african aro

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DiXoN

English MFKer
MFK Member
Sep 5, 2004
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Sunderland, England
i have been asked to find out what to feed african aros when newly purchased and for the future and know that a few members have raised these successfully.
so what to feed, when to feed and what are they being kept in ie water params.
it will be kept in a 480gal mixed comm with other aros.
thanks
dixon
 
"Newly purchased" doesn't help us know the size. But, here's a blurb I posted for another member on starting out juvies. Do a search on african arowana and heterotis niloticus since this subject has come up many times this year.

Basically, the only real success seems to be in providing a constant source of food until the aros reach about 8" and develop some fat storage to allow them to receive scheduled feedings like most other fish.
I raised the young in bare tanks with sponge filters. The sponge filters allow the fish to "graze" on previously missed food until the next feeding. Be sure to rinse of the sponges every other day to keep spoiled food off of them. Keep the water on the alkaline side and at 80 degrees. Also keep a good lid on their tank. They're jumpers from the get-go. They also need a cover to provide matching air and water temps while the young's air-breathing architecture is developing.
Feed them on a variety of small foods. Frozen bloodworms, daphnia, brine shrimp, crumble food, sinking food, cyclop-eeze, flakes, and micro-pellets are all taken. Feed high protein foods since they have high metabolic rates (no cheap generic foods). Water changes of 30-50% need to be done every 2-3 days.
Af aros need to be housed either as 1 to a tank or 4 and up to a tank. With 2 or 3 you'll wind up with only one in short time as their aggression towards each other is high.
Note: my best success was in following the above and allowing my rearing tanks to go green with algae. These are a filter-feeding species, after all, and I think they benefitted from some algae consumption in their diets.

Good luck!!
 
thanks phil.
the person who asked tried to keep one before but it did not make it so asked for info before buying another.
hes a competent fishkeeper and will try another once i pass the info onto him.
the aros he can get are only a few inches.
 
Oddball;551903; said:
Basically, the only real success seems to be in providing a constant source of food. The sponge filters allow the fish to "graze" on previously missed food until the next feeding. Be sure to rinse of the sponges every other day to keep spoiled food off of them.

this is also what my local fishy shop does...:D
 
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