African arowana from Wes

[thebiggerthebetter]

It had been aggressively sifting and (supposedly) feeding until about yesterday, when it behaved unusually, seemingly almost completely ignoring the feedings.
Today sat in one unusual for it spot with high current and seemingly uncomfortable about having to cope with the current.
Moved to a different tank. Hasn't fed in it for the first half a day.

 

[Egon]

It had been aggressively sifting and (supposedly) feeding until about yesterday, when it behaved unusually, seemingly almost completely ignoring the feedings.
Today sat in one unusual for it spot with high current and seemingly uncomfortable about having to cope with the current.
Moved to a different tank. Hasn't fed in it for the first half a day.

After moving the fish it might take a day or so to calm down to feed.
My Afrowana has the exact same spots on the side. Initially I thought it was scratch from rubbing on decorations in the tank but now I think it’s normal coloration

 

[Egon]

I love all those clown loaches in the tank! That’s a great looking set up.
Good idea moving the fish. I think all that current was exhausting him. Also the competition for food wasn’t good.

 

[thebiggerthebetter]

Thank you, Egon!

The current is stronger in the new tank. Same flow and 10x less furniture. But both tanks have at least 1/2 of the tank being quiet.

Overall, this specimen worries me. It hasn't been acting and behaving as expected, including the initial couple weeks of lethargy and no appetite, then seemingly feeding well but not growing at all or very little, and now having no appetite again.

It does have some girth on the top, in the torso, so it must have been eating. Why it stopped cold turkey, I've no clue. It hasn't restarted eating yet, been 3-4 days.

 

[Egon]

hopefully it’s just temporary. Mine is constantly eating and swimming. I have a sand bottom and the fish always has a mouth full of sand, sifting for food.

 

[thebiggerthebetter]

Lost the afrowana after 5-6 days in the new tank. It has never fed in the new tank. From our prior tries, I learned that this occurs when they don't get enough to eat and then stop altogether even trying until they die, and the smaller they are the sooner they die. This one was 10 inches so took almost a week. 4 inchers take 1-2 days.

So I deduce the afrowana stopped feeding in the original tank due to eating too little..... which amazes me??!! The floor was littered with tiny crumbs of pellets for half a day (cumulatively, in 3 portions) in its tank. Initially the pellets thrown in were too big for it of course, but they crumble quickly in water, in like 5-10 minutes they turn into a pile of crumbs. And the afro kept sucking them in and out and breaking them bit by bit in its mouth meanwhile (I assume? Why the hell suck them and mouth them for 2 months?). So the afrowana should have had a nice access to tiny feed for half a day... All tank mates totally and completely pigged out and got totally round in shape in the 2 months of unfathomably generous, unprecedented feeding...

So 6th try a bust. How in the world have I managed to grow one to 22.5 inches in 2018?! I don't remember going to anything like that, to such extremes...

Post in thread 'African arowana from Wes'

Nov 15, 2018

Minus two. Zero for two.

Just lost my second aro a few hours ago. Its 240 gal tank overflowed when I was working outside. I came in too late. The aro drowned. I even tried mouth to mouth out of desperation but to no avail. Just like one of my lungfishes a month or two back.

I have had it for almost exactly a year. Came in at 8". Last measurement 22.5". Smart fish and perpetually hungry. Sadly not smart enough to lift a lid and take a breath.

No one to blame but myself.

I've never seen such mouth apparatus as in this fish:


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• thebiggerthebetter

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