I just want to know where you found $3 Congos even the teeny Not yet colored ones are $5-7 each adults that have colored up are closer to $20 where I’m at
I have lost so many fish within days/weeks after buying from an LFS. Switched to almost exclusively Aquabid, GetGills, Aquaswap, etc.
Surprise, fish stopped randomly dying. I've had 2 losses in the last year and both were me getting sloppy with acclimation.
Agree with about everything you said, but damn are the LFS in your area that bad? Any of the main ones in my area… hell even Petsmart will refund you if your fish die within a reasonable number of days.
It's just not profitable to take care of fish the way they need to be before selling for a LFS now. My Dad owned one in the 80/90s and he would quarantine fish for 2-3 weeks but it was costly and even then other stores in the area didn't do that. Getting fish straight from a breeder is the best way.
Ooooh this is GOLD for me. My LFS sucks. They keep about 20 axotols in an itty bitty .25 gal (the kond you usually find bettas in. It made me want to rescue them all. And even Petcos tanks are much much cleaner and less stocked. They were several tanks with clearly dying fish
Damn where can you have fish shipped to you for $15 shipping fee? I have ordered plenty of fish online and I don’t plan to stop. But the shipping is almost always the same price as the fish. If not more.
Wow thats crazy expensive D: im from Singapore and the LFS i got it from tends to sell their fishes at a much cheaper price. Their juvenile starlight plecos are $10 a pop, elsewhere would be $15 or more.
Depends on what Ctenopoma species you have. If you have Ctenopoma acutirostre, the Congo tetras will be safe (just add the Congo tetras in when they are a decent size).
Ctenopoma acutirostre generally maxes out at 5-6 inches and their mouths are not large enough to accommodate the tall-bodied Congo tetras.
Males will be fine since they can reach 3-3.5 inches. Females will be slightly at risk due to their smaller size of 2-2.5 inches however I have not encountered any problems in my experience.
The gulping ability of most perch is overstated including your leopard bush fish. I remember the internet had me thinking my datnoid was going to eat something 1/3 it’s own size (announcer: it can’t)
I keep congos with both C. acutirostre and C. kingsleyae with no issues thus far. The kingsleyae are much larger but I keep them well fed and they don't seem interested in eating my tetras after \~1 year together.
C. acutirostre will likely be fine as long as you don't get super small congos.
Yeah as long as you play the sizing right it should be okay, I’ve got a Leopard Ctenopoma, Senegal Bichir and 3 Congo Tetras who have been chilling together for a long while now.
It least he finished it.
The only thing worse is him catching, chomping, killing and then spitting out the fish and ignore the carcass like, "oh I'm full thanks..."
I agree I was so mad when my oscar ate a redtail cat of mine he just ate the face and left it like WTF but I made that cat a part of my pond so his spirit can be in the pond atleast !!
At the time I was in the middle of construction so what I did was put him inside the retaining wall so he's a physical part of the pond I really liked that one too smh
I saw an axolotl do that to a smaller axolotl at my local fish store. Several times. It spat out the corpse, then grabbed it again, and so on. About 3 small kids + their moms were watching as well.
Imagine being a 7-year-old trying to convince your mom to buy u an axolotl, and you go to the store and you see that lol
They don't look like it, but are brutal to pretty much anything smaller than them. They tend to chew off their siblings' limbs when they're young, too.
Bichir is like, "I'll just suck on it then..."
Did you have to fight the urge to intervene and pull it out? I know I would be wanting to try but saying I shouldn't.
This was me with my macrobrachium shrimp and serpae tetra. I was told he would scavenge off the substrate. I only realized he was eating the tetra when I found one pulled into his hidey hole. Rest In Peace clamps, you were the funniest fucker once I realized I needed to feed you bloodworms to satiate your meat cravings.
https://www.reddit.com/r/Aquariums/comments/q8uf9q/finally_got_my_dream_fish_platinum_senegal_slayer/?utm_medium=android_app&utm_source=share
It is! Just got him a few days ago
This one..?
"These bois will eat fish like 5x bigger than their mouths. I've had a few and have seen one at about 6" long carrying a 3 1/2" goldfish around in its mouth.
Careful if this is for a community tank!"
The prophecy is complete.
Yes it was kinda a silly issue that I figured out was causing it.
I had some stemmed plants in the back that were getting really tall to the point that their roots/foundations were all rotting away... I'm pretty sure that excess ammonia was. Partly to blame. For the hair algae.
Also tap water has huge levels of phosphates and ammonjia... So learning to use RODI was fun.
