. I don't recall our exchange, if there was any, in the MFK, sorry. So a 4" pima was so skittish in a 150 gal... I wonder why? Empty tank, no dithers? 12" of growth in 3 months and 44" in 12 months sounds like a great growth even for an average pima, your pima must have good genes. Which vendor did it come from? IME pima don't touch tankmates only if they don't fit in their mouth, from looks or from tries. I am sure you could introduce a large enough fish in the pond and your pima won't touch it. ... Now the size and pima's behavior would concern me. If I was ever asked, I'd say a 6ft pima will NEVER stay in a 15x7 footprint because our two 5ft and 5.5ft would NOT stay in a 4500 gal 13x13x4.5, they kept jumping out and eventually killed themselves on their 3rd or 4th jump-out or so, each. I also don't believe that it is normal for pima to be sedentary on the bottom. They are a mid-water-to-surface fish and they move around. I guess yours is stressed and sits on the bottom because there is no space to move around. Also something to keep in mind, it is very hard if not impossible for a hobbyist to move them any distance at 6ft size because they stress so much in the process and usually die as a result. ... I am glad we can exchange this rare and valuable pima husbandry info. Thank you greatly.
@bose535 The 150 gal tank was an empty tank with no deco no lighting no substrate. The arapaima swims in the pond most of the time but goes to the bottom after eating. He eats a lot. I fed him live frogs when he was small as a result he grew that fast. I got the fish from a local shop in India (Goa). He is not stressed i have noticed arapaimas jump when not fed everyday, cause my friend also bought an arapaima the same time i bought my arapaima and he put his pima in a massive pond. His pima jumped out 2 times inspite of having so much space. The only thing he does different is feeds the pima on alternate days or 2. My pond is also not covered and he doesnt jump. He does splash the water when hungry. After feeding he stops the splashing. I have shifted my pima while renovating the pond but he doesnt get stressed. After shifting him within several hours he will start eating. He is really heavy need 4 people to carry him properly without damaging any of his fins or scales. But the shift from one pond to the other was close by around 20ft. Another thing i have noticed is the bullies in the pond are the 1.5ft Giant gouramis. They just want to nibble on all the fish in the pond.
F fish -Story Interesting and helpful. Thank you greatly. I am very surprised and intrigued that your pima doesn't jump. It's hard to believe that feeding heavy and daily is what makes this life-and-death difference but it's worth remembering, checking, and trying. How big is your friend's pond? Yes, GG are high IQ fish, inquisitive, and pay attention to their tankmates, adapt and learn too.
@bose535 My friends pond is L25ft×B7ft×H5ft but his arapaima is only 4.5ft in 4yrs and has jumped out 2 times. Both of us bought the fish from the same dealer same time. He used to feed shrimp and i used to feed live frogs and later shifed to market fish. Even the arapaimas at the public aquarium where i live have jumped out and died, 2 of them. Even their pond is massive but they used to feed the fish 2 times a week. Please do let me know how your pimas behave to feeding everyday. I got a chance to measure my arapaima, he is exactly 6ft.
F fish -Story Thank you for this. I think your friend's pima is smaller because of the high thiaminase in shrimp (unless it was cooked). He may be lucky his pima didn't develop a bad deficit of vitamin B1. Also, in the West, shrimp for human consumption is treated with formalin as a color preservative. It could also be a sexual difference, yours female, his male. ... Wow, even professional couldn't keep pima in their tank!? ... At present we feed our two remaining pima 2x a day, just as the whole 1800 gal tank but they are only about 1.5ft. I will report anything significant on our pima on this channel, of course, as we always aim to do.
@bose535 it could be a male/female thing with respect to their growth rates or it might be stunted by the shrimp diet. Another thing i wanted to know is my arapaimas face is narrow towards its mouth and smooth like and the entire body is very dark green in colour not much red but the arapaimas at the aquarium have a very broad mouth and are very colourful with copperish colour with red. Their body type looks completely different from the one i have.
F fish -Story I've no idea about the body shape difference. Almost impossible to go off words, need quality visuals, photos or videos or both. I also noted a variability in the amount of red in the scales and tail. Seems to involve the gender, the season, and perhaps the genetics too. Some are amazingly bright red, likely in heat.
G Gobrian44 Incredible exchange guys this really helps out! Mine are in a well stocked 300 till They head to the big indoor pond.
(From the comments under this video:
G Gobrian44 I’ve noticed that some pimas run against the backwall all day long. Is that common?
F fish -Story Not from my humble experience. It's hard to guess why without many details. In many fish, not only pimas, this is a sign of stress and/or wanting to get out / swim through glass wall.
@bose535 Yes mine did the same the moment i got him and use to bolt around the tank the moment anyone approached the tank. Tried many things but wouldnt help. Shifted him to a pond and everything stopped. Now he is around 5.8ft in (4yrs)
F fish -Story Thank you for this. What was the size of the arapaima and the size of the tank? Lucky you were able to move to a pond, I guess no dangerous predators lived there then. 6ft in 4 years is pretty good, congratulations! How big is the pond and is it indoor / protected from the elements?
@bose535 I had msged you about this issue on monster fish keepers. I got the arapaima at 4inch but this fish grows like crazy in the 1st year. It reached 4ft in the 1st yr itself, 2nd year 5.5ft and then slows down. The fish was in a 150gal tank at 4inch all alone i waited for 3 months which he grew around 16inch. I couldnt belive how fast this fish grows. Then i shifted him to the pond with other smaller fish. He grew up with iridescent, giant gouramis and redtail. Many said that he would eat them but he never touched any of the fish. But i cannot introduce any other fish in that pond cause as soon as he notices that there is a new fish in the pond thats it that fish is eaten. The pond is outdoor more like a pool. Its L15×B7×H4ft. Its small but he has adjusted to this. He comes to the top to eat whenever called and later goes and rests at the bottom with the redtail.
