Arowana

[safwansidd]

Hi guys I have an albino arowana he’s around 18 inches and his body has an arc to it right on his back and I don’t know if it’s his genetics or some injury that must’ve happened. He’s grown up with it so he’s perfectly healthy and everything. Just wanted to make sure if this is a thing cause I’ve seen some Aro’s have a body shape unique to themselves. Will attach a couple pictures below for better understanding.

 

[thebiggerthebetter]

It is not surprising for a mutant to manifest several deviations from the norm. Mutations occur in bunches, not one by one. You get an albino fish, you can be sure it's got other deviations, visible or not, and is likely to have weaker health and shorter lifespan.

I also had a normal colored silver aro looking similar to yours for many years. Her nick was Kinky. She was a female, you can see it by the longer pelvic fin extensions, or such is my observation and supposition. She was a beta in our aro school of 5 we were growing up from 3". They were growing up together and it was challenging alpha all the time to a fight. One morning we woke up and it was like that in a 120 gal tank when they were were around 5"-6".

I assumed it threw out a vertebra when fighting. I took it out and tried to push the bone back but couldn't get a good grip. They are slippery fellas. I let it be. Here is Kinky at roughly 30"-36".

 

[Unit-3]

Hi guys I have an albino arowana he’s around 18 inches and his body has an arc to it right on his back and I don’t know if it’s his genetics or some injury that must’ve happened. He’s grown up with it so he’s perfectly healthy and everything. Just wanted to make sure if this is a thing cause I’ve seen some Aro’s have a body shape unique to themselves. Will attach a couple pictures below for better understanding. View attachment 1410344View attachment 1410345

So, good news first. Your specimen (I think it's female, don't be sure until you can get a pair) is NOT genetically weakened or physically damaged in any way. If that were the case, it would have trouble swimming. It definitely is thicker than that expected of a silver arowana (or I would believe it to be a silver arowana), and the tail fin is definitely tightly packed to the body. How large of a tank do you keep this little dooder in? The spine isn't showing any obvious (to me) signs of damage or bending.
Don't quote me on its sex, because I'm not a breeder and I have less than 10 years of experience with even KEEPING these things, adorable as they are (not really, my old one almost broke my finger bone). Apparently, from what we currently know, the male usually has a sort of 45° angle, while females have a steeper jawline like yours. Males also tend to have larger heads (so they can hold the fry in their throat pouches) than the females, and they should have a more snake-like appearance as opposed to the thicker and shorter body of a female, who holds the eggs.

 

[safwansidd]

So, good news first. Your specimen (I think it's female, don't be sure until you can get a pair) is NOT genetically weakened or physically damaged in any way. If that were the case, it would have trouble swimming. It definitely is thicker than that expected of a silver arowana (or I would believe it to be a silver arowana), and the tail fin is definitely tightly packed to the body. How large of a tank do you keep this little dooder in? The spine isn't showing any obvious (to me) signs of damage or bending.
Don't quote me on its sex, because I'm not a breeder and I have less than 10 years of experience with even KEEPING these things, adorable as they are (not really, my old one almost broke my finger bone). Apparently, from what we currently know, the male usually has a sort of 45° angle, while females have a steeper jawline like yours. Males also tend to have larger heads (so they can hold the fry in their throat pouches) than the females, and they should have a more snake-like appearance as opposed to the thicker and shorter body of a female, who holds the eggs.

Yes it’s really hard to determine their sex until they’re full grown and even then it’s a matter of chance. But I personally think he’s male cause of the protruding jaw (you can tell better in person) and also I could be wrong guess I’ll have to wait and see with time. He’s EXTREMELY thick compared to my silver Arowana or other Arowana’s I’ve personally seen I’ve questions regarding that as well, if it’s the variety of protein rich foods I give him. I’ll leave a top view picture of him below. Also, i’ve kept him in a 4 feet tank for now will be upgrading to a 6x2.5x2 in a couple months.

 

[safwansidd]

It is not surprising for a mutant to manifest several deviations from the norm. Mutations occur in bunches, not one by one. You get an albino fish, you can be sure it's got other deviations, visible or not, and is likely to have weaker health and shorter lifespan.

I also had a normal colored silver aro looking similar to yours for many years. Her nick was Kinky. She was a female, you can see it by the longer pelvic fin extensions, or such is my observation and supposition. She was a beta in our aro school of 5 we were growing up from 3". They were growing up together and it was challenging alpha all the time to a fight. One morning we woke up and it was like that in a 120 gal tank when they were were around 5"-6".

I assumed it threw out a vertebra when fighting. I took it out and tried to push the bone back but couldn't get a good grip. They are slippery fellas. I let it be. Here is Kinky at roughly 30"-36".

View attachment 1410363View attachment 1410364

Wow I didn’t think that could be a thing honestly. So all albino Arowana’s are prone to deviations? I personally think these deviations make them look unique in some way as long as it’s not causing any potential harm to their health ofcourse.

 

[Unit-3]

Wow I didn’t think that could be a thing honestly. So all albino Arowana’s are prone to deviations? I personally think these deviations make them look unique in some way as long as it’s not causing any potential harm to their health ofcourse.

All organisms will deviate slightly from their 'perfect' envisioning of a generic specimen. That, and then there's the Outlier rule, which is in essential "There's the generic one, and then there's THAT GUY in the corner." I personally think that it adds on to their unique personalities and everything. And then there's THAT GUY- (camera cuts off, replaced by static.)

 

[thebiggerthebetter]

The curvature / arch in your arowana back and the thickness of it are both deformations, that is deviation from the norm. It looks short too, like in the short-body fashion. All three observations fall into pace and agree with each other. You got a fish with some kind of short-body syndrome. I hate to state this because it is not good news for the fish well-being but beware that short-body fish possess the weakest health and shortest lifespan in the kin.

Normal arowana has a back that's straight as an arrow, as in our bottom specimen in the first picture.

 

[safwansidd]

The curvature / arch in your arowana back and the thickness of it are both deformations, that is deviation from the norm. It looks short too, like in the short-body fashion. All three observations fall into pace and agree with each other. You got a fish with some kind of short-body syndrome. I hate to state this because it is not good news for the fish well-being but beware that short-body fish possess the weakest health and shortest lifespan in the kin.

Normal arowana has a back that's straight as an arrow, as in our bottom specimen in the first picture.

Of what I’ve noticed over these 10 months I’ve had him (he was 4 or 5 inches when I got him) he’s grown healthy and touched 18 to 19 inches approx in these 10 months as of today so I haven’t noticed any problem in growth regarding the “short-body syndrome” link. It’s just the shape he developed overtime, I’ve grown to like it tbh cause it separates him from the other Aro’s I have who are the generic ones. He’s the striking one in the room when anyone walks in and looks at. Real personable and interactive fish this one out of all I have just HOPE there are no health complications in the future.