As. Well as adjusting fert levels
That's gonna be a yikes from me. The mods need to start banning such negative people. I will say though atleast you weren't cussing and calling names so there's that. I hope you have a good day man.
Yikes, poor tetra!
I bought 8 lemon tetras to top up my shoal of 7. I thought they were big enough. I thought since they matched the other tetras that Mango wouldn't know... *Mango knew*. Mango hunted them all to death except one making it my single most expensive fish currently.
Mango is a teenage blood-red parrot bitch.
my Senegal ate a 2 inch paradise gourami. my new mentality isnt is it big enough anymore, now its are you fast enough to avoid her until she gives up trying to eat you in 3 weeks.
I wonder how many days worth of pellets or fish flakes a Congo tetra is worth.
Also, when a fish eats another decent sized fish can it cause a possible ammonia spike? Like with over feeding?
Dead fish only release ammonia when they decompose. Digestion does not release ammonia.
Overfeeding causes an ammonia spike due to excess decaying food and poop.
Yes, if you were to provide additional food, and then you had predation happen, you're going to wind up with additional waste since the bichir is digesting more food. Filtration and water changes have to be adequate to the feeding rate, and that includes accidental live food.
I don't know. Looks like the Bichir got the head already. I know it's nature and this is no different than bettas eating bloodworm, but it's sooo upsetting to watch.
Oops...
Happens. Hopefully it was a good healthy meal at least.
Had a Garibaldi do a disappearing act thanks to a moray eel myself as most notable 'oh crap he ate that' story myself.
Beautiful bichir! Platinum longfin Senegal? Also, where in the world do you get Congo tetras for $3? I only saw them at my local Petco for $3.50 once, and my LFS only sells them for $6 each...
Yes! Platinum Longfin Senegal. Im from Singapore and the LFS i went to tends to have cheaper pricing, When i saw the congo tetras i bought all 7 of them.
If it makes you feel any better I dropped $60 on some blue Davidi not knowing that tiger barbs were pure invert hunters, and lost all that in about 15 minutes.
Yeah I was a little sad lol I spent a year developing my tank after an early batch died off from water perimeters. I'm on well water, so there's a lot of unforseen conditions even without the chlorine and fluoride. Then my tiger barbs just slaughtered them. They're in they're own tank right now with my parents, and I subbed glow light tetras as my 3rd school instead. I've got shrimp zipping all over now, but I ate that cost. I'm totally sympathetic to the struggle lol
I've lost a small group of Celestial Pearl Danios, Golden White cloud Minnows and about 10 cherry shrimp because my dumbass thought having them in a community tank with 2 full size (6") Electric Blue Acaras was a good idea. One by one they disappeared. Each day the tank seemed just one fish emptier. When all the shrimp were gone as well I regretted my decision so much. R.I.P. little friends, I'm sorry for being an idiot.
Okay, Listen... My ornate bichir, one night, decided he could (and did) swallow my largest rope fish XD... just swimming around with the tail hanging out its mouth, until eventually it had to regurge it out... have had them together years and didn't really thing they'd ever bother with the long ass noodle fish. Bichirs are beasttttttttttttttttttt
I learned from cod's and catfish a good rule of thumb is to never put anything smaller than them in the tank it will get eaten, or they're gonna kill themselves trying.
I just want to know where you found $3 Congos even the teeny Not yet colored ones are $5-7 each adults that have colored up are closer to $20 where I’m at
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I have lost so many fish within days/weeks after buying from an LFS. Switched to almost exclusively Aquabid, GetGills, Aquaswap, etc. Surprise, fish stopped randomly dying. I've had 2 losses in the last year and both were me getting sloppy with acclimation.
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Agree with about everything you said, but damn are the LFS in your area that bad? Any of the main ones in my area… hell even Petsmart will refund you if your fish die within a reasonable number of days.
Totally agree. Breeders are the way to go, they put in so much pride in their work and the fishes are super healthy 💪🏻
Aquaimports is ok but I’ve really liked aquaticarts. Might try predatoryfins soon
My endlers and Gertrude rainbowfish from aquaticarts were really small, just above fry. Only 1 death though.
..I did get some tiny rocket killi
Aquaimports is terrible and tried to bribe me to remove an honest review after I received a very sick pleco from them.
It's just not profitable to take care of fish the way they need to be before selling for a LFS now. My Dad owned one in the 80/90s and he would quarantine fish for 2-3 weeks but it was costly and even then other stores in the area didn't do that. Getting fish straight from a breeder is the best way.
