Cool Giant Fish

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cooledwhip

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I want to get a giant fish or a bad to the bone fish sometime soon. like a monster fish. I was thinking an oscar, but I really just want something big or that I can give night crawler worms or mice. I want piranhas. what species can I get?
 
How big a tank can you go to
 
cooledwhip said:
I want to get a giant fish or a bad to the bone fish sometime soon. like a monster fish. I was thinking an oscar, but I really just want something big or that I can give night crawler worms or mice. I want piranhas. what species can I get?
 
Depends on how big of a tank you have and how much your willing to spend/afford. An oscar is more than enough (in size and personality) if you're looking for a monster, especially if you're just getting into the monster fish keeping scene. With piranhas you can go solo types or shoals. Black piranhas (Serrasalmus.rhombeus) can reach 12"+, and are well known for their aggression. If you want an elegant monster, a silver arowana or Jardini are an option to think about. Just make sure to do your research and make sure the care needs are within your means.These are just some common and popular recommendations.
In regards to using mice, I hope you don't mean live ones, and I absolutely don't approve or recommend it.
 
I probably won't be decorating it, so I can probably do a 55 or 75. it really depends on what I can find at a garage sale. 
 
cooledwhip said:
I probably won't be decorating it, so I can probably do a 55 or 75. it really depends on what I can find at a garage sale. 
If you want a monster tank, I'd go for the 75 gal. It's large enough to have options, but a 120 long or 220 is what I'd personally go after.
With a 75 you can keep some solo monsters like: ruby red spilo piranha, gold mac piranhas, black rhom (buy at juvie size), red wolf fish, gold wolf fish, an oscar, polypterus, Jack Dempsey, green terror, or a gulper catfish.
 
There's also blue whale/shark catfish (Cetopsis.coecutiens), which are one of my personal favorite predatory/parasitic catfish. I'm currently growing out 3 juvies in my 75 gallon. My biggest cat is 4" and the other two are 2.5", I have them co-inhabiting with 20 zebra danios. They max out at 10" in length.
These catfish are basically miniature freshwater sharks, in appearance and behavior. Look like a miniature cross between a great white and bull shark, but behaves like a cookie cutter shark. They're constantly swimming/zipping around the tank, and go into insanely fast frenzies during feedings.
In the wild, they travel in schools and target larger fish. These guys literally go in for the attack (burrowing into their prey/host and eating them inside out), you can watch this happen if you use a small fillet of white fish.
These catfish like their water clean, warm, and with good flow. Decor for these cats is suggested to be very minimum. I have my 75 scaped out with just 3.5" depth of pool filter sand and some round river rocks scattered here and there.
Search the scientific name on google images and watch some Youtube vidoes of these little monsters. Think you'll find them as amazing as I do
smile.png

 
A 75 gallon with a school of exodons/buck tooth tetras (Exodon.paradoxus) is an amazing setup as well (more so if you have the tank planted out with some vals).
Use to have a group of these, and enjoyed them just as much as keeping piranhas. Beautiful and active fish species, that stay at a manageable size (2"-3" is the biggest I've seen so far). Heard of people keeping small schools of 10-20 of these little boogers in a 75 gal with no issues.
 
Would I be able to put an arowana in a 75 gallon? probably a smaller silver arowana variety yea? piranhas would be nice but If t hey have small piranhas I would like those. any smaller piranhas?
 
Just in case, make sure to check your state laws. Piranhas are illegal in some places and certain arowanas may be as well.
 
And another suggestion might be a flowerhorn. :)
 
75 gallon is far too small for arrowana.a flowerhorn would be a great idea.
 
While pirhanas sound cool, they aren't particularly interesting fish to keep, and you wouldn't be able to interact with it (feeding by hand for example) like you could one of the bigger cichlids.
 
I can get RB piranhas. they are legal in my state!! Yes.
 
Arowana are legal I'm assuming because local fish stores have them on display and for sale.
 
cooledwhip said:
I can get RB piranhas. they are legal in my state!! Yes.
 
Arowana are legal I'm assuming because local fish stores have them on display and for sale.
 
With either species you'll eventually have to to upgrade to a 120 gallon or larger. Unless you plan to just keep 1 piranha, but red bellies do better in shoals.
Like GMC1 and NInjouzata suggested, a flowerhorn is another great option.
 
Munroco said:
While pirhanas sound cool, they aren't particularly interesting fish to keep, and you wouldn't be able to interact with it (feeding by hand for example) like you could one of the bigger cichlids.
 
Depends on your species of piranha. Red bellies and other shoaling piranhas will tend to keep themselves, but solo piranhas have more character, S.maculatus (ruby red spilo/mac & gold mac) and S.sanchezi (red throat spilo) in particular. Really depends on the individual fish, some stay secluded, and some will chase you back and forth for food and or to defend their territory.
 
Will agree with you that piranhas, aren't as social (with their keeper/care giver) as cichlids are/can be.
 
flowerhorn look cool but they don't eat mice no? they arent vicious
 
cooledwhip said:
flowerhorn look cool but they don't eat mice no? they arent vicious
 
Have you kept a flowerhorn before? You'd be surprised, as flowerhorns can be/are one of the most aggressive cichlids.
 
You shouldn't be getting predatory fish just because you want a vicious fish or for the purpose of feeding them mice for your own enjoyment (especially live). Aside from morals and ethics, the are several other reasons including heath issues (Fish aren't designed to digest mice or other warm blooded organisms).
 
I'd suggest you take my advice.
 
I will. I just want a monster. Not mainly to eat a mice just for reference. Like something big, bad and cool, not a crappy giant goldfish lol.

I might buy a flowerhorn they just look awesome. Is the "horn" just air or is it some type of fat?
 

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