Murray or Mary River Cod for Pet

[Amatuer]

Hi Everyone

Does anyone on this site have a murray or mary river cod in their aquarium? If you do, what size is your tank and does the fish stop growing at some stage? I have searched the net but can't find information on whether they stop growing at a certain size in aquarium.

Thanks

Amatuer

[Damien2Rad]

Fish never stop growing mate.

They don't stop growing to suit your tank.

[Amatuer]

Thanks mate. I will have to rethink about getting a cod. Do you know how long it would take for the fish to out grow a 4 foot tank?

[Damien2Rad]

Not personally.

There are a few experts on here who will no doubt find this thread soon enough.

[Surfingant]

Good luck finding a Mary, I reckon start at 6ft for tank size. Fish will quite often only grow to the available size but I don't have much experience on cod sorry.

[ellicat]

Murrays grow to about 27cm in the first year with all the right parameters. So a 4 foot tank will last you about a year.

Great fun to have. After a year just get another one and do it all over again. The old one can go in your bigger tank or you can take it for a drive over the range and release it into a dam or river (if it's healthy).

I've kept several over the years. They are boring hiders most of the day but come food time the excitement starts.

No idea on Mary's.

EDIT: Refer aussie123 and stinkyibis comments below. Releasing into the wild is illegal.

[Bi_polar]

A Toga might be a better option.

Ask Elops about any fish keeping stuff, if he doesn't know it....it's not worth knowing.

I have kept some large large Murray Cod and Saratoga and the Toga are a much more active fish and loads of fun to feed too but just make sure that you have good lids with no gaps.

[Amatuer]

Thanks Ellicat, I have never though of keeping it that way. Will the fish survive being release back into the wild? It's a fish so I am assuming it instinct will kick in and it will hunt as normal.

The toga is next on my list if the cod doesn't workout. I want to move on from gold fish and tetra. The cod is supposedly the most vicious which is why I am looking at keeping one. I think the Murray and Mary Cod looks almost identical and I might be able to get one from a hatchery (I haven't looked that far yet)

[aussie123]

It is illegal to release any aquarium fish into the wild no matter what species they are.

There is also a high risk of transferring diseases into the wild populations.

[regulated]

Mate Jacks are very aggressive if thats what your after and a 6ft tank will last a fair while. Just don't put anything else in with it. If you dont really want to sell your other fish a jack will take care of them for you.

[stinkyibis]

Getting it from a hatchery as a small fry would let you really grow it up and have the most time with the fish. With regards to releasing it into the wild, I always thought it was frowned upon due to the threat of introducing dangerous pathogens to the native fish already there. I have always assumed that there were laws regarding this. Maybe someone in the know can fill us in more. But if you were to put him in your own dam out the back or something, if there was enough things for it to prey on to sustain a fish his size, the fish should have a good chance. Remember to acclimatize the fish properly, that's how they die so easily.

[Surfingant]

The cod is supposedly the most vicious which is why I am looking at keeping one.

If you want a vicious fish why not look at a jack? One of the toughest and most aggressive fish going (have a look at shortie's pics) and should be easier to get a hold of at an aquarium. Also tank size won't have to be quite as large.

[Bi_polar]

If you want something vicious then get a Mangrove jack.... It's like having a Pit Bull in a tank, but i would definatly have a go at keeping them all...just have a good filtration system and regularly test your water.

and not all together....lol

[Surfingant]

It is illegal to release any aquarium fish into the wild no matter what species they are.

I didn't know that, there you go.

[stinkyibis]

+1 to mangrove jack selection. Vicious and pretty. Smaller and you can keep it for longer. I hear they are quite hardy, just have strong filtration.

[Surfingant]

I've had a Murray and a Jack previously and the jack was definitely a better aquarium fish, like ellicat says the cod did hide away. Personally I prefer bass though, the little guy I've got atm is full of character and yes, he will smash anything I put in there despite his diminutive size

[Amatuer]

Thanks guys. I didn't know it's illegal to release aquarium fish back into the wild, learned something new today.

I will look at the Jack. How does the Jack compare to the Toga? Which one is more vicious? I guess the Jack will look better with the red colour.

[Surfingant]

Jack is definitely more vicious.

[fishingnut]

Just get a barra, best of both worlds !

[Surfingant]

Just get a barra, best of both worlds !

But kinda ugly

[regulated]

Toga's look great in tanks but the show a Jack puts on when live food is around is awesome. They know immediatly when something is in there, fins all stand up and the stuff is smashed within two seconds. My toga usually didn't realise food was in the tank until it ran into him and barra and black bream were scared of the jack. So they should have been, he ate them all. They were all the same size too.

[ellicat]

Another option for when the cod gets too big is to trade it in or sell it on consignment at the pet shop.

[regulated]

Another option for when the cod gets too big is to trade it in or sell it on consignment at the pet shop.

True. You'd be suprised how quick you can sell big fish sometimes. A lot of people don't want the hassle of raising one from a fingerling.

[Amatuer]

I have been looking at shortie's Jack. It looks like I have a bit of work to do on my setup to get it up to scratch. At $200 - $250 for a Jack, I wouldn't want it dying on me. Does anyone knows how much a Toga or Cod cost?

[Surfingant]

Size of the fish plays a part in the price, when I got my jack a number of years ago it was $90, that was for a roughly 10-15cm fish, I think now they are a little higher. Toga are about the 100-130 mark I think for a bus and the last Murray I saw at an aquarium was going for only 30 bucks if my memory serves me correct, once again it was only fingerling size.

[shortie]

Getting a jevenile jack is near impossible at the moment.

If they do come up they will be big $$

Togo will be about $120

Murray cod between $12 and $40

remember the bigger the volume of water you keep any fish in the easier it is to maintain water stability and quality.

Cod are cheap and easy. But i find em boring. It will hide when it can.

[Amatuer]

Thanks everyone for your help. I thihk I will start with a cod (because it's cheap) to get some practice and play around with the water ph level etc. After that will get either a Jack or a Toga.

[riz]

my mates cod died about 6 months ago, it was about 4 years old had it in a 3 ft to start with as a hatchling, then moved him into a 4ft, was a awsome fish, to be honest i would go the cod over anything else, i had a jack for over 2 years and man when it got sick it got sick, same with togas i have had, did that many water changes and bought that much medication for them im scared to buy em again, also try look at archer fish, wicked fish, agrressive in thier own little ways and just a plain good fish very sad to see him pass

[Bi_polar]

my mates cod died about 6 months ago, it was about 4 years old had it in a 3 ft to start with as a hatchling, then moved him into a 4ft, was a awsome fish, to be honest i would go the cod over anything else, i had a jack for over 2 years and man when it got sick it got sick, same with togas i have had, did that many water changes and bought that much medication for them im scared to buy em again, also try look at archer fish, wicked fish, agrressive in thier own little ways and just a plain good fish very sad to see him pass

Archer fish are awesome.

They will extinguish a cigarette 90cm

[elops]

Fish do not stop growing,if they stop growing at less than maximum size in a tank in short (no pun intended)they are stunted due to poor water quality.

Tank size for large fish is determined by width not length, with Cod total length 75% of tank width. In a 6x2x2 50cm max, healthy well fed Cod in a tank will be 50 cm+ in 3 years. Most important thing is keeping the water not keeping the fish, learn how the nitrogen cycle works and get a test kit to monitor it. Big fish equals big bioload equals adequate filtration to cope with the waste a big fish produces. Most common cause of disease/pathogens/parasites in large predatory fish is feeding them shop bought or wild caught feeder fish.