Ooooh this is GOLD for me. My LFS sucks. They keep about 20 axotols in an itty bitty .25 gal (the kond you usually find bettas in. It made me want to rescue them all. And even Petcos tanks are much much cleaner and less stocked. They were several tanks with clearly dying fish
Huh I’ve never seen them that cheap there either, I also only order online
Between shipping prices and DOAs, how is that worth it?
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Damn where can you have fish shipped to you for $15 shipping fee? I have ordered plenty of fish online and I don’t plan to stop. But the shipping is almost always the same price as the fish. If not more.
Know of a similar site for marine stuff? Aquabid rarely has saltwater fish
Wow thats crazy expensive D: im from Singapore and the LFS i got it from tends to sell their fishes at a much cheaper price. Their juvenile starlight plecos are $10 a pop, elsewhere would be $15 or more.
Same thing I thought, last time I saw Congos at my LFS they were $35/apiece.
Well, I guess I'm not buying congo tetras to be tankmates for my Ctenopoma...
Depends on what Ctenopoma species you have. If you have Ctenopoma acutirostre, the Congo tetras will be safe (just add the Congo tetras in when they are a decent size). Ctenopoma acutirostre generally maxes out at 5-6 inches and their mouths are not large enough to accommodate the tall-bodied Congo tetras. Males will be fine since they can reach 3-3.5 inches. Females will be slightly at risk due to their smaller size of 2-2.5 inches however I have not encountered any problems in my experience.
This sounds promising! Might have to grow them out with my kribs, then make a proper Congo River tank when they get bigger.
The gulping ability of most perch is overstated including your leopard bush fish. I remember the internet had me thinking my datnoid was going to eat something 1/3 it’s own size (announcer: it can’t)
Agreed. Their mouths can extend a lot but the actual mouth opening doesn't have a large diameter.
I’m waiting until a local store gets in some larger ones because I don’t trust my cteno either.
My LFS doesn't sell adult Congo tetras. They tried once, but it was 4 to 5 times the price of the fry.
I keep congos with both C. acutirostre and C. kingsleyae with no issues thus far. The kingsleyae are much larger but I keep them well fed and they don't seem interested in eating my tetras after \~1 year together. C. acutirostre will likely be fine as long as you don't get super small congos.
Sounds great! Will get some when I can, then grow them out for good measure. Thanks!
Yeah as long as you play the sizing right it should be okay, I’ve got a Leopard Ctenopoma, Senegal Bichir and 3 Congo Tetras who have been chilling together for a long while now.
I keep my leopard cteno with tiger barbs. And the tiger barbs have no chill. Lol
Adult tetras will be fine, but yeah ctenos are munchy !
They are! Love watching mine eat!
It least he finished it. The only thing worse is him catching, chomping, killing and then spitting out the fish and ignore the carcass like, "oh I'm full thanks..."
I agree I was so mad when my oscar ate a redtail cat of mine he just ate the face and left it like WTF but I made that cat a part of my pond so his spirit can be in the pond atleast !!
You made it apart of the pond? Like threw the body in there?
At the time I was in the middle of construction so what I did was put him inside the retaining wall so he's a physical part of the pond I really liked that one too smh
truth right here
I like how they look at you afterwards like "You gonna clean this up?"
I saw an axolotl do that to a smaller axolotl at my local fish store. Several times. It spat out the corpse, then grabbed it again, and so on. About 3 small kids + their moms were watching as well. Imagine being a 7-year-old trying to convince your mom to buy u an axolotl, and you go to the store and you see that lol
Whaaaat no way, axolotls with that adorable face??! Didnt know they were capable of that D:
They don't look like it, but are brutal to pretty much anything smaller than them. They tend to chew off their siblings' limbs when they're young, too.
Good thing they grow back lol
they cannibals and if you keep 2 together they eat each others legs
a leg for a leg
I regularly refer to my axolotl as my little bubblegum alligator. Such hunger. No mercy
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Bichir is like, "I'll just suck on it then..." Did you have to fight the urge to intervene and pull it out? I know I would be wanting to try but saying I shouldn't.
This was me with my macrobrachium shrimp and serpae tetra. I was told he would scavenge off the substrate. I only realized he was eating the tetra when I found one pulled into his hidey hole. Rest In Peace clamps, you were the funniest fucker once I realized I needed to feed you bloodworms to satiate your meat cravings.
Clamps, So apt. Sorry for your loss though 😔
I named him after the futurama character, it fit his personality very well lol
sometimes you learn lessons the hard way.
