My silver aro stays in one spot, whats wrong?

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J

Jumpman

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Jun 25, 2010
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California
First off, Hello fellow aro enthusiasts! I just recently purchased my first aro, had him for 3 weeks now n he's about 8". The problem is that for most of the day he stays in one corner near the surface of the water, where the water returns back to the tank from my filter. Is this normal?? My filter is on one end of the tank and there is a powerhead and heater on the other end. Occasionally, he swims to the powerhead side but doesn't stay there for too long. I feed him hikari sticks once a day and he is not refusing food so, in my mind, hes healthy. But, I'm sure his lack of movement proves otherwise. I do weekly 15% water changes.

A couple of things I was pondering:
1) My powerhead doesn't create adequate water flow/circulation around the tank, whereas the area under my backhanging filter does which is why he stays there. Do I need a stronger powerhead?

2) Maybe there isn't enough CO2 in the water so I was thinking of buying a air pump and air stones to get more oxygen in the water.

Honestly, Ican't figure this out so Ive come to MFK for your expertise. Any advice is appreciated. I don't want my aro to go to fish heaven so soon.
 
i think your silver aro doesnt like the powerhead's current but im sure overtime as it gets bigger and fatter it will swim around more,and how big is this tank? i think 15% waterchange isnt enough,i do 35%-50% weekly waterchange for all my tanks
 
Interesting, I'll take out the powerhead to see if that works. I never thought about that. My tank is only 75g...I know I know, too small for an adult size aro, but its sufficient for now. Maybe I'll try a 15% water change bi-weekly. I would think that taking out half of the water and replacing it all at one time is way too much, but I'm probably wrong about that. But, thanks for the advice
 
Jumpman;4240101; said:
1) My powerhead doesn't create adequate water flow/circulation around the tank, whereas the area under my backhanging filter does which is why he stays there. Do I need a stronger powerhead?
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Sounds to me like it is hanging out in an area with stronger current then the powerhead? If so then the powerhead probably has nothing to do with it, especially if the aro is 8" and you claim to have a weak powerhead. If there is concern with the powerhead you can always just direct the flow more towards the glass.

What may be happening is that the aro is shy and just finds comfort in that area of the tank. You could try adding some floating plants to help make the aro feel more secure. As for the water changes, I change 50% on most all my tanks every 5-7 days. Just need to make sure pH and temp don't vary a bunch and you'll be fine. I would say do at least a 25% change weekly if the aro is all thats in the tank, you can find out how much is needed for sure by regular testing of your nitrates.

Realize this fish grow on average 1 to 1.5" per month and even 3" per month is not unheard of. That tank of yours will only support a silver aro up to about 16".
 
Jumpman;4240101; said:
First off, Hello fellow aro enthusiasts! I just recently purchased my first aro, had him for 3 weeks now n he's about 8". The problem is that for most of the day he stays in one corner near the surface of the water, where the water returns back to the tank from my filter. Is this normal?? My filter is on one end of the tank and there is a powerhead and heater on the other end. Occasionally, he swims to the powerhead side but doesn't stay there for too long. I feed him hikari sticks once a day and he is not refusing food so, in my mind, hes healthy. But, I'm sure his lack of movement proves otherwise. I do weekly 15% water changes.

A couple of things I was pondering:
1) My powerhead doesn't create adequate water flow/circulation around the tank, whereas the area under my backhanging filter does which is why he stays there. Do I need a stronger powerhead?

2) Maybe there isn't enough CO2 in the water so I was thinking of buying a air pump and air stones to get more oxygen in the water.

Honestly, Ican't figure this out so Ive come to MFK for your expertise. Any advice is appreciated. I don't want my aro to go to fish heaven so soon.
Click to expand...
Mine did this until it was about 10", IDK why, but it is a nice 23 incher now (I got it at about 5" around Aug.-Sep. 2009), so I don't think there was ever aything wrong with it (other than the fact that it developed DE extremely early, but that wouldn't affect its health). But like the others said, you need to do more w/c's (probably between 25%-40% a week depending on your stock and tank size).

Also, there are two major problems with #2, for one thing, fish fish need oxygen, not carbon dioxide, and also, adding O2 wouldn't cause an increase in CO2...
 
SOrry just read that after rereading his post. I wouldnt stress to much then. Water changes and what bderick said should work fine. I wouldnt think that a healthy aro would have problems with powerheads.
 
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