Jacks in Aquariums

[jewies]

Just wondering if anyone know the rules of keeping jacks in aquariums?
And what size aquarium i will need?
does anyone have any other alternativs of what fish to keep?

[bazzaman]

Gday jewies!!

Well Jack are a very predatory fish as you know.....Ive stood away from keeping them because you really cant put too much else with them unless the fish are much bigger!! The same with barras....i kept barras for two or three years they were fine with fish much bigger than them!....I had silver perch, barcoo grunters with them however the barras did eat anything that was the same or even slighty bigger than them.....They ate all my bass, golden perch and both my murray cod while they were both growing from a young age about 5 or 6cm!! As for tank mine is 6ft by 2ft wide by 2 and half feet deep....A very big tank but ive now got a marine atnk setup with coral and clown fish! This isnt a very costly hobby as many have said....I got out of swapping my fresh water tank to marine for $600 to $800 whereas i was quoted$7000 and $2000 just to swap it over!!....Any more questions just pm me!! Tank size really doesnt matter but a nice 4ft would be good!

[jewies]

The fish i am mainly interested in are bass barra and jacks.
was also wondering about pumps filters heaters ect
and the water temp i will need to keep it.

[bazzaman]

A canister filter will do the job!! Heaters you wont need one till winter prolly keep it at a safe temp of 25degrees....Jacks are pretty exxy to buy but bass and barras are cheap as chips!! Make sure the bass are much bigger than the barras ok!! Otherwise the barras will out grow the bass and therefore eat the bass!!

[jewies]

Sice hearing how the barra eat the small i have decided that im just going to buy a barra but wont be getting anything till by bday in may which my parents might be getting me hopefully
I also have place within 10mins drive from my house which i used to cast net mullet until i found out that cast nets were illegal in freshwater. But now have learnt the art of fishing for mullet and gar. I know barra will eat mullet but what about gar?

[hoo_hunter]

smith's aquarium at deagon has a big jack about 6/8kgs as a pet and its for sale i think?

I also have a 6ft x 2ft tank for sale with lights and stand if interested give phil a call on 0409899355

[jewies]

How much are you selling it for onsite. Cant be to much as this might be a bday pressie for me from my folks so cant really be too much. I dont expect anything cheap so just inform me of the price i am curious

[mad_keen]

if you intend on feeding your fish with small 'oily' fleshed fish, just make sure that you keep up the regular water change as this may tend to fowl up the water quicker and all will be fine.

[bazzaman]

Thats true mad keen thats why i fed my barras pellets but this still made the water murky.....Something you have to deal with i guess the best of all is live fish but that can be expensive!!....Have a few canister filters if possible this will help clear the water a shit load quicker!! Barras are messy eaters thats for sure!!

[bungie]

Even in a 6 x 2 #its a good idea to have a bio ball setup, I have a medium size tank underneath. one side has filter cloth at the top with bio balls below, then a pump on the other side to return it to the tank (see the picture) . Plus I have a cannister filter too. This setup was first made for some 60 odd Malawi's, now I'm down to 7

Westside pet store at Taringa has a Jack for sale. If you caught the Jack yourself then the laws of the land for minimum size apply. If you buy from a pet shop, they buy from a licenced supplier and the fish can be fingerlings up

Where did you find to get poddys from ?? You are in the western suburbs ??

[bazzaman]

Yeah ok thats a fine setup but far from essential!!! ......Two canisters will do the job beautifully with a sump this will cost you alot more and you dont need it!! Its really a waste of money!! People tried telling me this is essential for a marine setup and i did my homework and im yet to lose a fish due to poor filtration after 5 mnths!! I only have one canister and a protein skimmer and its doing the job!! But at the end of the day its up to the person so your choice....

Cheers!!

[bungie]

Cost me less than a cannister to make it. But as I said, when it was first setup I have 60 odd Malawi's in it rangeing from 2inches to over 6 inches

[bazzaman]

shit thats good going less than a canister!!....Personal choice i guess at the end of theday!!

[bungie]

Use the pool pump to do my Barra now tho

[Chris.Y]

G'day jewies
So you've got the jack bug eh!. Mate I've got one in a 4ft x 2ft x2ft tank & he's about 33cm long now. I got him about a year ago when he was about 7cm. I used to keep him in a sml tank ( 2ft x 1ft x 15inches) until 3 months ago. they grow very quickly when they are small. I found if you have good water circulation & airation,and keep the PH level above 7.5 you won't have too many problems, but you MUST do at least a 1/3 water change every week. I'd also suggest adding a teaspoon of aquarium salt for every 10 lt of water. I feed him whitebait from the tackle shop and ocasionally he gets live goldfish as a treat, 10 live goldfish cost $10 & last for less than 1 minute . They are definately a solitary fish ( don't put anything else in with it regardless of size) very smart ,but very aggressive, watch your fingers .
I've had Bass, yella's, Cod & Barra at different times but I don't think you can go past a Jack .
Cheers Chris