Hi All,
This is my first post in the Arowana section but, having recently come into possession of my first Osteoglossum bicirrhosum, I had a couple of questions, which i'll come to in a moment.
I've always like the idea of owning an Arowana (specifically and O. Ferrari) however, I've never taken the plunge mainly due to the apparent rarity of O. Ferrari at a large size and for sale. A silver was an option but I see too many of them kept in tiny tanks so when they do come up, the poor husbandry makes me question the health of such a fish and thus, I don't investigate. That said, recently, a O. Bicirrhosum came up locally that appeared to have been well looked after (D.E in one eye but no gill curl, unscarred and intact fins) and though it was in a small tank (500l), it ha still grown to a respectable 24" so I thought it was worth a go. It was also only £50.
So collection day came (Friday) and, with the advise I had read on here in my head on the subject of moving large Arowana, I turned up with Koi bags, a 50l, flexible polyurethane (?) vat and lid, with the express thought that this couldn't go wrong. At this point I should mention that we did not use a net so that we avoided damaging the chap so instead, we used the koi bags to gently coax the fella inside before transferring him to the big vat. Unfortunately, though, doubled up koi bags (Essentially the biggest plastic bags you can get from the LFS) are no match for a cornered Arowana. the result, as I’m sure you've anticipated, was a Silver Rocket, thrusting itself through both bags, between me and the owner and across the living room towards a now very unhappy girl friend of the owner who shrieked at the sight. To be fair, I probably would have shrieked too if that had happened to me.
Anyway, long story short, we managed to scoop the big fella up with a towel and, despite his little adventure, he seemed none the worse for wears. Horray! Top tip; a damp hand towel is a very useful thing to keep to hand when moving a large arowana, should the worst happen.
Now, to my questions; so I'm fully aware that many fish require time to settle, however, I've not had a fish go longer than a couple of days without feeding and while the big guy looks quite content cruising around his new, and much larger tank, he's yet to feed. I've offered Hikari Gold, Crickets, Prawns and tonight there will be a spot of trout on the menu (I'll give the Dill sauce and new potatoes a miss), however, I'm interested to know from other peoples experience how quickly large arowana take food after a move? Are there any specific foods that they cannot resist that would be a good thing to try?
Finally, I managed to snap a couple of quick photos yesterday, although the glass is a little grubby but I'll share them anyway..!
(The bass are photo whores and when ever the camera is out, they always try to get into the shot)
This is my first post in the Arowana section but, having recently come into possession of my first Osteoglossum bicirrhosum, I had a couple of questions, which i'll come to in a moment.
I've always like the idea of owning an Arowana (specifically and O. Ferrari) however, I've never taken the plunge mainly due to the apparent rarity of O. Ferrari at a large size and for sale. A silver was an option but I see too many of them kept in tiny tanks so when they do come up, the poor husbandry makes me question the health of such a fish and thus, I don't investigate. That said, recently, a O. Bicirrhosum came up locally that appeared to have been well looked after (D.E in one eye but no gill curl, unscarred and intact fins) and though it was in a small tank (500l), it ha still grown to a respectable 24" so I thought it was worth a go. It was also only £50.
So collection day came (Friday) and, with the advise I had read on here in my head on the subject of moving large Arowana, I turned up with Koi bags, a 50l, flexible polyurethane (?) vat and lid, with the express thought that this couldn't go wrong. At this point I should mention that we did not use a net so that we avoided damaging the chap so instead, we used the koi bags to gently coax the fella inside before transferring him to the big vat. Unfortunately, though, doubled up koi bags (Essentially the biggest plastic bags you can get from the LFS) are no match for a cornered Arowana. the result, as I’m sure you've anticipated, was a Silver Rocket, thrusting itself through both bags, between me and the owner and across the living room towards a now very unhappy girl friend of the owner who shrieked at the sight. To be fair, I probably would have shrieked too if that had happened to me.
Anyway, long story short, we managed to scoop the big fella up with a towel and, despite his little adventure, he seemed none the worse for wears. Horray! Top tip; a damp hand towel is a very useful thing to keep to hand when moving a large arowana, should the worst happen.
Now, to my questions; so I'm fully aware that many fish require time to settle, however, I've not had a fish go longer than a couple of days without feeding and while the big guy looks quite content cruising around his new, and much larger tank, he's yet to feed. I've offered Hikari Gold, Crickets, Prawns and tonight there will be a spot of trout on the menu (I'll give the Dill sauce and new potatoes a miss), however, I'm interested to know from other peoples experience how quickly large arowana take food after a move? Are there any specific foods that they cannot resist that would be a good thing to try?
Finally, I managed to snap a couple of quick photos yesterday, although the glass is a little grubby but I'll share them anyway..!
(The bass are photo whores and when ever the camera is out, they always try to get into the shot)
