Sometimes the LFS also don't educate the customers which is why in the US, people buy Giant Gouramis, Pacus, etc not knowing how big they will grow. But customers must also make sure they have all the information as well. Would you adopt a kid without knowing anything about him/her at all?

The practice of releasing into the local waters is the main reason why fishes like these are banned. It's the fault of those who were in over their heads and did not have any other option short of killing the fish.

I think some LFS still have existing stock, plus I don't know if banned for sure but I do know there aren't as readily available now as they were before.

I saw what might have been a Cuban, it was the fairest whitest Gar I've seen about 6in long at this small fish shop in Centrepoint BU. Could be another type of Gar. Was just last week.

Well the real enforcement will happen on the suppliers/retailers end I suppose. There is no practical way for the government to do anything about the fishes already in the hands of private owners.

Take the case of the hornbill (or whatever bird that was) in Sarawak where owners had a period of amnesty whereby they could surrender their pet with no legal repercussions. That's for an animal native to that part of the world. The fishes we're discussing for the most part aren't native so there is no reason for confiscating aside from destroying the animals.

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Added on May 26, 2011, 4:53 pmIts the only pet shop in Centrepoint bro. Ground floor.

This post has been edited by [PIMPIN]: May 26 2011, 04:53 PM

Under RM50 for sure bro. I'm not sure if its still there lah but if I have time tomorrow I may drop by and check it out, let you know.

I don't know bro, I was there very briefly. I just passed the tank, saw this really white Gar and a price written there (I suspect its for the Gar) and got what I came for - feeders. In and out, 3 mins heh.

But that doesn't mean they wouldn't appreciate as large an enclosure as possible. I think yours works out to about 50,000 liters or just over 11,000gallons. Have you figured out your filtration system?

Actually you're giving them what 99% of all Arapaimas will never ever be able to provide for them so don't sell yourself short. Don't believe me? Go on MonsterFishKeepers and see how many even have half of that.

I don't think the filtration system for something of this magnitude is something that you should attempt to DIY (unless you or your family are contractors heheh). I've actually considered repairing one of my concrete ponds in the Perlis house (nearly 20yrs don't know how badly cracked it is down there) and redoing it properly with tiles, real proper filtration system such as bottom drains every 10-12sq ft etc but the cost is a bit too prohibitive. The dimensions are very similar to yours only marginally bigger wider and slightly deeper.

And since it was an L-shaped pond, I just thought how about if one part of the L-shape is like a river with proper outlets shooting out water to mimic a river while the other shorter leg of the L can be 'stagnant' water sort of setup. A bit ambitious so decided to go straightforward pond build and asked my cousin who does construction. Basically, to do this sort of sized pond and do to do it properly would be equivalent to building a swimming pool so I'd say on the low end 75k but closer to 100k would be my guess.

Actually for public aquariums 15k gallons is nothing really. But if its just purely for Arapaimas then a tad silly lah.

Of course the Arapaima will do well in mud ponds, so do Koi for that matter but how to enjoy the fish? Luckily the pond where my Gars will be joining my RTCs and Sterlets is a continously cycling pond - all natural, no filtration

Sterlets when put in were quite small, probably 5-6in in a 2000gal space of pond about a month ago. Haven't been to that house lately, my parents were there yesterday but forgot to ask them to check and now they've gone to their other house which has several ponds as well but nothing of interest to me since my Dad stocked them with keli for food only.

Water temp? Hahahah ask ggMing. He's been there several times in fact he released the Sterlets into the pond for me. He should have a better idea of the range of temperatures since he released the Sterlets at night and then the next day he happened to 'swim' in the water LOL

This post has been edited by [PIMPIN]: May 28 2011, 04:04 PM

Ideally they would need colder water, but if you can't incorporate a chiller into your setup then I suppose aeration is the next best thing. My water is already cold naturally which is why I bought the Sterlets. If I couldn't house them properly I wouldn't have taken on the responsibility.

I'm guessing market prawns? Anyway, if you do decide to go with live food which I firmly believe in then try to ensure its from a reliable source. I've bought hundreds of feeders from ggMing and not a single one died while in their feeder tank. But once they're in the pond its tilapia all the way. But to me, its important they never ever rely on me to feed them because once they're in the ponds, they'll have to hunt themselves although feeder tilapias will be stocked.

ggMing posts under Fins_and_Greens

Jason Pang
016 - 222 777 2
Fins & Greens Aquatics
18, Medan Hujan Rahmat
Overseas Union Garden
58200, Kuala Lumpur

Catfish should be fine as well, depends on what is readily available wherever you're located. Some people use snakehead fry even.

This post has been edited by [PIMPIN]: May 30 2011, 01:37 AM

Where are you located bro? Live food seems to be the cheapest form of food in my case. Definitely not massivore or whatever premium food.

Bro, tilapia fry is like RM0.04 each or something lah. Where got 40cents. You must buy in bulk, 5000 ekor is only how much.. cheap what.. they grow fast and breed ridiculously fast..

My Arapaima aren't in ponds yet. In fact, I've got 3 ponds semi-finished atm. MFK seems to be down at the moment. Or did you want to see the ponds in person? I don't have all the ponds from all the houses pictures because not all houses I spend time in and some haven't been for years.

Here are some of my ponds, not every single pond as there are at least two mud ponds (one over quarter acre easily) and two concrete ponds (one small, the other 40,000gal). If and when I do go to those houses, I'll get pictures. Sorry about the quality of the pictures but I don't own a camera

http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/s...f-Nothingness-(

You want to go this weekend? Call me, we'll meet up somewhere and I'll guide you there. Or if you're feeling adventurous just try Google Maps or something like that and you'll find it. Very easy, got 4D/Magnum shop on one end and tire shop on the other. Just after the market/snooker center in OUG. It's basically the row of shops facing the houses. If you can find Steven's Corner, you can definitely find FnG. My car is almost always parked outside haha. Landmark also tu..

I suggest you get the ponds ready first. Sort of like what I'm doing now. No point having the fish when you don't already have its home for life ready especially given its rapid growth. For a 6in fish, in 2 years can only fit in you aquarium if you bend it in half hahah j/k

But seriously, they grow FAST.

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Added on June 2, 2011, 2:38 amYeah, sure one of these days. Perhaps we can meet up at Fins and Greens this weekend. For all you know, you can't stand me in person

Ultimately, I plan to have Arapaimas, Gars, RTCs and Sterlets all together in one pond. Massive amount of tilapia feeders so that there is no reason for them to attack each other. The Sterlet has the slowest growth but I don't foresee any problems as they are now with RTCs double their size and no problems so far.

Fly River Turtles is one thing I don't have but past couple weeks have been reading up on them. I like the fact they're pretty much aquatic turtles but the pond I have in mind might not have sufficient direct sunlight and being reptiles, I don't know if they need to be in the sun to regulate body temperature or whatever.

ggMing - FRT boleh source or not? For me sure can source anything right

This post has been edited by [PIMPIN]: Jun 2 2011, 07:14 AM

Nice, what do you feed those paddlefish? And what are your plans once they've outgrown that enclosure?

Add me on FB lah, razlan.radzi@gmail.com

Maybe they knew you were going to end up selling them so they decided to speed up the process of separation

Dimensions?

Apparently in an LFS in Kota Kemuning, they're going for RM200+