# Armatus update



## JD7.62 (Apr 7, 2005)

The armatus has grown faster then any other fish Ive owned. I got him on Sept. 25 at around 4" in size and now he is easily 9"!!


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## ZOSICK (May 25, 2005)

I would say that's a nice looking armatus.









I thought there would be some Dat. pic's


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## JD7.62 (Apr 7, 2005)

I just realized dat pics had a water mark from another fish site...Ill take some more even though Im in the middle of a w/c!


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## ICEE (Feb 3, 2007)

armatus are so sweet


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## JD7.62 (Apr 7, 2005)

Thnks...added some crummy pics of the NTT. This dat is one of the largest in N. America...at least that I have seen and been told...


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## pirayaman (Nov 3, 2007)

awesome fish jd purely vicious looking

how big do they get


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## JD7.62 (Apr 7, 2005)

pirayaman said:


> awesome fish jd purely vicious looking
> 
> how big do they get


They get bigger then this...










The biggest in captivity is around 24"

The biggest in the U.S. is around 18" but they are still new in the hobby.

By far the coolest fish I have ever kept! Im going to make a feeding video here real soon that will blow any piranha feeding video out of the water!


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## eddyhead (Nov 6, 2007)

how much that armatus cost? are they hard to find? and are they sometimes called "vampire tetras"?? i love this fish i just want some more info


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## notaverage (Sep 10, 2005)

GREAT!

Mean looking guy!

Saber tooth...not sure about vamp tetra...but I think that different but sometimes confused as the same...Im not 100% sure though


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## eddyhead (Nov 6, 2007)

i LOVE THEM


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## JD7.62 (Apr 7, 2005)

No they are different. The H. armatus is rare. Less then 100 in the country. The only way you can get one now is from a private seller. Only two people have brough them in. George Fear last year and he sold his for $500-700 and Isaac from RiverWonders this year (where I got mine) I paid $250.

There is a thread stickied in the tankbusters forum...check it out it explains all.


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## eddyhead (Nov 6, 2007)

cause i saw a "vampire tetra" at my LFS for like $20 it was bout 6 inches should i get him out of there?


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## notaverage (Sep 10, 2005)

JD7.62 said:


> No they are different. The H. armatus is rare. Less then 100 in the country. The only way you can get one now is from a private seller. Only two people have brough them in. George Fear last year and he sold his for $500-700 and Isaac from RiverWonders this year (where I got mine) I paid $250.
> 
> There is a thread stickied in the tankbusters forum...check it out it explains all.


Yeah I saw SA had them. 
Thats definitely a fish you need to dedicate a nice tank and time too!

I Do not have that space for something like that!

What size tank is he in?


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## eddyhead (Nov 6, 2007)

hes in just like a 20g breeder, i wouldn;t be able to provide more than a 55 for him but i would like to get him out of there and get him to someone that could take care of him


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## AKSkirmish (Jun 24, 2005)

Very nice JD..
Armatus sure has grown...And is showing some nice coloration...
Love the Dat of course.....


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## curly (Jun 22, 2006)

Love the Armatus. Would love one but have no space to look after them properly so will enjoy your pics!


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## JD7.62 (Apr 7, 2005)

eddyhead said:


> cause i saw a "vampire tetra" at my LFS for like $20 it was bout 6 inches should i get him out of there?


The fish you saw is 99.99% NOT an armatus but an H. scomberoides (spelling). That species only gets 10-12" and pretty difficult to keep alive. Get a pic if you can cause rarely and baby armatus is mixed in!!

The armatus is bullet proof. I had mine for a few days in a QT 29gallon and when I moved him to the 125 (tank he is currently in) he jumped out of the bucket and flopped around for serveral seconds! He was no worse for the wear.

Unike piranhas, african tiger fish, and most other characins including other hydrolycus sp. the armatus is a bold fish and not easily spooked. They also seem to know the boundaries of their enclosures and wont "ram the glass" like other characins. For that reason it is my opinion that a large of a tank isnt needed as say for an equally sized ATF.

Like I said the largest in captivity is around 24" and about three years old. A tank with an 8x3 foot pring should last several years.


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## eddyhead (Nov 6, 2007)

JD7.62 said:


> cause i saw a "vampire tetra" at my LFS for like $20 it was bout 6 inches should i get him out of there?


The fish you saw is 99.99% NOT an armatus but an H. scomberoides (spelling). That species only gets 10-12" and pretty difficult to keep alive. Get a pic if you can cause rarely and baby armatus is mixed in!!

The armatus is bullet proof. I had mine for a few days in a QT 29gallon and when I moved him to the 125 (tank he is currently in) he jumped out of the bucket and flopped around for serveral seconds! He was no worse for the wear.

Unike piranhas, african tiger fish, and most other characins including other hydrolycus sp. the armatus is a bold fish and not easily spooked. They also seem to know the boundaries of their enclosures and wont "ram the glass" like other characins. For that reason it is my opinion that a large of a tank isnt needed as say for an equally sized ATF.

Like I said the largest in captivity is around 24" and about three years old. A tank with an 8x3 foot pring should last several years.
[/quote]
even if it isn't a armatus, is that still a good deal? and whats the diff in the srmatus and the other one? is it just the size of the fish? i'm very interested in these fish


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