Payara care. Please help!

Once they start to grow, the LFS wont take them back or even hold onto them while you look for a bigger tank. If you're going to get big fish, it's best to have the big tank right from the beginning. When I got my Pacus I had no idea how big they were get and I wasted so much money on tanks for them. I started with a 20g, then a 50g, then a 65g, and then I just got rid of them. And you never know what could happen- once your fish are in need of a big tank, you may loose your job or whatever and not be able to afford a bigger tank. You need to do a lot of planning ahead before you get any kind of fish, especially a big one. So the best advice we can give you is telling you to not get these fish. Sorry, but getting these fish is just a stupid thing to do. [/img]

 

I asked another guy who owned some, and he told me its not the best idea to get becuase his died of an unknown reason. I guess i might as well just get a arowana or something.. :cry:

 

I don't know about these fishes.. but apart from seeing these pictures, I can see that you made a grave mistake by getting it.. do not reply on the forum to help you alone.. you need to do research by yourself... putting them in a 30-gallon = road to grave. Heed my advice, by hook or by crook, send it back to whosoever gave/sell it to you. Best of luck..

 

Are you really sure an arowana is right for you as well? Those get pretty big also. Not as big as the payara, but they need a tank bigger than your little 30g. If you are going to get an arowana, get the big tank first, dont wait until it grows out of the 30g. I did some research and arwonanas should be kept in at least a 120g tank, the tank also needs a strong cover because they tend to jump out.
Another site said they need a 135g. They said the lenth should be 3 times the size as a full-grown arowana and the width should be twice the size. These fish are also prone to bulging eyes, so do some research and find out how to prevent it. As far as food goes, they eat beefheart, frozen fish and shrimp.
There's a full grown arowana in my LFS that's in a display tank. The tank is 180 gallons and the fish is beautiful, I can see why you'd want one. This fish is a much better choice than the payara, but you still need to buy a large tank right off the bat, dont put it in that little one and then move it. Also, moving a fish can cause them a lot of stress, a friend of mine's pacu died during a move. And if you cant get a large tank before your fish really needs it, you'll end up with a stunted and unhealthy fish. So do a lot of research on the arowana and please please please get at least a 130g tank BEFORE you purchase the fish!

 

My LFS does keep fish for you if you are planning to move or get a bigger tank and such. And my friend got an arowana in his 50 gallon and it lives just fine...arowanas live a long time dont they? and i'm hopefully getting my 100 gallon soon so by that time it wouldnt be too late.And are u sure 130 gallons for 1 arowana? dats kind of a waste of a tank unless you have those rare gold or red ones...

 

Arowana's live for 20-25 years, so be prepared to have this guy for a long time. Yes, they do need a 130g. The tank needs to be a lot bigger than the fish, the fish needs to be able to turn around easily and swim a lot. As I said before, the tank lenth should be 3 times the size of your full grown arowana and the width should be twice the size (although I think the width being the same size would work too.) So a 120-130g would be really great for them and isnt a waste of tank space. And you can always put something else in there as well if it does look like there's a lot of extra room, just make sure yuo dont overstock. I still think you should get your 100 gallon tank (120 would be nicer though) and have it cycled before you add any fish. Keeping the fish in the 30g, then moving him to the LFS for a while, then putting him in another tank that hasn't cycled, will cause the fish a lot of stress and he'll be prone to disease and could even die. So get the big tank now, run it for about a month, then add the fish. If you need some information of cycling a tank I can tell you more, so let me know.

 

Arowanas get 3' long. I wouldn't put one in a tank that's any less than 3' wide and 6' long (that's 2 lengths to swim forward and one length to turn around which is still VERY cramped). They mainly stay towards the surface so you could get by with a tank that's 2' deep. A 6' x 3' x 2' tank is 269 gallons. And even then the fish couldn't do much more than just swim in circles. Also the tank would have to be custom made which would be expensive.

They also grow VERY quickly. I know a guy that got a 4" silver arowana in February. By June it was 8". If you got an arrowana for you'r 30 gallon, you'd only have about a month to get a larger tank.

-Chelle

 

Get (elongatus,"pike piranhas") they are pretty cool, and do not get too big.

 

hey why dont you just get a normal fish... Like a Rocket Gar (Not really a gar) But there cool, they dont grow to big, preditor fish and what were u planning on feeding the payaran whole chicken? IMO stay away from those giant fish with 100g tank you could make an awesome chiclid tank

 

rocket gar? could send a link or post a picture sounds cool, but i was told not to get a gar, because it gets like 8ft

 

Its not a true gar there about 15$ CAN for a fully grown one
Heres a pic http://www.predatoryfish.net/ibforums/i ... ntry607079 its the second from the bottom, pretty cool i like em, Fun to watch

 

I couldn't find any information on the internet about rocket gars, but if it's a gar don't get it. I strongly agree with Mwn on this one, you could have a great cichlid tank with a 100 gallon. There are many different types of cichlids out there and they come in a variety of colours and have great personalities. Do a few searches on Google about cichlids and get some inofrmation about them. If you decide to get them, t_chelle's an expert on them and I'm sure will be more than happy to help you out. Mwm is also right about staying away from huge fish. Finding a home for them is expensive (as t_chelle said earlier) and feeding them costs a lot as well. So again, look into cichlids.

 

cichlids are cool fish colorful and agressesive but no teeth

 

i think the fish in the picture is a freshwater barracuda looks extactly like one.

 

You've never been bitten by an oscar before, have you? Cichlids most certainly do have teeth. They just don't have really obvious, big, pointy ones like piranhas and that payara. But the large ones can still do damage and draw blood.

-Chelle

 

i never new that chelle my tiger oscars are really big ate like 50 feeders in 3 days but i never seen them with teeth or assumed they did not have teeth.

 

oh they have teeth

 

really? i didnt know that. its more like all big fish have teeth now. lol.