Arapaima Gigas

[tropicfishman]

anyone own one of these monsters? I fell in love with this fish when I first saw it, truely remarkable, post your pics if you have any or your thoughts on a fish that gets up to 15 feet long and 500 lbs lol

 

[BrianNY]

This guy makes Pacus look like guppies. I've never actually seen one offered in an lfs.

 

[Primetime]

I have a proven pair in my 10 gallon tank. They have really grown to their surroundings!

LOL just kidding.

 

[Fishyfanatic]

You too Prime? I have a breeding pair in my bathtub. They are doing remarkably well! j/k

 

[tropicfishman]

http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/prod_Display.cfm?pCatId=1985 this is where I found them

 

[Andos99]

I have seen them offered at a LFS here in Phx before. They had two in a tank together (about 8 inches) and they were being offered for $250/fish. They were there for several months and eventually were marked down to $200. On a recent visit, they were gone so I don't know if someone bought them or what. I would always spend a few minutes admiring them everytime I went. They were extremely active and curious fish. Best kept in the wild if you ask me.

 

[tropicfishman]

I agree even though they are amazing I think they grow way to fast and with that kinda muscle some serious dammage could be done to a tank

 

[toddnbecka]

Not very many people have or would build a tank large enough for those monsters. I saw a few pics on another site a while back, some guy in CA had built a really huge floor-to-ceiling setup into his house, L-shaped, that holds several thousand gallons of water. Cost was way too much for the average fish keeper. He had a small boat to maintain the tank, said the fish, including an arapaima, had bitten holes in the inflatable rubber boat he started with.
A friend who owns an lfs had one for a while, until someone forgot to cover the tank after feeding. It jumped out during the night.
They would be a safe fish to keep with a few tiger shovelnose, at least the catfish wouldn't have arapaima for dinner.
The link to the 50,000 gal tank is posted on the forum, if you want to take a look.