housing an arowana.. (correctly)

[ettfettbranamn]

first post.. YEEEY.. ..sort of..

hey, everybody.. i've been planning for an aro for a couple of months, done my research, and of course opinions differ.. i guess the little bastard first of all wont eat and probably when he does he will probably take a bite out of my little datnoid or my ornate or something equally expensive..

well.. I will get him at 2-3" and after what i've heard and seen he is a fast grower.. my tank is 6,6 feet / 29"/29" with sand so all in all it maybe.. 230-40 gallons in there..

now for the question.. the choice (if I decide to get him/her) is between the asian (no fancy coloring) type and the silver.. ..no hating on but americans tend to wet themselves with joy when hearing of the asians as they are illegal to import (correct me if i'm wrong) so the rare perspective is not relevant.. however.. ..how long can i keep this monster with a clear conscience? the tank is far from overstocked as of today.. if I could i would buy them both as I will have no difficulties getting rid of one to an allmost equally sized tank.. what do you think?

 

[pwmin]

if you go by 3 times the length of the fish, it would only be good for a 24" fish (i think you mean 6feet (72in.) not 6.6ft. (78in.). it could, however, but kept until its 29" long, but wouldnt have a whole lot of swimming room. might be good for a couple years. i'm talking about silvers/blacks. probably would be okay for life for other species

 

[Bogwoodbruce]

If you went for a jardini it could probably live in there for Life.

 

[cichlid savage]

I think 18 months - 2 yrs before you would probably need to rehouse.

 

[sQwiReL]

i would go for an asian aro since you will have no problems housing any asian aro in the size tank you have. if you decide to go for the silver, many people will tell you to upgrade within a couple of years as cichlid savage mentioned.

get a comm of asian aros and that would look awesome. do what the americans cant do and we will be jealous =)

 

[ettfettbranamn]

if you go by 3 times the length of the fish, it would only be good for a 24" fish (i think you mean 6feet (72in.) not 6.6ft. (78in.). it could, however, but kept until its 29" long, but wouldnt have a whole lot of swimming room. might be good for a couple years. i'm talking about silvers/blacks. probably would be okay for life for other species

actually i mean 6.6 feet.. 2 meters.. the conversion tool said so.. I'm from sweden so the measurements are not quite the same.. if it means anything to you it's 1100 litres.. =S

three times the length of the fish.. 2 feet that would be.. about 60 cm.. I don't know about the silvers for you guys but after what i've understood the ones in the states are mainly wild caught wich would mean stronger genes.. at the LFS (took me a while to figure that (abbriviation?) out) they told me the breeded ones would probably reach a maximum of 80 cm translated roughly into 2,5 feet and the asians would stop at about 60 cm.. 2 feet..

damn it.. I think the silver (if I could find and afford the black) body shape is more appealing but the size is a problem..

 

[ettfettbranamn]

If you went for a jardini it could probably live in there for Life.

jupp.. i have taken that into consideration.. but then again.. ..I will rather upgrade than keep a fleshthirsting, bloodhungry, notveryniceguymakingeverythingafeederandlikingit monster.. and I think it is a bit uglier than most other species of arowana.. but IF I would choose 1 fish to keep the fleshthirsty thing would be a winner.. =D

 

[ettfettbranamn]

i would go for an asian aro since you will have no problems housing any asian aro in the size tank you have. if you decide to go for the silver, many people will tell you to upgrade within a couple of years as cichlid savage mentioned.

get a comm of asian aros and that would look awesome. do what the americans cant do and we will be jealous =)

haha.. and than as an act of revenge you will start calling me a WW2 coward

no jokes aside.. I've read some posts from savage and he seems like he knows what he is talking about (and others).. and I would'nt get a fish that I cannot provide a good home.. but then again I might just get both approx 100$ for both at 2" and then upgrade for the silver.. I like buying fish at an early age and make them a project.. how much does the growth rate differ between the two? hmm.. so many fish, so little time..

 

[pwmin]

78x29x29 would be 284 gal (231 cu.in./gal), so about 1100L like you just said. you said earlier that it was 230-40gal (i doubt you have 40 gallons of sand in there). anyway, not bashing or trying to argue, just letting you know why i assumed 6 feet. that would only give you 2 more inches, anyway.

most of the silvers in the states are captive-breed. i like growing up fish, too and not getting at a large size. i would go asian if i could or black secondary.

 

[Bderick67]

Personally I like the silver/blacks better then the asians, although if i could own one I probably would. I think with the demensions you gave for your tank, you could properly keep a silver aro until it was about 30" even though your tank is a little short in length. I think it would take 5-8 years for a 2-3" silver aro to grow to 30", although it could grow a little quicker and may stay at 30" for even longer.