Tank Mates in my set up ideas - feed back please

[snookie]

better than another fish being bitten on the bum

[candy]

Im going to have to agree with Mystic on this one sorry Henward.

I to love big fishies. I personaly have never played trial and error because i think it is just cruel.

Research is the key to keeping big fish. and yes you will come across people who have managed to keep mutiple big fish togeather but most of the time the fish are not happy and die before their time.

If i was you i would be having a good look at what you allready have and see why maybe some of your fish are not eating, biting each other ect.

And dont come crying to us when it all goes to hell. I have seen it all to often and im sick of rescuing peoples fish.

Thats enough from me.

[David R]

Research is the key to keeping big fish.

Only to a certain degree. Big fish are like people, they all have different personalities. ANY mixture of large fish is trial and error, no matter how well they seem to get along, its always a bit of an experiment that requires constant monitoring. Research can give you an idea of what might/might not work, but sometimes you just have to bite the bullet and try it, doing all you can to increase the chances of success, but at the same time preparing for the worst.

[David R]

... but "sometimes you just have to bite the bullet and try it" doesnt mean if you know it (more than likely) wont work, that you DO try it anyways!

Of course, obviously you shouldn't try mixing an oscar, a school of neons and a yellow tang. :lol:

[livingart]

i have dealt with large and agressive predators for almost 40 years, fish and animals

and there are exceptions to the norm, it is all dependant on personalities of the animals/fish involved, oh and the people

there are ways of diverting agression but no one way is the standard or the perfect answer

these are goood rules to follow

constant monitoring - is a biggy yes!

preparing for the worst - ALWAYS!

sometimes these big fish if owners can't find a home will be destroyed

it is always worth taking a chance on homing them

but make sure there is a backup or they can be seperated

[livingart]

there are not too many people around with tanks or pockets big enough to house some of the larger fish as adults

and once youve got a few well the house is full,

no more room for the youngsters being imported and then sold without new owners being told how big they grow and how big a tank will be needed in the future.......... i wonder how many last long enough to be adults?

good to see someone attempting to keep them, buying a big tank and asking for peoples feedback on housing ideas

[henward]

Xenomystus nigri - this is the fish

yes i agree

i have not ever had to destroy a fish.

I too have been keeping monster fish for awhile... though not to this degree cs when i was younger, well, little really - i had no money lol

but i do always have an alternative. and if required for a large fish, a tank can come cheaply from trademe lol 400 you can get a 6 footer and stand with lights:D sometimes even filter! lol

the african knife if very aggresive, then i will put in his own tank, by himself. I have noticed that at night the knives are most active.

i have 5 months to consider this and do more research

worse come ot worse

ill do trial and error

i believe that knvies and gouramis are not as picky with tankmates as jardiniis:D in fact i know so

and believe me, i do take in all the advise, but .... as trial and error says, i have tank mates with a jardinii when most said its impossible

just had to choose 7 species in the trials - found 3 suitable lol

someof ou might think im a little reckless....... well... you are probably correct... but controlled recklessness is the key:D

one of my dat isnt eating cos it was accustomed to other foods, i think live. but will eat eventually. just takes awhile to adjust.

the key to having a predator MF tank or just an MF tank in general. As most monster fish are predators in nature. i have dealt with alot of experiences over seas - discussed matters and i take all into account.

the key is trial and error

red tail cats can be aggressive but they are housed with certain types of fish that in nature, would kill each other. but its all trials

thats wha ti do

i guess im not scared to try

some say it might be mean to the fish... well. i dont believe that - the nz government puts violent people and not the most desired types in nice areas by making them state housing.

its the same issue

sometimes it works, sometimes it doesnt

i think im cynical

[henward]

the reason why i ask is so i know what to look for when observing

thats not possible with out key points

[henward]

one more thing, sorry for multiple replies on my own posts lol just had a thought

i go to two other forums for experience, just like buying a car or a house, you check all of them out.

why is it tha the tone is so much different in nz.... i dont understand.

perhaps its the price and rarity of the fish in which people are reserved in attempting tankmating monsters.

example:

1) i have been told by numerous parties that giant gouramis are definaltey ok to houes together.. a little fighting will occur but they wont last.

