Silver Arowana acting weird.

catfishacr

catfishacr

Gambusia
MFK Member
Jun 3, 2014
355
18
18
Iowa City, IA
I bought my first silver arowana 6 weeks ago. My question is it it normal for them to lay motionless on the bottom of the tank and sometimes he sits motionless in the plants? I notice him doing this maybe once a week. He does it for maybe 30 minutes than he's back to patrolling the tank. seems odd but hoping this is normal? He is maybe four inches, appears healthy, eats good, etc. He is in a 90 gallon now and moving him to a 300 gallon in 6 months. Water perimeters: 0 Ammonia, 0 Nitrite, 20-40 Nitrate, Temp is 82F, Ph is 8.3. I know the pH is higher than ideal for arowana's but the LFS says people in the area keep them in high ph and have no problem. Thanks in advance.
 
Miguel

Miguel

Ole Dawg
MFK Member
Dec 28, 2006
15,857
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Very much south..
Is there any chance that you have water flow in the direction he is facing?
 
Bderick67

Bderick67

Bronze Tier VIP
MFK Member
Aug 18, 2006
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Motionless silver generally means stressed. Sounds more like it's scared or insecure. Any tankmates?
 
catfishacr

catfishacr

Gambusia
MFK Member
Jun 3, 2014
355
18
18
Iowa City, IA
Tank mates aren't an issue, 2 silver dollars, Pictus cat, and pleco( Nothing is pecking or chasing him). As far as the ph goes all water in the area is hard. I've asked the lfs and they say they have keep arowana's for 20 plus years in high ph and never had a problem. I know its high for amazon fish but as long as its stable (as it is) shouldn't most fish be able to adapt? I really don't want to screw with the Ph but if you honestly think he wont adapt than Id try to do something. Other than using a RO unit do I have any other options to lower the Ph? I prefer not to use any buffers. Thanks
 
catfishacr

catfishacr

Gambusia
MFK Member
Jun 3, 2014
355
18
18
Iowa City, IA
Also to add this might be a reach but I have quite a bit of current in the tank from a HOB filter and Spray bar from canister filter. Any chance he is just resting from the current or would that still be odd?
 
Bderick67

Bderick67

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Aug 18, 2006
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Tankmates don't need to be pecking or chasing in order to stress out the arowana. Silver dollars just being in the tank can be stressful if the arowana is treatened by them. The pictus is nocternal, constantly moving about the tank at night. This can easily spook the aro, many keepers have to keep their silvers with a night light in order to keep them from getting spooked. If you think it's current then remove or alter, that should eliminate that possiblity.

Many people keep arowana in higher pH, personally I don't think raising a baby arowana in high pH is a good idea. Nor would I raise them in anything but pristine water with nitrates never going above 10 ppm. You've stated that you had it for six weeks, how much has it grown in that time. What does it eat? Does the motionlessness have any occurence to after it eats?

One other thing adding floating plants and a calm area near the surface will help with your arowana feeling a bit more secure.
 
catfishacr

catfishacr

Gambusia
MFK Member
Jun 3, 2014
355
18
18
Iowa City, IA
Bderick67 said:
Tankmates don't need to be pecking or chasing in order to stress out the arowana. Silver dollars just being in the tank can be stressful if the arowana is treatened by them. The pictus is nocternal, constantly moving about the tank at night. This can easily spook the aro, many keepers have to keep their silvers with a night light in order to keep them from getting spooked. If you think it's current then remove or alter, that should eliminate that possiblity.

Many people keep arowana in higher pH, personally I don't think raising a baby arowana in high pH is a good idea. Nor would I raise them in anything but pristine water with nitrates never going above 10 ppm. You've stated that you had it for six weeks, how much has it grown in that time. What does it eat? Does the motionlessness have any occurence to after it eats?

One other thing adding floating plants and a calm area near the surface will help with your arowana feeling a bit more secure.
Click to expand...
Thanks for the info and tips. I will readjust the spray bar to eliminate the chance of current being the issue. I have plants floating already but ill add some more. As far has the high ph goes it is what it is. As long as its stable imo I should be okay. Even if I got rid of the aro he would most likely go to another tank with high Ph. I know the nitrates could and need to improve. I'm an idiot and have been testing the nitrates incorrectly so they kind of built up on me. In the process of reducing them. To be honest nitrates were at 80ppm a week ago. As far as the eating goes I feed him once a day with mostly floating pellets and supplement with freeze dried plankton and freeze dried blood worm. And yes the motionless does happen after he eats, not all the occurrences but most. Is that normal after eating or is that a sign he's eating to much? its grown for sure an inch maybe a little more!! Thanks for your help and input
 
catfishacr

catfishacr

Gambusia
MFK Member
Jun 3, 2014
355
18
18
Iowa City, IA
Update: My aro has been laying motionless in the plants on and off all morning. Staring to get concerned. He ate yesterday but was lethargic in the way he ate. If he is stressed this is out of the blue and don't know what to do. Anyone else have any suggestion or info on if this is normal or not. Thanks for the help!
 
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