Help! Arowana is acting really strange

[rose1468]

So my 14” silver arowana has been hiding in the corner and swimming with his head out of the water occasionally. He has no appetite and he spazzes out when the lights shut off. He dissembled my air jet so i thought that was the issue and took it out. There was a red tail cat fish in the tank as well, but i just moved him to a different tank because he was messing with the Aro.
The aro is in my 125 gallon tank with 2 canister filters and i just took out the jet. There is also bubble bars. please help

 

[rose1468]

He acts normal when the lights are on but when they go off he darts and swims with his head upward but not totally vertical.

 

[islandguy11]

This behavior is quite common with younger Aros, but your fish is 14", so not super young -- how long has it already been in that tank?

Maybe it was stressed out by the RTC and is still scared, esp. when the lights go out. I would leave the lights on but partially cover the top of tank with cardboard or similar so there's some light in the tank (or at least one end of the tank) but not total darkness.

After it realizes it's safer now with the RTC gone maybe it will relax more and more and then you can reduce the lighting at night.

As a side point: others may come along and say 125 is already too small for a 14" Aro (and I wouldn't disagree with them); in fact this could be contributing to its stress: when Aros feel space constrained they're more likely to be stressed and jumpy.

 

[rose1468]

This behavior is quite common with younger Aros, but your fish is 14", so not super young -- how long has it already been in that tank?

Maybe it was stressed out by the RTC and is still scared, esp. when the lights go out. I would leave the lights on but partially cover the top of tank with cardboard or similar so there's some light in the tank (or at least one end of the tank) but not total darkness.

After it realizes it's safer now with the RTC gone maybe it will relax more and more and then you can reduce the lighting at night.

As a side point: others may come along and say 125 is already too small for a 14" Aro (and I wouldn't disagree with them); in fact this could be contributing to its stress: when Aros feel space constrained they're more likely to be stressed and jumpy.

Thank you for answering ! I have covered the light at night with a sheet so it is dim for about a week now and he was acting fine even with the RTC in there. Since the RTc is gone now, i bought a dim almost “night light” for the top of the tank when i turn the light off. I just bought the 125 and have been looking for a bigger tank for him because i noticed it isn’t big enough. Thank you for the feedback i really appreciate it.

 

[islandguy11]

Thank you for answering ! I have covered the light at night with a sheet so it is dim for about a week now and he was acting fine even with the RTC in there. Since the RTc is gone now, i bought a dim almost “night light” for the top of the tank when i turn the light off. I just bought the 125 and have been looking for a bigger tank for him because i noticed it isn’t big enough. Thank you for the feedback i really appreciate it.

You're welcome (even if maybe it wasn't so helpful ) So just to clarify though, when did your Aro start getting spooked at night, after you took out the RTC or after the RTC started messing with him?

Also good luck to find a new tank, I know they're not cheap new esp. in US/CAN/EURO, but I've seen some peeps on here finding great deals on Craigslist. You'd have to be careful about quality of such a tank but it might be somewhere to start. Or watch MFK's marketplace too, maybe somebody getting out of the hobby and might give you a nice deal if in the same area.

 

[rose1468]

You're welcome (even if maybe it wasn't so helpful ) So just to clarify though, when did your Aro start getting spooked at night, after you took out the RTC or after the RTC started messing with him?

Also good luck to find a new tank, I know they're not cheap new esp. in US/CAN/EURO, but I've seen some peeps on here finding great deals on Craigslist. You'd have to be careful about quality of such a tank but it might be somewhere to start. Or watch MFK's marketplace too, maybe somebody getting out of the hobby and might give you a nice deal if in the same area.

He started getting spooked when the RTC was still in the tank, then he is still getting spooked at night even with the RTC out of the tank.

 

[islandguy11]

He started getting spooked when the RTC was still in the tank, then he is still getting spooked at night even with the RTC out of the tank.

Hmm, then again the only thing I can personally think of is that it's related to the RTC giving it a hard time (esp. if it were worse at night when you were sleeping).

Perhaps others can chime in with ideas, but I'm also thinking that hopefully your Aro will settle down over a little more time if it was freaked out by the RTC. A bit different situation, but my young Xback (in a solo tank) absolutely hated darkness for the first month or two but recently seems to be calming down more in this regard (but I still can't turn off all the lights and have to use a tank lid cover same as I advised above).

 

[rose1468]

Hmm, then again the only thing I can personally think of is that it's related to the RTC giving it a hard time (esp. if it were worse at night when you were sleeping).

Perhaps others can chime in with ideas, but I'm also thinking that hopefully your Aro will settle down over a little more time if it was freaked out by the RTC. A bit different situation, but my young Xback (in a solo tank) absolutely hated darkness for the first month or two but recently seems to be calming down more in this regard (but I still can't turn off all the lights and have to use a tank lid cover same as I advised above).

thank you so much for your feedback. I’m hoping he calms down within the next few days.

 

[narayanang76]

Standing in one corner is normal and this happens with most Arowanas when they get into a new tank. they take time to get used to the new tank environment and the people around. is the 125 fully cycled? having a fully cycled tank is also an absolute necessity to get the fish out of this hiding nature. I would also suggest keeping the room light on during the night, to avoid complete darkness for the fish.

Regarding head out of the water, if it happens occasionally then it should be fine. Just watch if the fish is gasping for air more frequently. This may be due to the dissolved oxygen in the water. You will need more water surface agitation that being the case.

Lastly, like many others mentioned, 125 is small for a Silver Aro, so get a large one asap.

 

[islandguy11]

Standing in one corner is normal and this happens with most Arowanas when they get into a new tank. they take time to get used to the new tank environment and the people around. is the 125 fully cycled? having a fully cycled tank is also an absolute necessity to get the fish out of this hiding nature. I would also suggest keeping the room light on during the night, to avoid complete darkness for the fish.

Regarding head out of the water, if it happens occasionally then it should be fine. Just watch if the fish is gasping for air more frequently. This may be due to the dissolved oxygen in the water. You will need more water surface agitation that being the case.

Lastly, like many others mentioned, 125 is small for a Silver Aro, so get a large one asap.

Nice to see you around narayanang76, hope you and your golden beauty Flash are doing well. (and Rose1468 his advice has helped me and my Aros, good guy to listen to when it comes to successfully raising these fish).