What is this beast?

[danotaylor]

Anyone know what this dinosaur is?

128358

Cheers,
Danny

[peewee1]

Is it a sturgeon?

[danotaylor]

Was able to do an image search...Answered my own question...it's an oxydoras niger, aka ripsaw catfish! It's native to the Amazon basin...
It's an inhabitant of a 500 gallon (10'*3'*2.5') tank I will be inheriting. I saw it out for the first time today when cleaning the tank. I wondered who was moving the 50# rocks in the tank, lol!

[peewee1]

Was able to do an image search...Answered my own question...it's an oxydoras niger, aka ripsaw catfish! It's native to the Amazon basin...
It's an inhabitant of a 500 gallon (10'*3'*2.5') tank I will be inheriting. I saw it out for the first time today when cleaning the tank. I wondered who was moving the 50# rocks in the tank, lol!

Book 'em, Dano! Good it was not the fearsome chainsaw catfish. Leather Faceous.

[LizStreithorst]

What a cool looking fish. How big do they get?

[danotaylor]

Liz in the wild they reach 36", in captivity they do not grow as big...good thing hey as that is the width of the tank it lives in...I'd say it's currently approx 15" :thumbsup:

[LizStreithorst]

I would love to have a fish like that but they just get too big.

[two utes]

Anyone know what this dinosaur is?

128358

Cheers,
Danny


Flat head...oh wait ;)

[danotaylor]

Bahaha...good one Joe...it could be eh mate!

[two utes]

Bahaha...good one Joe...it could be eh mate!

Haha...yes mate...two nice fillets of it in a beer batter with a coldie on the side...you know the drill ;)

[danotaylor]

Spot on cob, noice!!

[danotaylor]

Cool forehead pattern as well as the side tassles...
128359

[LizStreithorst]

I'm in love. It even has blue eyes. It's the most beautiful prehistoric monster I have ever had. A 100 gallon would be too small, right. A 125 is too small too, right? when he got big it would be hard for him to turn around. I'll just add that to the list of things I lust for and will never have. You are very lucky.

I know nothing about regular cichlids. What kind is that blue one. He compliments the big boy's eyes.

[danotaylor]

The lady he currently belongs to Liz bought it when it was just 4-5". She's had him for almost 6 yrs. At 15" now he is fairly slow growing, but he would outgrow an 18" wide tank at some point. You could always put one in your biggest tank and then transfer it to a filtered Rubbermaid 300 gal stock tank which would have plenty of width for it to get massive and swim around. A mate of mine in Toledo has a 36"+ red tail cat in a 300gal stock tank.
In saying all that, I have never seen 1 for sale in all my years, but they must be available somewhere, sometime??

[danotaylor]

The blue cichlid is a blue fuellborni, native to lake Malawi...love it's fat top lip! Its in the Mbuna family, rock dwelling algae scrapers!

[Disgirl]

Just think, you willl have your own dinosaur in your house! I wonder if they are that old? They rival the look of alligators and monitor lizards who look like dinos too. Wonder what you feed it? Pleco wafers????
Barb

[danotaylor]

I know Barb, pretty awesome hey! This species is listed as "omnivorous detrivore". They sift and eat decaying plant matter, insect larvae, crustaceans, and even small fish fry if they catch them. My own pet dino!! Cool :bandana:

[Second Hand Pat]

Was able to do an image search...Answered my own question...it's an oxydoras niger, aka ripsaw catfish! It's native to the Amazon basin...
It's an inhabitant of a 500 gallon (10'*3'*2.5') tank I will be inheriting. I saw it out for the first time today when cleaning the tank. I wondered who was moving the 50# rocks in the tank, lol!

Danny, you are inheriting a 500 gallon tank. Talking about wow...fuss up my friend and need pics and details. lol
Pat

[Willie]

...They rival the look of alligators and monitor lizards who look like dinos too. Wonder what you feed it? Pleco wafers????...

Discus

[danotaylor]

Lol Willie!

