Arrowana Noob

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Chago09

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Jun 8, 2006
587
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Ontario
OK I'm doing my homework as of now... I have never bought one before, and have only seen very few in pet stores. One guy I know has a 30" Gold arrowana in his shop... not for sale its his pet. I always see it when I go in there and always wanted one. I wanna ask a few questions and perhaps some arro experts can help me. I ask these here because websites cant really asnwer these I wanna know from people who own them.

1.) If the arro is only about 5" when purchased, how long can it live in a 6 foot 150 gallon tank??? or can it live in there for life with proper filtration and water changes???

2.) How is there behaviour???? skittish???glass banger???? swim freely??? responsive to me the owner???

3.) Feeding??? give me the info on feeding these guys like what kinds of foods??? are they picky??? sensitive??? how much??

4.) How big will it actually grow??? like give me a range... I am not sure what colour I want yet but i'm sure this info doesn't change just for the different colours.

5.) Are they sensitive to water quality??? I have a 135 gallon discus tank so will the arrow be more sensitive then them???

6.) As i know Silver is the least valuable type and Gold and Red are the most. Is there any other nice colours that are in between???

Thanks for the help
 
ok wellllll...

1.) I wouldnt put it in the 6 foot 150 because i believe then it is less wide, get the 5'X2'X2'X b/c then he could live in that for about a year and a half or at least till hes 24 inches... my rule is you want it as wide as him so he can comfortably turn around.
2.)Very skittish sometimes if I slam a phone down or accidentlly kick something he will jump up and knock his head... But on the other hand if you hand feed him and interact with him regularly though he will still be skittish( as it is there nature) it will be by far the best fish companion possible. He will let u pet him and even enjoy playing with your arm when its in the tank.
3.) Depends on size when babies like 3-5 inches feed him small krill pieces, or blood worms and black worms. Even small killiefish BUT not too many b/c its good to have him on prepared foods early. Then when they are about 6-12 inches get him on things like crickets mealworms and fish filet or shrimp. as now they are large enough to digest the shell. and when bigger then that they can eat a lot of stuff even whole shrimps.
4.) Well silvers can get to 4 feet BUT in aquariums the biggest u really see are like 24 inches-36..... 36 being huge! usually people use to get rid of them or they would die by then but now we are getting the hang ouf it. Asians and jardidis dont get as lage and tend the be fatter and shorter then silvers and blacks. but still get bigger then 2 feet,
5.) Not particularly but still need good upkeep.... less sensitive than discus thats for sure. They can adapt to high nitrates but ammonia and nitrite is a NO
6.) well theres greens and cross backs but all asians are pretty expensive.
 
Hello Chago

1.) Your arowana can live there in the 150gallons for like 2 years but wouldn't it be better if you can give your arowana a bigger space to start with? :)

2.)Behavior of arowanas vary....some might be skittish if placed in a new environment. I have an arowana in my pond and I can hold him/her whenever he is near the surface.

3.)With regards to feeding.....you can feed them shrimps, frogs, meal worms, superworms. Some people feed them beef heart or chicken heart. Sometimes I feed mine with cockroach...lots of cockroach in my part of the globe.

4.) Asian arowanas could grow more or less 2.5ft and the silver arowanas could get bigger than 3ft.

5.) With regards to sensitivity....I don't find them sensitive. Just give them their weekly or twice a week water change. (I have more problems with discus) :D

6.) There is the Silver Arowana, Black Arowana, Jardini, Leichdarti (did I get the spelling right?), Malaysian Gold (Green), Yellow Tail/Banjar Red/1.5red, Red tail golden, Super Red, and Crossback.

Hope I answered your questions correctly. Happy Arowana Keeping.
 
you said asians are expensive??? how much roughly.... like i know the golds and the reds are the most but are there not some that can be bought for like $100 if small???
 
hmmmmm i think greens can be that much but im not sure Im not allowd to have them here in the u.s.***. may be some one can pop in to varify asian arowana prices.... i know they are the most expesive kinds.
 
Chago...you are from Ontario, Canada right? Arowanas are legal there? Maybe you can ask your LFS for some Green Arowanas. I don't know how much arowanas are in Canada. I think there are some forumers from Canada here who could help you out.
 
Here are some rough ideas for prices, this would be for young fish( 4-6") and price depends on quality:
Green: 400-500
RTG: 900-1300
Super Red: 1800-3000
Cross Back Gold: 3800-8000


Good Luck
 
sounds like the basics have been covered. Arowana's are different than any other fish. They are hard to keep, some say, but the reward in the end is worth it all.

They are spooky, especially the first year, and they can be quite devious. Yes, they'll jump out of your tank even when you think it's weighted plenty solid. They generally spend their lives deciding if they can eat their tankmates or not.

They all have different personalities, looking foreward to hearing how it goes!!
 
If you live near Mississauga or are willing to commute you could check out Dragon aquarium or Big AL's of Mississauga. They always have Asians in stock. Prices do vary but I have never seen a green any more than $400, well unless they were full grown.
 
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