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questions

  • Thread starter altrade212
  • Start date
hey guys do you know how much axolotl, american eel goes for in price? and how big can a channel catfish get?
im thinking of getting a few and putting them in a 30 gal. long (small about 2 or 3'') and an aligator gar, 3 alge cleaners and a crey fish, would i be pushing it if a got a sturgeon in there?

or instead of just getting one red tailed catfish... i hear they get really big so im not sure a 30 gal. long would be any good...
 
Channel cat? Alligator gar? Sturgeon? In a 30 gal. tank? Please tell me you're not serious. Those fish get huge. And they grow fast. I definetely wouldn't recommend it. You would need a swimming pool for those fish. There are lots of smaller cats and eels that you can put in a 30 gal. tank.
 
i knew i was pushing it..lol but at least a channel cat?? axolot?? i want somthing that get big if even only one...
 
Its only for the mean time, I play on getting a 75 gallon in july
 
Channel cats will get 3+ feet long. Minnesota state record is 44 inches, I am sure some southern states have that beat.

You want something big, yet tank sized. Find some Bala Sharks.

If you are set on native species, first check your your local fish and game laws, in Wisconsin I can keep native fish in a tank, but they count against my daily bag limit.
If legal in your area, you could do 2 at most 3 pan fish (bluegil, Crappie, Sunfish, etc.) in a 75g tank. or possibly a couple Perch.
 
[b said:
Quote[/b] ]Its only for the mean time, I play on getting a 75 gallon in july

This is said by all to many aquarium keepers who end up having a setback and then can't afford the larger tank (not that it would make a difference with the fish you are talking about) never by a fish unless you allready have the tank it can live in comfortably at its ADULT size.

in a 30 gallon, or even a 70 gallon tank you are limited to the generalized tropicals and sub tropicals. Yes, you can keep native fish if you want.

There is not a single large growing fish I can recocmend for a 30 gallon tank, not even an oscar.

when you get your 75, you could get a couple oscars or similary sized fish.

please also stay away from arrowanas as they requrie a very long tank.

you want a 3ft channel cat then be ready to get a tank that is at least 4 or 5 feet wide so it can turn around. (your talking a good portion of most rooms).

you could do bala sharks or pangasius cats (the latter in the 75).

If size is all your going for, I am sorry, you just don't have the tank capacity for it (and filtration will also be incredibly important!!!)

There are so many interesting fish that are smaller!

in your 75 you could do a bichar dragon, now that is a COOl fish.
 
Hey, at least he didn't mention an Albino Clarias!
smile_k_ani_32.gif
 
Doesn't their growth stunt to not exceed the tank size anyway? I'm going to get an aligator gar and a few channel cat fish, in june I guess ill just get a 100 gal. Tank... I want some feirce fish though, not like paranah but ones that would eat a goldish as soon as I put him in there... Like a redtailed catfish... Any suggestions?
 
[b said:
Quote[/b] ]In an effort to continue growing in such a small environment, instead of growing outward as a fish normally does, the fish will start to change shape so it can fit in it's tank. Oscars, for example, become scrunched in body shape more so than those properly kept in appropriate size tanks. The bones of the fish are forced to become manipulated.

An extreme case of such deformities has been brought to my attention recently which inspired my conclusion to this age old fish myth. I wish I had felt better to go to the store and take a photo of this FW silver tip catfish before it was justifiably put down.

The fish was well over a foot in length, close to two feet and was raised and kept in a 20 gallon tank. How did the fish keep from out growing the tank? It's spine had grown to give a sharp deep V into the animal's back. It folded as it grew to avoid growing out of it's environment. The owner of this fish gave him to us. When placed in a 125 gallon aquarium, it was evident the animal was incapable of swimming because of this extreme deformity. It was a pathetic sight and sadly, he was put down, though with the fish's best interests in mind. His face pointed to the sky, his belly drooped on the bottom and his tail was as high as his head. A clear 90 degree angle.

I have heard of people keeping large species of fish in small tanks for years without any noticeable growth when there should be. More likely this "dwarfism" is due to poor water quality and poor nutrition.

Either way, it is cruel to attempt to keep a large species of fish in a small environment. They either end up sickly or severely deformed.

http://www.aquariumadvice.com/viewtopic.php?t=52676
 
  • #10
[b said:
Quote[/b] ]Doesn't their growth stunt to not exceed the tank size anyway?

NO, this is an absolute myth. Fish do not stunt to fit a smaller tank any more than you would stunt to live in a smaller house.

by putting a fish in a tank that is to small for it you condemn it to stress, disease, and eventual death. Period.

An example from the salt water world would be the Tang, it needs a large tank not neccissarily for it's size, but because of it's habbits, it needs to be able to swim to feel normal.

