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Holy tank requirements.

http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/p...85&pcatid=1985

[Imnothungry]

Originally Posted by JC Nor7

would a zebra pleco be happy in water that is 75 degrees? or would it need to be a few degrees higher? so i can accommodate all my tank mates.

i've seen some zebras priced at like $400-$500 but yeah $200 isn't too bad for a fish.

edit: wow, so they need an oxygen rich tank, means no plants. whaaaaat. maybe lightly planted?

you can get a zebra pleco for 175 on aquabid right now.


if you own an a.gigas you are an *******. 1000 gallons is no where near large enough to keep one happy and healthy once they grow. you need 5-10k gallons to keep an adult properly. honestly, that is even on the smaller size. some fish should simply not be available for the public, this being one of them

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It did say 1000 minimum, I doubt that was meant for a full size adult.

I didn't even know they sold fish like that.

[Imnothungry]

oh yea, ive even seen them in stores around here. the local store (now closed) that had them has also sold anacondas, pacu and other massive animals. i stopped going there once i saw a.gigas for sale. it was more of a generic store so people would go in and buy pacu thinking they were "herbivorous red belly piranha"

the place i go now has some pretty crazy *** fish for sale too. it is a way more of a specialty store but they had a nile perch there recently (im not sure if it was for sale), a ton of musky and northern pike (i guess those sell like hot cakes, surprisingly) and SW great barracuda. according to the people that work at this place there are quite a few people in the area with massive indoor ponds and 1k gal + set ups. i really like the place but it is a good half hour drive whenever i need to get stuff


i really cannot see myself getting anything larger than a jardini now except for maybe a mbu puffer some day. a jardini is not exactly small, either.

[JC Nor7]

http://www.planetcatfish.com/catelog...hp?family_id=1

[akward silence]

Originally Posted by Imnothungry

oh yea, ive even seen them in stores around here. the local store (now closed) that had them has also sold anacondas, pacu and other massive animals. i stopped going there once i saw a.gigas for sale. it was more of a generic store so people would go in and buy pacu thinking they were "herbivorous red belly piranha"

the place i go now has some pretty crazy *** fish for sale too. it is a way more of a specialty store but they had a nile perch there recently (im not sure if it was for sale), a ton of musky and northern pike (i guess those sell like hot cakes, surprisingly) and SW great barracuda. according to the people that work at this place there are quite a few people in the area with massive indoor ponds and 1k gal + set ups. i really like the place but it is a good half hour drive whenever i need to get stuff


i really cannot see myself getting anything larger than a jardini now except for maybe a mbu puffer some day. a jardini is not exactly small, either.

What state? This store sounds awesome!

I think my black knife and bichirs are as big as I want to get...unless a 250+ gallon tank falls into my lap. Hopefully it doesn't as that sounds rather painful and expensive.

I am tempted to get some clown loaches now that my tank is colorless. I was reading that you need to build your tank around them, is this true? They seem like awesome fish and I really like their colors.

Originally Posted by JC Nor7

http://www.planetcatfish.com/catelog...hp?family_id=1

That website is awesome

I can't wait to get my new tank and grab 2 more emeralds. I really like these guys They do mad work cleaning my tank too.

[Imnothungry]

i live in ohio. RMS is a nice store but there are MUCH better specialty stores out there that cater to monster keepers, oddballs and real rare stuff.


the thing with clown loaches is they get fairly large and you need a school of them. they are often sold small and people just do not realize how large they get. a school of 7-10" fish is a pretty large biomass to deal with. if you want smaller you can go with botia loaches if you want something smaller. personally, i think they look better



as for cory cats, i have 6 salt and pepper (real tiny species) cory's in my 20gal planted community. awesome freaking fish. they are active, curious, and do great in communities.

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I did look into botias and they are definitely a feasible option. My only issue would be acquiring them, but my local specialty store could surely get them for me at a reasonable price (especially if I'm buying a $500+ tank from them).

Are loach fish similar to corys to where they prefer to be in shoals of 6? I'm trying to put together a list of what I need to get to make this tank perfect.

Also, filtration system. What filter(s) would you guys get for, say, a 180g tank? I need to start planning

Edit: My wife wants a ****ing ray. The internet is telling her they aren't too difficult to take care of and they are fond of bichirs as tank mates. Help me tell her no

[johnnybravo60025]

Originally Posted by Imnothungry

i got an empty 180 gal at my grandparents in need of some repair (needs to be resealed, pretty easy fix tbh). not sure if i should sell it or hang on to it for later. **** was free, i pulled it off someone's curb on trash day a few years ago.

DEFINITELY look on craigslist. ive found so many insane deals on there for tanks. you can find some that need minor repair for next to nothing.




edit: zebra pleco is like what, 200 bucks max? that isnt too bad (i am pretty anti-pleco so it does not matter to me). you wanna talk expensive freshwater?

large widebar dat, about $600-over a grand. you can get a small one for a couple hundred but they grow real slowly



now, really expensive, especially in this part of the world, asian arows. talking thousands here for rare specimens



then there are koi, which are in a league of their own. 10s of thousands of dollars for pretty carp? pass

Good luck legally obtaining an Asian Aro here in the US.

[pbmink]

Originally Posted by akward silence

I did look into botias and they are definitely a feasible option. My only issue would be acquiring them, but my local specialty store could surely get them for me at a reasonable price (especially if I'm buying a $500+ tank from them).

Are loach fish similar to corys to where they prefer to be in shoals of 6? I'm trying to put together a list of what I need to get to make this tank perfect.

Also, filtration system. What filter(s) would you guys get for, say, a 180g tank? I need to start planning

Edit: My wife wants a ****ing ray. The internet is telling her they aren't too difficult to take care of and they are fond of bichirs as tank mates. Help me tell her no

I will do no such thing.
I love my ray

[akward silence]

Wait, really? Are they difficult to take care of?

What kind do you have? What are his tank mates?

[Imnothungry]

Originally Posted by johnnybravo60025

Good luck legally obtaining an Asian Aro here in the US.

you can definitely get legal asian arows in the US. its just a really huge pain in the ***. i believe you can legally obtain microchipped captive bread asian arows in the US as of a year or 2 ago through the proper channels.

edit: the chipped ones are still banned too, for some reason. you can obtain with a research permit, though (have fun)


edit: rays require pretty strict water requirements, kind of like puffers (iirc). puffers are also supposed to be real hard to keep but ive kept multiple species and i find them pretty easy

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Yeah, they seem pretty picky to water conditions. I don't want to put a few hundred dollars in my tank and watch it die.

[ProtoxxPaintball]

They have rays over here in MD for $80 and some for $120.

I can't have em in the south sadly because of irresponsible people.

And honestly, a ray needs floor space, so account for that.


www.youtube.com/user/uarujoey keeps rays, you can watch the series where he built a 540ish gallon tank specifically for his rays.

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That's why I'm shooting for a 180 or a 240 so I get the 2' of thickness and 6 or 8 feet of length. The teacup ray, supposedly, requires 150g so I assumed a 180 would be enough.

I wanted a sand floor anyway, I love the look

[pbmink]

Really should Aim for 2.5 depth.

[ProtoxxPaintball]

Originally Posted by pbmink

Really should Aim for 2.5 depth.

Yeah, I was gonna say 3 feet front to back for a ray, but thats just me.

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I think I should start looking into building my own tank.

These rays seem to be too much hassle. I doubt I'll get a 240 for a good enough price, so 180 or a 225 will probably be the tank for me. The 225 is 30", other than that I'd have to go custom made.

[ProtoxxPaintball]

Well, that link I posted, Joey post a lot of How to's of building all kinds of tanks.

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Yeah I've been flipping through his videos. I imagine glass would cost a ton.

[pbmink]

Depends on the glass.



But if you're really intrested in a ray I would more go for a custom tidal pool setup with a glass viewing front.

It's what a lot of indoor ponds here do.