Is this normal behavior? (VID)

[JV_Z06]

5" Silver Aro
Water parameters: VERY GOOD

Today I noticed that my Aro kept squirming/coiling its body. Is this normal or a sign of stress? Overfed? Last Saturday it ate more or less 4 neon tetras and 1 guppy; Yesterday it ate 1 minnow. It has not eaten anything since this morning.

I've only had it for a week and I have been trying to get it off live feeders but no luck. You will also see on the vid that there are still bloodworms floating. That is just about the only thing it eats (very small portion only) on top of the live feeders.

VID:

[video=youtube_share;p92zFg7rFg0]http://youtu.be/p92zFg7rFg0[/video]

 

[fds]

when i got mine he did the exact same thing, now he is used to the tank and doesn't do it anymore. hope this helps beautiful tank btw

 

[JV_Z06]

when i got mine he did the exact same thing, now he is used to the tank and doesn't do it anymore. hope this helps beautiful tank btw

Thank you. I really hope it's just the aro trying to get used to its new habitat.

 

[Bderick67]

Don't see any abnormal behavior. I can't eat feeder fish if you don't put them in the tank. Stop feeding feeders and only feed pellets.

 

[Gandalf]

The problem is, my guess, the glass. Looks like he just can't understand the glass; my arowana began to have this problem, and it stopped immediately after I put a towel/rag over the two sides of the tank, so only the front was open. He will probably get used to the idea of it though; what I would do is get some plants and put some on each side of the tank, so he knows where the wall is.

 

[JV_Z06]

Don't see any abnormal behavior. I can't eat feeder fish if you don't put them in the tank. Stop feeding feeders and only feed pellets.

Thank you.

I did away with feeders for 2 days but thenI read somewhere it's not a good idea to starve a young aro so I put back some feeders. During those 2 days the aro did not respond to sticks, pellets, krill and fresh market shrimp. Ill try once more to do away with feeders gradually this time.

 

[JV_Z06]

The problem is, my guess, the glass. Looks like he just can't understand the glass; my arowana began to have this problem, and it stopped immediately after I put a towel/rag over the two sides of the tank, so only the front was open. He will probably get used to the idea of it though; what I would do is get some plants and put some on each side of the tank, so he knows where the wall is.

I thought of that as well but the strange thing is it only displayed such behavior after a week in the new tank. Crossing my fingers that it's nothing bad.

 

[aeri]

I didn't see anything abnormal.
other than at 1:30 he tries to bite his reflection.

He might be "squirming" because he's swimming into the glass. perhaps it took a week for him to get comfortable, and he is now either looking for food or claiming his territory against other aros (aka his reflection, although faint because under water they should be able to see through the glass).

Does very good water parameters mean you haven't tested it?

As for feeding, chopped up beefheart, crickets or superworms I find are the easiest foods for picky fish to transition off feeders. But silvers should adapt to pellets very easily. Some fish won't eat until you've left the room either.

 

[JV_Z06]

I didn't see anything abnormal.
other than at 1:30 he tries to bite his reflection.

He might be "squirming" because he's swimming into the glass. perhaps it took a week for him to get comfortable, and he is now either looking for food or claiming his territory against other aros (aka his reflection, although faint because under water they should be able to see through the glass).

Does very good water parameters mean you haven't tested it?

As for feeding, chopped up beefheart, crickets or superworms I find are the easiest foods for picky fish to transition off feeders. But silvers should adapt to pellets very easily. Some fish won't eat until you've left the room either.

Thank you for chiming in.

I tested the water and it's well within the recommended parameters for Arowanas.

Today, it is not swimming around as much and just sitting on the sand at the bottom left of the tank. I'm a bit worried.

 

[mainstreet]

you got a beautiful tank I don't know enough about them to chime in about behavior patterns but I like your setup a lot, whats the size of your tank?