F fish -Story Thank you much for this great, helpful information. I don't recall our exchange, if there was any, in the MFK, sorry. So a 4" pima was so skittish in a 150 gal... I wonder why? Empty tank, no dithers? 12" of growth in 3 months and 44" in 12 months sounds like a great growth even for an average pima, your pima must have good genes. Which vendor did it come from? IME pima don't touch tankmates only if they don't fit in their mouth, from looks or from tries. I am sure you could introduce a large enough fish in the pond and your pima won't touch it. ... Now the size and pima's behavior would concern me. If I was ever asked, I'd say a 6ft pima will NEVER stay in a 15x7 footprint because our two 5ft and 5.5ft would NOT stay in a 4500 gal 13x13x4.5, they kept jumping out and eventually killed themselves on their 3rd or 4th jump-out or so, each. I also don't believe that it is normal for pima to be sedentary on the bottom. They are a mid-water-to-surface fish and they move around. I guess yours is stressed and sits on the bottom because there is no space to move around. Also something to keep in mind, it is very hard if not impossible for a hobbyist to move them any distance at 6ft size because they stress so much in the process and usually die as a result. ... I am glad we can exchange this rare and valuable pima husbandry info. Thank you greatly.
@bose535 The 150 gal tank was an empty tank with no deco no lighting no substrate. The arapaima swims in the pond most of the time but goes to the bottom after eating. He eats a lot. I fed him live frogs when he was small as a result he grew that fast. I got the fish from a local shop in India (Goa). He is not stressed i have noticed arapaimas jump when not fed everyday, cause my friend also bought an arapaima the same time i bought my arapaima and he put his pima in a massive pond. His pima jumped out 2 times inspite of having so much space. The only thing he does different is feeds the pima on alternate days or 2. My pond is also not covered and he doesnt jump. He does splash the water when hungry. After feeding he stops the splashing. I have shifted my pima while renovating the pond but he doesnt get stressed. After shifting him within several hours he will start eating. He is really heavy need 4 people to carry him properly without damaging any of his fins or scales. But the shift from one pond to the other was close by around 20ft. Another thing i have noticed is the bullies in the pond are the 1.5ft Giant gouramis. They just want to nibble on all the fish in the pond.
F fish -Story Interesting and helpful. Thank you greatly. I am very surprised and intrigued that your pima doesn't jump. It's hard to believe that feeding heavy and daily is what makes this life-and-death difference but it's worth remembering, checking, and trying. How big is your friend's pond? Yes, GG are high IQ fish, inquisitive, and pay attention to their tankmates, adapt and learn too.
@bose535 My friends pond is L25ft×B7ft×H5ft but his arapaima is only 4.5ft in 4yrs and has jumped out 2 times. Both of us bought the fish from the same dealer same time. He used to feed shrimp and i used to feed live frogs and later shifed to market fish. Even the arapaimas at the public aquarium where i live have jumped out and died, 2 of them. Even their pond is massive but they used to feed the fish 2 times a week. Please do let me know how your pimas behave to feeding everyday. I got a chance to measure my arapaima, he is exactly 6ft.
F fish -Story Thank you for this. I think your friend's pima is smaller because of the high thiaminase in shrimp (unless it was cooked). He may be lucky his pima didn't develop a bad deficit of vitamin B1. Also, in the West, shrimp for human consumption is treated with formalin as a color preservative. It could also be a sexual difference, yours female, his male. ... Wow, even professional couldn't keep pima in their tank!? ... At present we feed our two remaining pima 2x a day, just as the whole 1800 gal tank but they are only about 1.5ft. I will report anything significant on our pima on this channel, of course, as we always aim to do.
@bose535 it could be a male/female thing with respect to their growth rates or it might be stunted by the shrimp diet. Another thing i wanted to know is my arapaimas face is narrow towards its mouth and smooth like and the entire body is very dark green in colour not much red but the arapaimas at the aquarium have a very broad mouth and are very colourful with copperish colour with red. Their body type looks completely different from the one i have.
F fish -Story I've no idea about the body shape difference. Almost impossible to go off words, need quality visuals, photos or videos or both. I also noted a variability in the amount of red in the scales and tail. Seems to involve the gender, the season, and perhaps the genetics too. Some are amazingly bright red, likely in heat.
G Gobrian44 Incredible exchange guys this really helps out! Mine are in a well stocked 300 till They head to the big indoor pond.
This is from 2 months ago, the loss of the 3rd pima. This is the one that was pineconing after the overfeeding. Seemed to recover except the bony dorsal side. Soon after it started feeding well, it died for no apparent reason. I assume the prior overfeeding case has damaged something.
Thanks for sharing your experiences and sorry for the loss of your fish
Today is the day the big and unnerving test has begun, both 2.5ft pimas are in the uncovered 25K:
The wels makes me uneasy. It's a gamble either way you slice it, to my mind. The pros are that the wels is relatively docile, he doesn't like large items to swallow dead or alive, the pima are alert, they get a chance to grow in the big tank which may eliminate their desire to jump out eventually, they are easier and safer to move from tank to tank when they are smaller. The cons are of course the wels remains a concern, the pima may jump out still, the pima will interfere with the visitors hand feeding the koi and Co.
The wels makes me uneasy. It's a gamble either way you slice it, to my mind. The pros are that the wels is relatively docile, he doesn't like large items to swallow dead or alive, the pima are alert, they get a chance to grow in the big tank which may eliminate their desire to jump out eventually, they are easier and safer to move from tank to tank when they are smaller. The cons are of course the wels remains a concern, the pima may jump out still, the pima will interfere with the visitors hand feeding the koi and Co.
