My mbu "pufferman" in his 810 gallon tank

[arapaimag]

Another of my crowded tanks

My Mbu puffer

video 1 jan 27 2010

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FsDjcfrGMpg

[DarkStorm]

just seen this and love the set up. do you ever get casualties to the mbu?

[Flutter]

I just posted this in another thread. Your tanks are huge. I've never heard of an mbu with so many tankmates. I like your alligator gar.

[arapaimag]

just seen this and love the set up. do you ever get casualties to the mbu?

My daughter said she saw him eat a cichlid once but in all the years I've watched him I have never seen him eat or injure any. The cichlids tend to be careless around him when he is eating so I am sure he has injured some by accident.

[arapaimag]

I just posted this in another thread. Your tanks are huge. I've never heard of an mbu with so many tankmates. I like your alligator gar.

I like the gar also. He is my swimming yard stick since he is 36" long. He has had an interesting life with me first in a 180 then a 810 g tank then the 15,000 g when I had to remove him because he tried to swallow a clarias catfish then a variety of 360 g, 500 g , 540g and 225g with summers in outside ponds. Then I put him in the 52,000g last fall. The Wallago leerii almost ate him but the gar escaped and seems to be doing OK now.

I might be moving my longnose gar (Also around 36") from the 15,000 to the 52,000 because he is suspected of being one of the reasons smaller plecos (under 8") are disappearing in the 15k.

[Flutter]

Wow, I like longnose gar fish. They're neat.

I'm sure you've been asked this many times but how do you feed all of them? What kinds of food do you buy and how much? What happens if they get sick?

[kilofey]

woah.

ive always been a cichlid person myself... until i aquired my fahaka and DP.... so im amazed.... btw.... the fish in the top right corner at 1:16, is that a 5 star general??? i couldnt tell.... anyway, he is beautiful! absolutely stunning.... so this is all set up at your house? must have a big house, and alot of money. hats off to you my friend... but, i have to ask... what happens when one dies... if you dont notice it, does it just decompose? and how do you clean your tanks? shurely a siphon would be pointless.... id love to hear how one goes about cleaning an 810 gal.... and the other bigger tanks you have.... i cant even fathom how its possible

[J-P]

arapaimag!!

I didn't know you were on this board! I've been following your posts on MFK for a while. I'm sure you're going to get a BIG following here with your massive designs.

And yes tonnes of questions. Nice to have another person from Ont here to banter with!

[Flutter]

I would love a huge puffer tank one day. A huge one. That you can swim in. You know all those stories you hear as a kid about having your toes bitten off... Muahahaha

[J-P]

Well arapaimag is the person who built the 52,000 gal and the 15,000 gallon tanks. Right here in Ontario.

Check out his you tube link list

[pufferpuggirl]

I just wanted to say arapaimag, that I do envy you for what you've been able to do, however, being a puffer-addict, I would have to have more puffers if those were my tanks!
You must be a man with alot of patience, as I was reading about the making of your 52,000 gallon tank on the Monster Fishkeepers site, and how long it took to complete the project, and then some of the trouble you've had with different things since being installed.
That's what I would call a life-long devotion to fish. Just curious though .... you must go through a massive amount of fish food, do you have a special room just to house the fish food? And your monthly expenses must be AWESOME!!!

My hat is off to you!

[arapaimag]

Wow, I like longnose gar fish. They're neat.

I'm sure you've been asked this many times but how do you feed all of them? What kinds of food do you buy and how much? What happens if they get sick?

I feed a huge variety of food including makeral, lake trout, northern whitefish, herring, smelts, shrimp, pellets from 2mm to 9mm floating and sinking, flake foods, dog food, neighbours kids etc.

Smelts I buy in 11 lb boxes, makeral & herring in 25 to 35lb boxes, whitefish and trout in 50lb boxes, flakes in 25 lb boxes and the pellets in 40lb bags. I have 3 freezers and buy 600 lb of frozen fish at a time. I normally buy 10 bags or more of pellets at a time.

The big fish seldom get sick however I did have a lot die in 2004 that never got a handle on the cause. If an individual does get very ill/old he is normally eaten by tank mates and seldom do you see a body. My female Wallago ate my smallest arapaima (33") and never left a trace (just a big belly).

[arapaimag]

woah.

ive always been a cichlid person myself... until i aquired my fahaka and DP.... so im amazed.... btw.... the fish in the top right corner at 1:16, is that a 5 star general??? i couldnt tell.... anyway, he is beautiful! absolutely stunning.... so this is all set up at your house? must have a big house, and alot of money. hats off to you my friend... but, i have to ask... what happens when one dies... if you dont notice it, does it just decompose? and how do you clean your tanks? shurely a siphon would be pointless.... id love to hear how one goes about cleaning an 810 gal.... and the other bigger tanks you have.... i cant even fathom how its possible

I actually have far more cichlids in the 52,000 including a shoal of 125 to 150 adult synspilum.

In the 810 the fish normally just disappear when they die/killed. However if floating I normally use a net. The fluval fx5 works well in keeping the tank clean and is cleaned itself about every 6 weeks or so. I do drip water changes on the 810 so that anywhere from 100 to 200 gallons is changed daily. The glass is cleaned with a mag float.

The bigger tanks are cleaned with 600lb sand filters, blue bag filters etc. water changes vary but the drip system and large water changes (5,000 gallons) are done periodically.

The smaller tanks (540g and smaller) I use Python/Lee water changers on.

[arapaimag]

I would love a huge puffer tank one day. A huge one. That you can swim in. You know all those stories you hear as a kid about having your toes bitten off... Muahahaha

I have had a girlfriend scuba in the 52,000. Hmmmm..........I forgot to count her toes when she got out.

[arapaimag]

I just wanted to say arapaimag, that I do envy you for what you've been able to do, however, being a puffer-addict, I would have to have more puffers if those were my tanks!
You must be a man with alot of patience, as I was reading about the making of your 52,000 gallon tank on the Monster Fishkeepers site, and how long it took to complete the project, and then some of the trouble you've had with different things since being installed.
That's what I would call a life-long devotion to fish. Just curious though .... you must go through a massive amount of fish food, do you have a special room just to house the fish food? And your monthly expenses must be AWESOME!!!

My hat is off to you!

I really believe if these were your tanks they would be ...................full of puffers.

I locate the food in different areas of my home. I use 3 freezers and several fridges. Most bags are kept in cooler areas until opened then kept in secure containers. Downstairs where my 4 fishrooms are I keep only one small fridge and several pellet containers and about 15lb of various flakes. I keep 2 freezers and large quantities of pellets etc in a storage room/area outside of my laundry room where another freezer s kept. I keep 2 fridges in my bird room (I keep birds and have a couple of dogs also)

I really enjoy my pets so what might be work to some is enjoyable to me.
I buy in large quantities and get excellent prices because of it.