Pat I clean this tank for my bro in law's mom twice a month. Since her mom passed recently she will be spending 6+ months/yr at her place in Florida and so she has been looking for a new home for her tank & fish. The gift is conditional to keep most of her current stock, and she has very generously offered me the entire set up. She has had many of them 6-10yrs. It is currently a mix of lake Malawi & Tanganyika cichlids with quite a few cool and obscure catfish, such as the ripsaw I profiled in this thread. With her permission I will be removing a bunch of large aggressive zebra cichlids to a fish shelter in our area. So the tank will remain an African cichlid/catfish display probably for quite a few years yet. The dimensions are 10' long, 3' wide and 2.5' deep. It has dual overflows, twin acrylic sumps with titanium heaters and twin return pumps. We have just purchased a new home on 9.4 acres in the country and this tank will be the centre piece of our lounge area. Pics will follow once it's in place. I anticipate probably September ish. Here it is as is right now...

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I am a blessed man!!

[Second Hand Pat]

Yes you are Danny :D and congrats on the tank and new house, how exciting. :D A suggestion on the tank move. Consider having it professionally moved or carefully plan the move down to the last step. You want this to go well.
Pat

[fljones3]

That's a beauty of a tank, Daniel! Truly, an amazing gift.

[two utes]

Wow Dan...Now that's a tank....long enough to cast lures from one end and see how hey swim for you ;)
Seriously though, congratulation on the purchase of your new home, and i'm sure this tank is going to look great in it.
Good luck with the big move

[peewee1]

How many minutes do you recon that it would take one of those fish swimming at full speed to travel from one end of that tank to the other?

[danotaylor]

Thanks friends! We're very excited about the new house and getting back into country life again.

Re moving the tank Pat, thanks for your advice. I will be coordinating it with a group of strong young men using all the appropriate equipment. Back in Australia I ordered a custom 9.25'*2.5*2' (380ish gallons) in 15mm glass, weighing over 400#'s. A friend welded a steel square tube stand and 8 of us moved that beast from the tank builder's ware house into position on the stand. It was a hair raising but successful move, but I did learn a few things from that experience about moving large aquariums. The move will be planned out in advance, and we'll have all the necessary straps and suction lift devices to do it safely. I know it will be a mission, but this won't be my first rodeo moving a mega tank. If you have any advice or things you believe are crucial to the process please feel free to share them here. I value your experience and welcome your input!

[gunnerschh2]

I have a 450 tank & had 6 guys to help. Be sure of door openings that was the biggest headache to get thru. Make sure stand is secure.

[danotaylor]

Thank you Harry!! Being 30" high we will take tank thru the only door laying in it's back. But I do need to measure the doorway because the stand is 36" wide on it's narrowest side...I sure hope it's a 36" entrance door...may need to take front door off its hinges...

[peewee1]

Thank you Harry!! Being 30" high we will take tank thru the only door laying in it's back. But I do need to measure the doorway because the stand is 36" wide on it's narrowest side...I sure hope it's a 36" entrance door...may need to take front door off its hinges...

Or you could simply knock out a wall, Dano, and then you could run the forklift tank, stand, buzz-saw catfish and all right through the foyer, through the butler pantry, and right up to the day lounge. Do the fish come with the tank?

[danotaylor]

Haha, funny stuff Norm...but I don't think so, lol!
The condition of the gift is the fish come too live with me as well...a trade off I'm cool with...and I am able to give away a bunch of the large aggressive zeb's which will be good :thumbsup:

[peewee1]

Haha, funny stuff Norm...but I don't think so, lol!
The condition of the gift is the fish come too live with me as well...a trade off I'm cool with...and I am able to give away a bunch of the large aggressive zeb's which will be good :thumbsup:

Outstanding! To that I will say, Book 'em, Danno!

[danotaylor]

So the time has finally come...tomorrow I will be emptying the 500 gal tank and bringing the occupants to a temp home in my basement, then moving the tank on Wednesday with a posse of string men...more to come!

[pablos]

Looking forward to see some pictures!

[danotaylor]

Stage 2 complete, but not without a few anxious moments...

130103

[two utes]

Happy New Year Dan!
Looking good mate. Keep those updates coming.

[coralbandit]

:thumbsup::thumbsup:
Can't wait to see what you do Dan !

[danotaylor]

Thanks Joe & Tom.
Tom a the requirement of the gift was to keep the tank set up as an african cichlid & catfish display. My friend Pat has had some of the fish in this tank for over a decade! She has kindly allowed me to removed the multitude of aggressive zebra cichlids that dominate the tank, providing I find them a home and not flush them down the toilet. I am very happy about that decision as the zeb's aren't my cup of tea, though I would not have passed up the tank if I needed to keep them as I could never have afforded an acrylic tank of this magnitude...it's my dream tank, and I am very thankful for my wife who approved of the gift. We both wished it could go in our main family room but the 5000#+ weight on our wooden floors was gonna be too much without putting unsightly floor jacks in our boys hang out space in the basement, so on the concrete slab in the basement it is!
More updates to follow!