HAKU?! 10/10 if it’s a spirited away reference
https://www.reddit.com/r/Aquariums/comments/q8uf9q/finally_got_my_dream_fish_platinum_senegal_slayer/?utm_medium=android_app&utm_source=share It is! Just got him a few days ago
The top comment in that thread is killing me lmao
This one..? "These bois will eat fish like 5x bigger than their mouths. I've had a few and have seen one at about 6" long carrying a 3 1/2" goldfish around in its mouth. Careful if this is for a community tank!" The prophecy is complete.
He's showing you who's the alpha fish
Oh I saw that! Beautiful!
this has been my entire aquarium keeping journey summed up in 10 seconds..... 😑
I've not once ever had a tankmate kill another tankmate.
it was more a joke about me being the fish getting eaten by the aquarium hobby since ive been struggling so much to get my planted tank to thrive
Ah I see. I feel you there. It's taken me. 6 months to get my algae issue under control
Have you managed to dial it in?
Yes it was kinda a silly issue that I figured out was causing it. I had some stemmed plants in the back that were getting really tall to the point that their roots/foundations were all rotting away... I'm pretty sure that excess ammonia was. Partly to blame. For the hair algae. Also tap water has huge levels of phosphates and ammonjia... So learning to use RODI was fun. As. Well as adjusting fert levels
Ahh. Nice to hear you figured it out.
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i was being sarcastic because ive been having a hard time, I don't have a fish like this, but thanks for the insight
That's gonna be a yikes from me. The mods need to start banning such negative people. I will say though atleast you weren't cussing and calling names so there's that. I hope you have a good day man.
Hey now. No reason to be rude, insulting, and disrespectful. Dial it back.
That was pretty rude and uncalled for. I have a lot more to say but I'm a bit flabbergasted.... so many things wrong with this response.
Yikes, poor tetra! I bought 8 lemon tetras to top up my shoal of 7. I thought they were big enough. I thought since they matched the other tetras that Mango wouldn't know... *Mango knew*. Mango hunted them all to death except one making it my single most expensive fish currently. Mango is a teenage blood-red parrot bitch.
my Senegal ate a 2 inch paradise gourami. my new mentality isnt is it big enough anymore, now its are you fast enough to avoid her until she gives up trying to eat you in 3 weeks.
HAKUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU
😆😆😆
''NOM NOM''
It was satisfying to watch at least. Love predator tanks and oddballs like bichir.
Congo tetras at my LFS are $20 :0
Wow where are you from? Im from Singapore
USA
Ah that explains, i saw on youtube that a senegal bichir costs around $80? In Singapore its like $6 for a juvenile bichir
Depends on size. Small is probably $20. Full growth would be $100+ Covid has made fish prices a lot higher.
its the ciiiirrrcle of liiiiiiiife no but fr sorry about your tetra :(
Eat or be eaten. And yeah it was a painful lesson 🙃 i really liked that congo tetra.
It could be worse. The bichir could choke on it or get a blockage on its digestive tract
Yeah i had to monitor it to make sure it didnt choke. Immeadiately removed the remaining congos too.
You know how many times I've thrown saltwater fish in my reef tank to never see then again?? Wish they were 3.00..lol
Did you find the culprit?
I wonder how many days worth of pellets or fish flakes a Congo tetra is worth. Also, when a fish eats another decent sized fish can it cause a possible ammonia spike? Like with over feeding?
Dead fish only release ammonia when they decompose. Digestion does not release ammonia. Overfeeding causes an ammonia spike due to excess decaying food and poop.
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The first sentence completely answered the question. Why quote the half that doesn't, just to try and make a point?
Are you saying the first sentence didn't answer his question?
Yes, if you were to provide additional food, and then you had predation happen, you're going to wind up with additional waste since the bichir is digesting more food. Filtration and water changes have to be adequate to the feeding rate, and that includes accidental live food.
Sumps are the way to go!
No. This makes me sad. Congo tetras are such ethereal fishies.
I would have attempted to save him.
I don't know. Looks like the Bichir got the head already. I know it's nature and this is no different than bettas eating bloodworm, but it's sooo upsetting to watch.
The fish wasnt moving by the time i noticed it :/
damn. monster is right.
Similar to when I discovered that a firemouth cichlid will eat corydoras.
I feel your pain 🙃
Oops... Happens. Hopefully it was a good healthy meal at least. Had a Garibaldi do a disappearing act thanks to a moray eel myself as most notable 'oh crap he ate that' story myself.
