arowana VERY skittish

[EmrePekdeniz]

Hello people,

I have a 8'' young arowana in my 100 gallon paludarium. The problem is, my arowana has been very skittish for the last few days. When it senses any motion outside the tank, it gets very skittish and darts like mad, and even bumps into the glass. It takes minutes for it to calm down. I also see the arowana swimming like a snake, up and down the wall, when it gets very excited.

I got this arowana from an owner who was keeping it in a 27 gallon tank with a similar-sized pleco, a ghost knife fish and a small cory. I bought them altogether. I wonder if this is traumatic behaviour. The tank is triangular and I have duckweed floating.

So, why do you think my arowana is so skittish, and what can I do to calm it down?

The pictures here:
http://s1139.photobucket.com/albums/n548/Pekdeniz/

Edit: I switched off the lights, does that help?

 

[Kaya]

hey there.. it will take its time to settle into a new tank and environment.. where is the tank located..its fine leaving the tank light switched off but do leave a small night light on around the tank at night.. no sudden movements in front of the fish.. in about a day or two it should be fine.. your aro is feeding right?

 

[EmrePekdeniz]

hey there.. it will take its time to settle into a new tank and environment.. where is the tank located..its fine leaving the tank light switched off but do leave a small night light on around the tank at night.. no sudden movements in front of the fish.. in about a day or two it should be fine.. your aro is feeding right?

Hi,

It's been two weeks since I got the fish. It was a generally calm fish, but the last few days has been extremely skittish. Yes it accepts food, mostly anchovy, but didn't accept any today.

 

[BC1]

I have a blue arowana that would not eat in front of me for the better part of two months. It would freak out every time it saw me. I had to leave the room for it to eat. I got it at around 8 inches as well. Now it will come up for food just like the other fish in the tank. I didn't keep the tank dim, just turned the lights off and on at regular times. Just be patient and keep water quality up. They tend to be skittish until they get some size on them anyway. Mines is about 13 inches now just to give an idea ow when to expect it to come out of it's shell.

 

[EmrePekdeniz]

Thanks for sharing your experiences. My arowana did accept food in my presence, but something has really spooked it in the last few days and I don't know what.

I have two theories: 1) the arowana is trying to attack its own reflection. The tank is triangular and the arowana spends a lot of time at the corner, where it may see multiple reflections of itself, so maybe that's the reason. 2) the family cat is spooking the fish. I've seen the fish reacting and not reacting to the cat, so I'm not sure about this either, sometimes the fish is startled for no visible reason at all.

 

[Chaitika]

If it were the reflections, then it would have been skittish right after being landed in the tank.

Are you sure it hasn't injured itself? Missing scales? Torn fin?

Water quality is good?

Otherwise, I'd spend time sitting in front of the tank, moving very casually in order to see if that helps the aro settle in.

 

[Bad_A$$_Fishguy]

Yeah, try not turning the lights directly on in the mornings. Turn a room light on first for a bit then turn the tank lights on. Also leaving a nightlight in the area will also help. He just needs to re-acclimate to his new environment. Be thoughtful around the tank with sudden movements until he settles.

 

[EmrePekdeniz]

Water quality is good, I do water changes and I have a new powerful filter, plus floating plants and clams. No fin damage and no missing scales, if there's damage it must be internal. Is it the pleco? Is it the cat? I hate it when the arowana hides between the roots instead of moving on the surface.

If it doesn't accept any food tomorrow, I'll start getting worried.

 

[Bderick67]

Arowana are skittish by nature. Your tanks shape and the shallow water on adds to the aro's nervous nature. The reason it stays in tthe back corner is because that is where it feels most secure, being farthest point away from activity outside the tank.

That arowana is going to require a multi-hundred gallon tank within a year. Average growth of silver aros is 1-1.5" per month and even spurts of 3" per month are common. So figure your aro will grow 12-18" within the next year, hope your planning tank size accordingly.

 

[EmrePekdeniz]

Your tanks shape and the shallow water on adds to the aro's nervous nature.

Really? I remember reading the opposite, that leaving some space between the water surface and the lid makes the arowana feel safer.

I've been watching the tank and I see the pleco occasionally pestering the arowana. Very occasionally, though. What are your experiences with plecos in arowana tanks? It even tried to suck the arowana's scales once. Can that be the problem? The pleco is getting on my nerves, I intend to remove it from the tank.

And yes, I know about arowana tank size requirements. That interjection was redundant.