Got my first arowana. What should be the basic do's & dont's

[Newbkeeper]

Hi everyone,
I got my first arowana yesterday. Its a baby silver arowana around 4to5 inch long. I have previous experience with bettas and chichilids. I have kept moorie blue dolphins for 3 years but unfortunately they passed since i went out of town for 10 days and my friend over fed them. So i cleaned the tank punt in some metronidazole ip and ran the tank for 2 days. I put the arowana yesterday in it. I am using the 30 gallon tank as a quarentine system . I will keep the arowana here for a month and then move it to a bigger tank.
I have a few questions regarding arowana care.
1. I am using 2 power filter rated at 1000 liters/hr and 500 liters/hr respectively. My question is how much water flow does my arowana needs and will it be bad if i overfiltered the tank. I will set up a diy biological filter in a day or so.
2. I suspect that one gill is curved but i doubt it any suggestions for that.
3. Any suggestions regarding feeding
Thanks

 

[Gourami Swami]

So it sounds like you basically re-started the tank, the metronidazole is anti-bacterial, and cleaning the tank out (unless you just did a normal water change, not quite clear) would have probably killed the beneficial bacteria. So, then you just put the new Aro in, without cycling the tank? What does your water test at, ammonia nitrite nitrate? Are you familiar with the nitrogen cycle?
Basics for arowana are that they grow fast and need a huge tank. 300+ gallon tank within the first year usually will be needed. Will you be able to provide this? If not, I would sell the fish now, while it is easy to do. Big aro's can be hard to relocate. If you can see yourself buying a 300+ gallon tank soon, the care is pretty basic. Keep stable water parameters. Do weekly large water changes. Aro's are pretty adaptive to pH, etc. Keep a tight lid as they are very prone to jumping out.

 

[Big Jay]

My only advice is they grow EXTREMELY fast. That 30 gallon tank won't last long.

 

[Deadliestviper7]

Buy a big 500plus gallon tank or a snap frame pool.
Since this is a arowana go easy on the pellets, the majority of his diet should be insects and other arthopods (live or dead doesn't really matter) such as a mix of : crickets, grasshoppers, mayflies,damselflies,dragonfly larvae,prawns,various shrimp,triops,krill, Japanese beetles,freeze dried mealworms,
Katydids etc

 

[Newbkeeper]

y

So it sounds like you basically re-started the tank, the metronidazole is anti-bacterial, and cleaning the tank out (unless you just did a normal water change, not quite clear) would have probably killed the beneficial bacteria. So, then you just put the new Aro in, without cycling the tank? What does your water test at, ammonia nitrite nitrate? Are you familiar with the nitrogen cycle?
Basics for arowana are that they grow fast and need a huge tank. 300+ gallon tank within the first year usually will be needed. Will you be able to provide this? If not, I would sell the fish now, while it is easy to do. Big aro's can be hard to relocate. If you can see yourself buying a 300+ gallon tank soon, the care is pretty basic. Keep stable water parameters. Do weekly large water changes. Aro's are pretty adaptive to pH, etc. Keep a tight lid as they are very prone to jumping out.

yes i have basic knowledge of nitrogen cycle. the reason i used metronidazole because i had to. my 30 gallon tank was a well established tank in which i kept 4 morrii blue dolphins from past 3 years.unfortunately i had to leave town for a few weeks so i asked my friend to feed my fishes. she ignored them and when i returned the whole room was filled with the smell of rotting fish and thats the main reason i restarted the tank.i cleaned everything and just took extra precaution & added antibiotics to it.
i have borrowed some cycled media from my fish store but havent added it to the tank yet.
Getting a larger tank is not so expensive in this part of the world i have already ordered a tank of size 5 feet x 3 feet x 3 feet roughly around 330 us gallons which i will get next month. i paid around 150 usd. i paid 12$ for my baby arowana.
the reason i added the silver arowana directly because i though since its a small tank i will have to do frequent water changes which will in turn keep the excess ammonia in check.
the temperature fluctuations are not much 25C -28 C and ph is around 6.9 .
i just have one doubt. my tank has good access to sunlight and i can grow algae preety easily. will algae be good for my tank health? if it is i dont mind compromising with my tank looks.
once i move my arowana to a bigger tank i would like convert this tank into a no filter no CO2 planted tank.

 

[Newbkeeper]

Buy a big 500plus gallon tank or a snap frame pool.
Since this is a arowana go easy on the pellets, the majority of his diet should be insects and other arthopods (live or dead doesn't really matter) such as a mix of : crickets, grasshoppers, mayflies,damselflies,dragonfly larvae,prawns,various shrimp,triops,krill, Japanese beetles,freeze dried mealworms,
Katydids etc

i am feeding dried shrimphs at the moment. i have pellets and bloodworms as well. i have noticed that my arowana prefers shrimp and bloodworms but not the pellets.can i feed it both alternately?
i have more access to dried food.

 

[Deadliestviper7]

i am feeding dried shrimphs at the moment. i have pellets and bloodworms as well. i have noticed that my arowana prefers shrimp and bloodworms but not the pellets.can i feed it both alternately?
i have more access to dried food.

Why not, many dried insects are good as well

 

[Gourami Swami]

Wow, I wish I could get a 330 gallon tank for 150$. Maybe I should move to India.
I would put the cycled media in the tank now with the Aro, no sense in waiting. How have you preserved the bacteria pad? If left to dry out or sitting in a bag it may have died by now.

As far as food, pellets are good, but the freeze dried worms and krill are also fine, aro's like a high protein diet. You can feed both alternately.

 

[appak]

Tight fitting lid is a must, make sure it is secure or weighted down as well. Yes, it will jump. Not an if, but a when.

I fed mine pellets and the occasional market shrimp, grew like a weed.

Ive heard of people keeping something like a ping pong ball floating in the tank to prevent drop-eye, so maybe do some research into that.

Good luck!

 

[Newbkeeper]

Wow, I wish I could get a 330 gallon tank for 150$. Maybe I should move to India.
I would put the cycled media in the tank now with the Aro, no sense in waiting. How have you preserved the bacteria pad? If left to dry out or sitting in a bag it may have died by now.

As far as food, pellets are good, but the freeze dried worms and krill are also fine, aro's like a high protein diet. You can feed both alternately.

I have put it in a bucket of water with an airstone in it. Ill take your advice and go on and add the media.
Lol you can come to india if you want to buy inexpensive aquarium and arowanas. Even the asian arowanas are much cheaper than what they charge in the us and canada.they were charging roughly 300 usd for 12-15 inch red tailed asian arowana and around 550 usd for an adult you can get it even cheaper if you know the right place and cheaper doesnt mean low quality. My baby silver which i got for 12$ most places sell it for rughly around 25-30$. And the guy who sold me the fish would rather give me no fish than giving me sick fish.