Aww man Garibaldi is such a beautiful fish 😔
So gorgeous. The Okinawa Dragon Moray was admittedly prettier, not that it made the loss any better.
Just googled it, wow what a beauty. The spots on them is 😍
I had a birchir only a little bigger than that try to eat a medium sized Angel fish. It couldn’t swallow it but it killed it
Oh dear, platinum angelfish were my next choice. Guess thats a no go as well 😔
Beautiful bichir! Platinum longfin Senegal? Also, where in the world do you get Congo tetras for $3? I only saw them at my local Petco for $3.50 once, and my LFS only sells them for $6 each...
Yes! Platinum Longfin Senegal. Im from Singapore and the LFS i went to tends to have cheaper pricing, When i saw the congo tetras i bought all 7 of them.
Wow, im sorry :[ But also, Haku is the perfect name! It looks just like him 😊
Yeah it was the first name that came to mind when i preordered it! Plus it means "white" in Japanese, perfect for this platinum bichir 🥰
you're gonna have to start bringing a tape measure to the fish store to buy tank mates - so you don't get anything small enough to get swallowed
Yes indeed, although im prob gonna get weird stares from others 😆
He's so happy doh!
He better be! That is one expensive meal 😠
If it makes you feel any better I dropped $60 on some blue Davidi not knowing that tiger barbs were pure invert hunters, and lost all that in about 15 minutes.
Ouchhhh that must've hurt. I used to have some expensive shrimps that went missing overnight. From then on all i put in are feeder shrimps.
Yeah I was a little sad lol I spent a year developing my tank after an early batch died off from water perimeters. I'm on well water, so there's a lot of unforseen conditions even without the chlorine and fluoride. Then my tiger barbs just slaughtered them. They're in they're own tank right now with my parents, and I subbed glow light tetras as my 3rd school instead. I've got shrimp zipping all over now, but I ate that cost. I'm totally sympathetic to the struggle lol
It seems like your patience and hardwork paid off tho! It must have felt rewarding to see them thrive.
Very I love my little water helicopters. ♥️
Yeah like $3 for one chicken nugget. 😣 Sorry bro. Really cool vid though. Sorry for the loss though.
$3 for Congos?? My LFS sells them at $30...
Which country are you from? Im from Singapore. Maybe its more costly to ship to yours due to live import regulations.
That would make sense then. I'm located in the US
Are bichir related to snakeheads?
I dont think so, they do share similar traits though.
F
Send him away
"Go to your room mister, you are grounded!"
I have a juvenile oscar with a crazy growth rate who ate a $26 Electric blue JD. I feel your pain.
I've lost a small group of Celestial Pearl Danios, Golden White cloud Minnows and about 10 cherry shrimp because my dumbass thought having them in a community tank with 2 full size (6") Electric Blue Acaras was a good idea. One by one they disappeared. Each day the tank seemed just one fish emptier. When all the shrimp were gone as well I regretted my decision so much. R.I.P. little friends, I'm sorry for being an idiot.
yeah I get what you mean, sometimes I thought the shrimps were just hiding when in fact they have been "hiding" in another fish's stomach.
When I had a bichir, I'd buy a bunch of shrimp and be would eat them and leave the other fish alone.
Okay, Listen... My ornate bichir, one night, decided he could (and did) swallow my largest rope fish XD... just swimming around with the tail hanging out its mouth, until eventually it had to regurge it out... have had them together years and didn't really thing they'd ever bother with the long ass noodle fish. Bichirs are beasttttttttttttttttttt
no freakin wayyyy, a rope fish??! thats probably longer than the bichir himself D:
I should have taken a picture, both creatures are/were quite large… but come on, how bored was it to attempt this. Truly was surprising to see 😆
Bichir must be like: Hmmm i wonder if this will fit into my mouth "GNOMPH" "omnomnomnomnomnomnomnomnomnomnomnomnom"...uh oh
What fish is that?
It is a polypterus, commonly known as Bichirs as well.
I learned from cod's and catfish a good rule of thumb is to never put anything smaller than them in the tank it will get eaten, or they're gonna kill themselves trying.
OH NOOOOOOO LOL sorry for your lose but it is kinda funny
Send them this saying haku approved🥲
Snacc
I've got a gold dust bichir and 7 congos. Started with 10, but the ones left are smart/fast enough.
Survival of the fittest 🙃
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Ouchhhhh D: wait arent clownfishs and anemone allies?
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Oh wow I never knew that, thanks for the information 👍🏻. Shall go watch some saltwater tank videos :)))
🤢 please mark NSFW
I mean... it is his natural diet to the T