2) 8 out of 10 people said, they have tried housing royals and clowns together, with success and no problems, some have only 2, some have 6 in a tank, all 10 inch plus!

3) africans are 50/50 thats a tricky one, they are supposedly very fiesty but there has been success in predator tanks.

this is both forums i go to online, over seas, UK, AUS, US, Asia, Arabia all of them sound much different.

i find that weird. i really do. but like i said, your opinions count, as part of tally in which i make my decision, which is important to hear all sides.

but it must be the price of fish here. i just spoke to a guy, who has 3 giant gouramis in a tank wiht cichlids and an aro and a dat.

the GGs are 12 inch approx

just curious why its so different in terms of tone of the people

[livingart]

the reason why i ask is so i know what to look for when observing

thats not possible with out key points

body language can be hard to read in fish, no facial expressions

gill flaring, mouth gaping, holding fins out can be obvious

the swimming position in the tank can be more subtle

fish swimming towards each other and how close they get before turning can be little signs of impending agression

usually an outright attack is presaged by posturing and vying for the best swimming space, or hidey hole

observation and experience will help in your judgements of seeing trouble before it starts

i have 2 aros together, it takes them about a month to confront each other then they have to be divided for about 2 weeks the its back to swimming together

need to acquire a 3rd fish to breakup the one on one confrontation

resident fish will all be taken out and tank rearranged, then new fish introduced then existing fish

this will create a new territory for all fish to settle into

if that doesn't work it is into the big pond and bring on the Pacu's, more aros and some knives

[Caper]

Can you get man eating crocs in NZ?

Ah, :oops: do you folks have crocs in New Zealand?

Caper

[Caryl]

Not in the wild caper

[Caper]

Thanks Caryl and Mystic

Caper

[je_suis_ketan]

Not in the wild caper

I didn't know we had any in captivity over here? I haven't seen any at the Zoo's I've been to.

[Caryl]

They've got the croc (or is he an alligator?) at The National Aquarium. There used to be one at Brighton in ChCh too.

[David R]

There's an alligator at auckland zoo, don't think there's crocks tho.

[tHEcONCH]

They've got the croc (or is he an alligator?) at The National Aquarium. There used to be one at Brighton in ChCh too.

Its long since gone - poor thing. It was bigger than the enclosure and just lay there in the stagnant water. That zoo sucked.

[henward]

alligator im sure of it

the auck zoo anyways

[livingart]

alligators are in nz

saltwater crocs have been sighted off the northern tip of nz

have seen a man eating crocodile in one of those wild food restaurants

[je_suis_ketan]

Yea come to think of it, I saw a man eating crocodile at the Hokitika Wild foods festival :lol:

Would a Salt water croc really swim all the way from Aus over to NZ? Aren't they usually situated in the Northern part of Aus?

That's a long way to swim!

[Cheesejawa]

OMG crocadiles are the most boring animal ever. All they dois just sit there very still. I went to Australia zoo and they have about a million enclosures for them and they hardley move at all, to the point were a small lizard walked over one and it had no reaction. They are overrated in my view. I am pretty sure it is an alagater at the national aquarium, it lives with rainbow fish, plecos and a giant danio I think.

[A.PROPHECY]

bro aros and dats are a sweet combo mine are all good

clownknife gets along with them to , been thinkn about adding more knife at a later date

id say na to the african ,to agro and not realy a monster fish anyway grow way to small

i rekon giant gouramis are sweet with that size tank they only get 70cm usuly so all good better size tank than most. but yea stick one

[livingart]

was on an article on largest reptiles sighted in nz i found on the web

have loooked again but can't find it, so may have been fake :oops:

[snookie]

get a smaller tank , african biotope

senegal , brown knife , Ctenopomas

would look cool

[A.PROPHECY]

yea bro sell that tank to me , i wana put my guppys in it