Putting an aligator gar in a 100 gallon tank would be an exercise in irresponsibility. your talking about a fish with a max weight of 300 lbs.

Tell me how you think a fish that can grow this big:

fishtwoB.jpg


would be comfortable in a 100 gallon tank?

if you want to keep predators, especially large predators, you need to save your money and start thinking THOUSANDS of gallons, not hundreds. fish this size simply should not be in normal aquariums.

If you want to keep some cool predatory fish that are suitable for a 100 gallon tank, try these:

Fresh Water
Weeksii Bichir - 1ft 8 inch carnivore
Oscars
African Knife
Knife fish
Freshwater Lion Fish (Batrachomoeus trispinosus)
(just off the top of my head)
(note you can't have all of these, predators are messy and you can usually keep only one or two!)

Brakish Water:

Brakish Puffers (there are a few)
Leaf Fish

Salt Water:
(suitable for 100 gallon or less)
Some Parrot Fish
Some Puffer Fish
Trigger Fish
Any of the Dwarf Lions (a single volitans lion if you only want one fish)
Frog Fish <- talk about aggresive!!!!

That is just the tip of the iceberg!

If you gotta go fresh, I reccomend a Bichr, it was my favorite fresh water fish.

Your gonna need one hell of a filtration system for any of these fish.
 
  • #11
So leaving a channel cat in a 100 gal. Is irrisponsible? In pet stores I've seen aligator gars in 30 to 55 gallon tanks doing quite fine.. I'm not arguing I just want what's best for these guys, truth is, I already got the channel cat fish, they are about 2 inches long, the nearest I can get the 100 gallon is july
 
  • #12
Channel cats get very large so yes that would not be a wise permanent home.

Just seeing a fish in a petstore doing fine means very little actually. They usually only stay in the tanks for a few weeks till they are moved out to hopefully better homes.

Fish are also very resilient. Even in poor conditions they can hold up and still manage to survive(though this probably isn't what you want to do in captivity). Examples of this would be when ponds grow too large of fish populations the fish will stunt. Things like Bullheads and Tilapia sometimes end up at around 5 inches or so. Dunno about the bullheads but Tilapia are able to breed at only 2 inches so even in such conditions may still persist. That being said this isn't something you should try as an aquarist.
 
  • #13
If you think a retail store overcrowds their tanks, you should see a wholesaler! It is typical to bring in something like 300 platys and shove them in a 20 gallon tank, on arrival. But they are drugged with anti-bacterial meds and the idea is to bring them and move them out as quickly as possible. A retailer does the same, but they have fewer in a tank and they move more slowly. The mentality is different for those who sell and those who keep. Go with what RamPuppy espoused.
 
  • #14
In ANY tank the largest fish you should have should be LESS than 3/4ths of the tank width (front to back) in it's total, adult, length.  The largest fish, then, would be something Oscar sized. That... pushes it. You then have to consider how much bulk of the tank is taken up by decoration, and how much filtration you need... for large carnivores you would need a canister filter at the least.

For an example of how to house these large, native, fish... I show you the following: http://www.roadsideamerica.com/attract/images/mo/MOSPRbasspro_tank.jpg

You're talking dozens of square feet (no, hundereds, if not thousands). You're talking TENS of thousands of gallons, and VERY large tank areas for these fish. Anything less is not only irresponsible, but cruel.

You don't stick a dog in a cardboard box and expect that it'll be just dandy. You don't stick a kid in a closet and expect them to live the rest of their life there... people that do those things go to jail for cruelty and abuse. It's the same principle.

Responsible hobbyists do not go "Welllp... I got 'em anyway. Sure, I can't care for them... but I already got 'em, so I'll just do it anyway with the wrong equiptment."
 
  • #15
well what do you want me 2 do? give them back? im not exactly at a financial state to go buy a pool or a lake sorry...
 
  • #16
How about not buying fish you were already warned against purchasing in the first place?

Somehow that seems the best choice.
 
  • #17
[b said:
Quote[/b] ]well what do you want me 2 do? give them back? im not exactly at a financial state to go buy a pool or a lake sorry...
Take them back.
You should never buy a fish without doing a little research first. Too many people impulse buy fish and wonder why they have problems down the road. Like putting african cichlids in a community tank or buying that neat looking catfish only to wonder whats killing all the other fish.
A general rule of thumb for freshwater tanks is, 1 inch of fish per gallon.
So take them back.
 
  • #18
So does anybody know fish that I can keep in a 30 gal. Long? Some nice fish though, interesting ones... And some that get big, not that big, but you kno..
 
  • #20
site ident really, help me, does anybody know any good fish for a 30 gal. tank? (interesting pritty fish)
 
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