[Second Hand Pat]

Wow Danny, what a tank. Be sure it is level before filling. Looking forward to see what it looks like with fish in it. :)
Pat

[Shan_Evolved]

Oh my gawd that is massive. How are the fish doing?

[danotaylor]

Thanks Shan. The fish I am giving away are all currently in a make shift 150 gal tote with a sump, so they're doing well. I have the ones I am keeping in a 125gal tank that I will drain and pack up once the beast tank is ready. Should be later today...
After talking w Pat and Brian I called the company that built the tank to ask about the level. The tank was level front to back but the foundation slab has a gentle graduation toward the outside foundation wall. Over the 10' length of the tank it's a 1/2" lower at the left end. The manufacturer said because of the construction design, providing the tank is sitting on a flat even surface it will be fine. The stand had a full 3/4" ply base, and a 3/4" ply board the tank tank sits directly into, so I am filling and scaping today, and getting it running.
More pics to come once it is clear :thumbsup:

[Shan_Evolved]

Good idea checking the leveling on something that heavy so precisely. Shows you have experience and know what youre doing. Can't wait to see the final product. Looking forward to updates

[danotaylor]

I have a few mod's yet to be completed, the hood still need to go one, and more fish to add, but this is where things are at currently...


http://youtu.be/PBEpiW_s9b0

[two utes]

You've come a long way in a very short time Dan. Nice work mate.
Hope you've also settled in your new home.
Cheers

[Shan_Evolved]

Ayy!!!! Great Success!!

[AquaticNerd]

Looks great! A job well done on getting both fish and hardware moved! :)

[pablos]

Your new tank looks incredible .. but I'm a little disapoited to so no discus ;-)

[Second Hand Pat]

Nice Danny :D, you are right, more fish :D
Pat

[danotaylor]

Thanks Joe, Shan, Jake, Pablos and Pat! It's great to sit in front of this tank and relax.
Pablos this set up was gifted to me on the condition that I kept the previous owners fish. Can you imagine my water bill doing large frequent water changes on this tank? Lol
Pat I have more fish to collect locally this weekend ;)

[pablos]

Thanks Joe, Shan, Jake, Pablos and Pat! It's great to sit in front of this tank and relax.
Pablos this set up was gifted to me on the condition that I kept the previous owners fish. Can you imagine my water bill doing large frequent water changes on this tank? Lol
Pat I have more fish to collect locally this weekend ;)

Unless you switch to stendker’s recommendation:))

[Iminit]

Ah food for thought!!

You know some where some how somebody’s got Africans and discus living peacefully on utube :eek:

[danotaylor]

Lol, that's funny, and probably true Tom ;)

[gunnerschh2]

I have a few mod's yet to be completed, the hood still need to go one, and more fish to add, but this is where things are at currently...


http://youtu.be/PBEpiW_s9b0

You have some fish in there that will get large 10" or more & fill tank up.

[coralbandit]

You have some fish in there that will get large 10" or more & fill tank up.

Those are Frontosa right ?
NICE ! ENJOY ~!

[danotaylor]

You're right fellas! They are Cyphotilapia Gibberosa Mikula, frontosa family, but more specifically part of the Blue Zaire group of cypho's. The males will grow to 14"+ in this tank with the ideal water conditions. I am adding 5 more to the group to make 12 in total :thumbsup:

[famtsberg]

very nice, that is a beautiful tank.

[gunnerschh2]

You have some fish in there that will get large 10" or more & fill tank up.

Had 2 frontosa in my 450 they got up to about 12" & they decided to fight to the death. Your dolphin males will get 9" & watch the mumba they like to get tough. If you go to cichlid foram & cichlid species you can find out about temperament , a lot can be very tough.

[danotaylor]

Thanks Harry. I have kept all and bred most of these species over the 40 years I have been in the aquarium hobby. It'll be fun to watch them fill the space out as they grow. Not too worried about size or aggression of any of these fish actually. If necessary I will think the herd, but that would be a big ask in this massive tank...prob a stealth night mission would be the only hope of catching anything out of it, lol :)

[danotaylor]

very nice, that is a beautiful tank.

Cheers Fritz :thumbsup: