merodontus tigrinus at trimar...

[Paul_MTS]

in my tank with a red tail aorwana and small TSN (at the moment)

i have about 7 large peices of bogwood over the floor which i place so not too go up to high and then this leaves all the space the aro needs.

 

[Oddball]

So no plants then?

ps, sorry for hijacking your thread paul!

 

[Paul_MTS]

no worries!!

the only plants i have are moss balls and java fern i tied to some wood last night, so will have to seee how that does.

 

[Oddball]

Well just done some interestin research on the net and this is the layout i propose.............

an 8x2x2ft tank with external filter, two sets of double lights, one set tropic sun the other set moon lights, for viewing in the evening, both sets on a timer! The appropiate heaters housed in a "natural look" heater gaurd, to stop the tigrus sleeping on it!

The substrate is a layer of aquarium peat, coated in a fine aquarium sand to protect the catfishes barbels and enhance plant growth, in one section, i.e. a back corner, i shall include a selection of smooth, rounded pebbles/rocks to create a more barren area, with a few fronds of spirilina in it. Towards the back I would plant up with amazon swords, lillies and arrowhead plants. Moving on to the other corner i would use mangrove roots/driftwood/bogwood with java moss and fern attatched to it for the catfish to hide out in. Im also toying with getting some surface plants and floating them in one corner with a small line?

I need some suggestions for low lying grassy/leafy plants to create a lawn like section to gradually fade out to a more sandy area, is this possible?

thanks in advance

 

[CFC]

I need some suggestions for low lying grassy/leafy plants to create a lawn like section to gradually fade out to a more sandy area, is this possible?

How about you forget every idea you have had and start again with the fishes needs in mind?

Adult M.tigrinus inhabit rapids in the wild so in the home aquarium need a strong current provided by at least two good sized powerheads positioned at one end of the tank, large smooth rocks should be used to break the current in some places and provide a refuge for when the fish wants to rest, pieces of driftwood can be used to create a "snag pile" where bits of broken tree have been washed down the river and jammed against the rocks. Swimming space is very important to these large open water predators so decor should be minimal with 3/4 of the tank being barren sand. As you can imagine this is not a ideal enviroment for plants so it is probably best to leave them out, though you could still attach some mossy plants like java moss or riccia to the rocks and wood, streaming algea clinging to the rocks actually looks quite good in this kind of set up. Plants rarely survive in tanks with large bottom dwelling fish anyway as their constant movement and large size uproot them damaging the root systems and stalks.
A sand substrate is a must to prevent the fish from swallowing pieces of gravel when feeding, if this happens then the stomach becomes irritated and the fish may vomit its stomach contents into the tank, which at best will pollute the tank enough to need a 100% water change and at worst can knock out the biological filter.

A 8x2x2' is a good sized tank but still not ideal for a fish that will reach at least 24" and hopefully 30", really you should be looking at a minimum permament home of 8x3x2' (LxWxH) so that there is suffiecient turning room for the fish, in narrow tanks shovelnoses can damage their snouts irrepairably which is not something you want with several hundred/thousand pounds worth of fish.

For the filtration on a tank that size a external filter isnt going to cut the mustard and you will need a custom built wet/dry sump which holds at least 10% of the tank volume (i.e 100g tank has 10g sump) with a supply pump that gives the tank volume a turn over of around 5 times a hour.

If a pretty planted tank is what you really want then big predatory Pimeloids are not the fish for you.

 

[Paul_MTS]

sounds amazing.

only things i would change is that you set it up with a sump instead then you can put the heater sin side there or use inline heaters.

another thing is the width you should try to go fro a bit wider as although the fish is mainly know to grow to 2 ft it may go a litle large so having is 30" wide would be a great advantage.

If it's just for the tig on the bottom then i would advise against the wood, my TSN has just bombed about the tank when i started filling it back up on a water change and could of seriously hurt himself on the wood, luckily he's fine though.

and with plants there very likely to get ripped out constantly

fine CFC beat me too it

 

[aloaring]

Sorry to hijack bu ti know you guys love big fish and had to tell you that i saw one of these in my LFS on the weekend
HUGE plec!!!!

Plus they'd also manage to have a lot of what looked like baby shovel nose catfishes that they were calling jumper cats Very good LFS but they have a habit of making up names!!

 

[Oddball]

Dont you think that was just a little harsh cfc? I asked because i wanted your opinion, not my head tearing off!

I was aware of the normal set up for this type of cat, having seen it used on tsncats, red tails and hybrids. I wanted to try something different!

Fair enough comment taken on sump, perhaps a sump tank at the base with bio media/filter matting throughout, i shal chat to my lfs's see whats what.

Measured up, i can just stretch to 2ft 8inch on width THATS IT is that enough?

 

[Paul_MTS]

if my heads working corrently thats 32" so perfect, you could take it down to 30".

 

[CFC]

Dont you think that was just a little harsh cfc? I asked because i wanted your opinion, not my head tearing off!

I was aware of the normal set up for this type of cat, having seen it used on tsncats, red tails and hybrids. I wanted to try something different!

Fair enough comment taken on sump, perhaps a sump tank at the base with bio media/filter matting throughout, i shal chat to my lfs's see whats what.

Measured up, i can just stretch to 2ft 8inch on width THATS IT is that enough?

Harsh?

Either youve taken my reply out of context or you are highly over sensative

I think i might just stop trying to help people out and leave them to keep fish in the wrong enviroment and with unsuitable tankmates

BTW ZFN are a tottally different animal to the usual large Pims like RTC and TSN, like comparing cheetas and lions.

 

[Mr Miagi]

Could someone give me a link to some pics so i can have a squiz at these very expensive fish!?!?

 

[Oddball]

Maybe a tad over sensitive that day however it could of been worded a lll bit better, but thats by the by...........

Unsuitable tank mate? are still refering to the discithodius here? or is ti that the arrowana is unsitable?

to be honest i considered some of the larger gar fish, but decided against them as they could end up as lunch for thehungry cat.....

In any case im off to pick up some dwarf rainbow snakeheads, chana bleheri, so i shall get it all priced up.

 

[CFC]

The unsuitable tankmates comment wasnt directed towards you but rather just a general comment of how i feel about the board at the moment, recently it just seems that no one has any thought towards the welfare of the fish just as long as they have a nice pretty tank to look at.

Time for me to move on maybe?

 

[Paul_MTS]

I hear you, those recent cichlids topic in pictures has got to me aswell. Don't leave though, just show your opinion then ignore it. Thats what I'm trying to do now with that jamesward.

There's lots of people that need and tresure your advice......like me

I have noticed you get to point more quickly recently.

 

[Oddball]

mmmm yeah dont go cfc, i may be a little easy to get jumpy but u gave me some great advice when i started!

Spoke to my lfs as promised, and the equipment (including a 4ft sump tank) is within my price bracket! Sandy set up, few large rocks, some magrove roots and fern/moss in a corner as a cat hidey hole, lots of space for the arrowana!

See your advice does register

mmmmm on a more general note my lfs has got loads of stuff that may be of interest to yourself, at very low prices

juvie ornate birchirs at £10
clarius cats at £10
20 inch diameter lepoldii ray at £320
10 inch silver arrowanas at £45
7-9 inch needle fish £10
topaz puffers £5
7-8inch adonis plecs £45
9inch blue spot plecs £50

To name but a few...............