Is suicide a sign of stress?

[Bderick67]

First off, how big and what species is your arowana? How long have you had it? What size tank is it currently being kept in? Any tankmates, ifso type and size?

Although arowanas do jump for food, they don't just jump aimlessly hoping to grab a bite. So it is very unlikely that your aro is not attempting to eat. Most likely your aro is jumping to get away, it may feel you are a threat. It doesn't think about this it just reacts. You may try adding some floating plants to give it a sense of security. It may just need some time to adjust.

 

[xFLEAxx]

No man dont worry that just what aros do. Make sure you keep it closed.

 

[dmopar74]

No man dont worry that just what aros do. Make sure you keep it closed.

that is not "just what aros do".
yes aro's do ocassionaly jump, but if its happening constantly then theres a reason for it. it could be poor water quality, stress, too small of a tank, hunger, and many, many other factors. in my experiences the 2 biggest reasons seem to be 1. the tank is too small or crowded, or 2. too boisterous of tankmates.
some aro's of even the same species are more jumpy than others, but its not "just what aro's do" by any means.

 

[BlackGhostKnifelovr]

I think mine used to jump cause he felt threatened by my tinfoils, they were bigger than him and constantly jetting around the mid section of the tank, i think they kept scaring him with quick movements

 

[PatrickTheArowana]

they always jump..in the wild they leap out of water to get insects off branches over the water....[yt]<object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/s7EVn84WV_M&hl=en&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/s7EVn84WV_M&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>[/yt]

That's cool!

 

[benzjamin13]

Maybe the air bubbles are scaring it. Try using a powerhead. Maybe that'll help.

 

[TMDragon]

A good indication of when your silver is frightened is if you see it slowly approaching the surface and then suddenly whip down. My silver does it occasionally if I move too fast while doing something in or right next to the tank. Everytime I see it doing that, I back off of the tank for a bit and let it calm down. While it doesn't happen very often with mine anymore, when it was around 6 inches, it would do it quite a bit and was almost a sure sign of a jump into my glass lids back then.

I've also seen the same behavior in videos of much larger silvers doing the same thing. The owner would video tape his aro and get up real close, the aro will get scared and start to whip, yet the owner continues recording and right before his very eyes the silver flies out of the tank on camera. I had this one video in mind where someone was feeding his silver a mouse and he claimed it choked and then jumped out in the video. I can't seem to find it though, I wanted to post it so you would know what I was talking about above. Ah well, the point of this post is that if you see your aro expressing this behavior, it's best to leave it alone for a bit or keep an eye on it from a distance.

I would also add things to make it feel more comfortable. Try floating some large plastic plants like Bderick suggested. That worked for my silver when it was around that size. Don't know if that helps at all, Good Luck.

 

[jay17]

since we cant ask the aros why they jump, as those people who are planning to jump of a building if they are doing it to escape from stress.. lol

 

[ewurm]

that is not "just what aros do".
yes aro's do ocassionaly jump, but if its happening constantly then theres a reason for it. it could be poor water quality, stress, too small of a tank, hunger, and many, many other factors. in my experiences the 2 biggest reasons seem to be 1. the tank is too small or crowded, or 2. too boisterous of tankmates.
some aro's of even the same species are more jumpy than others, but its not "just what aro's do" by any means.

I agree it could be a variety of issues, or maybe there was a fly on the wall. They do it in the wild, they will do it in the tank. I have had a Pbass, LMB, Oscar, etc all leap out of the tank for food.