tropical fish that get very large! read this before buying tropical fish!

hey, just another anti-ignorance thread i'm putting out here for you folks. this one is about fish that look small and cute when you buy them at the store, but then grow up to be monsters, from a foot on up. please, if you have any of the fish I list here in a tank smaller than my minimum reccomendation, please return them to the store. here they are:

#1: plecos. the common ones you see all the time in the store, the ones that everyone buys. well, they get to be almost 2 feet long full grown, and you need an aquarium of at least 100 gallons to house ONE comfortably. there are species that can live comfortably in small aquaruims, like bristlenose plecos and peckoltia plecos and otocincluses. if you want an algae eater for a small tank, please get one of these and not a common pleco. also, no matter what algae eater you get, they cannot and will not survive on algae alone. it is absolutely essential that you supplement their diets with veggies and algae discs.

#2: pacus. I hear all the time of people keeping these magnificent and powerful fish in aquariums that are too small. the pacus that people buy and abuse are most frequently are silver dollars and red belly pacus. silver dollars reach an adult size of 8" in length, and need to be kept in schools of at least 4 to be happy. to keep a minimum sized school of these, 4 individuals, you would need an aquarium of at least 75 gallons, preferably 100. and then there are red belly pacus, who come as cute little 3-4 inch babies at the store. perfect for small tanks? nope. their adult size is 20", sometimes even reaching 40"!! minimum is 1,000 or even 1,500 for just one, since they are extremely active fish that need room. there are many other types of pacus, and all get VERY large. in fact, SDs are the smallest ones I can think of, just to give you an idea.

#3: sharks. these active and powerful schooling fish that are seen so often in the store as fry and and bought for too-small aquariums. well, most species of sharks are too big for small aquariums, and need schools. the most common ones you'll see are: bala sharks, get to be nearly 1' in size, and need schools of at least 3 individuals to be happy. they are also VERY active, and like pacus, and need very large aquariums. i'd say at least 150-200 gallons for a minimum school of three, since they are so active. the other types of big sharks are apollos and blacks, same as the bala, except blacks get to 20" and are solitary. there are smaller non-schooling sharks, too, like red-finned and red-tailed sharks, that only get around 5-6". red tails and red finned sharks can be kept with others, but a pecking order will be established. both need an aquarium of at least 55 gallons for one if kept with other fish, as they need room to establish their own territory.

#4: the chinese algae eater. these fish are bought for the same reason most common plecos are bought, under an erronious assumption that they are a type of pleco (actually, they're a type of cyprinid and not even remotely related to plecos). CAE's grow to a a whopping 10" adult size, lose their algae eating habits, and may even take to eating small fish and relentlessly badgering and eating the slime coat of large, slow fish such as angels and discus. since they are very territorial, you can only keep one per tank. best set up for a CAE is a 55-60 gallon aquarium all to himself or with, large, quick,and scrappy tankmates such as african cichlids or some of the larger barbs.

#5: goldfish. the adult size of most fancies is 8", and comets can top 16"!! the minimum size for one fancy would be 30gs, and about 55 for one comet. if you keep them in any tank smaller than that, they will be stunted and die and early and painful death. and you absolutly cannot keep them in bowls! generally, comets will only thrive when kept outdoors in a pond. they are very interesting and active fish, and produce a GREAT deal of ammonia and waste, and generally need 1.5 the filtration for their tanks. for example, a 30g tank with one tropical fish would need a 300 GPH (gallon per hour) filter, where as that same tank with a fancy goldfish should have a 450-500 GHP filter, simply because of how much waste one goldfish can produce.

other fish that get very large are clown loaches, oscars, many types of pimelodid and shark catfish, and tinfoil barbs to name a few. always rescearch the adult size of a fish unless you're absolutley sure that it won't outgrow your aquarium.

Good information - I hope people take time to read this thread before buying. I want to make one correction regarding the RedTailed Black Shark. Yes they should be in a larger tank (nothing under a 55 gln.) but they are very aggressive to their own kind so you can only have one per tank.
CAE's are not carnivorous (nor SAE's) and do not eat other fish but they, the CAE's, do suck on the slime coats of fish like Angels and Discus and other slow moving flat fish and that will kill the fish. CAE's shouldn't be kept with other fish that can't 'fight back' to protect themselves.

Originally Posted by Cinder

Good information - I hope people take time to read this thread before buying. I want to make one correction regarding the RedTailed Black Shark. Yes they should be in a larger tank (nothing under a 55 gln.) but they are very aggressive to their own kind so you can only have one per tank.
CAE's are not carnivorous (nor SAE's) and do not eat other fish but they, the CAE's, do suck on the slime coats of fish like Angels and Discus and other slow moving flat fish and that will kill the fish. CAE's shouldn't be kept with other fish that can't 'fight back' to protect themselves.

I know they aren't completely carnivorous, I was just telling people they may eat small fish. and my bad on the sharks. I edited it. someone once told me all sharks we social to some extent, but I was alway suspiscious of that...

fishcatch good info but i have read that it is red tailed sharks that need 2 b 1 in a tank and that red finned sharks can have a few in a tank but 1 will have dominonce over the others

Sorry. Found another error. Red Bellied Pacu's get up to 40", like to be kept in groups, and need a 5,000+ gallon tank.

I knew you'd say that. beleive me, adult size is 20". you're thinking of a black pacu. and I learned this from people who BREED red bellied pacus.

Bwuahaha...how can I contribute? I'm not going to do in depth profiles...but the pics will prove why you shouldn't buy the tank busters I list.

Peacock Bass~ Absolute no no. These fish can reach two feet in aquaria. Not to mention they need to live in schools. Minimum tank size - 400 gallons. They eat a lot too...lol.
Example: http://www.headwatersfishing.com/images/margo15lb.jpg

Arowana(Saratoga)~ Reach about 3 feet. Need wide aquariums in order to turn around! 250 Gallons +
Example: http://www.arofanatics.com/articles/.../robin_010.jpg

Arapaima gigas~ I shake my head when I see these fish on Aquabid. They should only live in public aquariums or the wild. They are one of the biggest fish in the world.
Example: http://homepage3.nifty.com/Daiou3/Argig_u3.jpg

Knifefish~ Some speces like the African Brown Knifefish can stay in a reasonable tank size but it's bigger cousins like the Black Ghost and Clown Knifefish get large. Clown Knifefish get about 36 inches and even bigger in the wild as BGK get 24 inches. Recommended tank size: 210 Gallons+
Examples:
http://www.practicalfishkeeping.co.u...lown_knife.jpg
http://robotics.caltech.edu/~ebrahee...blackghost.png

Red Tailed Catfish~ Seem cute when little but they get over 4 feet in length and have been known to smash through tanks.
Example: http://www.myfishforum.com/attachmen...ntid=2313&stc=

ID Sharks~ Don't even bother...extremly active and grow BIG
Example: http://www.carpecarpio.com/DTang85kg...tCatfish04.jpg

SOOO much more...But It's getting late...lol

Originally Posted by fishcatch22

SAE's (siamese algae eaters) and it's the former you must watch out for the most. CAE's grow to a a whopping 10" adult size, lose their algae eating habits, and may even take to eating small fish and relentlessly badgering fish too large too eat, since they are very territorial.

Ermm...SAE's are not even related to CAE's. SAE's are peaceful and eat alage till they're 3 inches. After that they become lazy and eat flake foods. They also need to be in schools or 3-6.

CAE's are always aggressive and eat alage, flake food, and slime coats of other fish. They grow only 8 inches...golden alage eaters grow a foot. They're EVIL!!

Just for those who need a visual on how big some of these fish can get.
Pacus at Ripleys Aqaurium of the Smokies
Notice the full grown Oscar being dwarfed by the Pacu
http://i41.photobucket.com/albums/e2...pleysPacu2.jpg
http://i41.photobucket.com/albums/e2...PacuOscar1.jpg
A silver arrowana. This thing had to be at least 4 feet in length.
http://i41.photobucket.com/albums/e2...sArrowana1.jpg

Originally Posted by ShadowElite951

Ermm...SAE's are not even related to CAE's. SAE's are peaceful and eat alage till they're 3 inches. After that they become lazy and eat flake foods. They also need to be in schools or 3-6.

CAE's are always aggressive and eat alage, flake food, and slime coats of other fish. They grow only 8 inches...golden alage eaters grow a foot. They're EVIL!!

CAE's and golden algae eaters are the exact same species, my dear, and they both get around 10-12" in length. and SAEs are not related to CAEs, as you said, I never said they were related. please reread my post. SAEs are agressive to their own kind IME, but will not attack other fish, like CAEs.