Need help setting up first tank for Arowana + Fire Eel
- Thread starter yangcliu
- Start date
My thoughts...
If you're getting a small eel then get it now so it gets a head start on the aro, which will grow much faster. If you buy them both now then get a fire eel thats bigger than the aro.
And why not just wait until you're back at home with the 180g to get the arowana? I'm not sure how long you're going to be at school for or how far away it is from home, but moving any arowana is stressful for both the fish and owner. IMO being patient and waiting until you're settled before getting the fish would be a good idea. Think about where life is going to take you over the next few years, and if you can really commit to housing and maintaining such a large fish. I had a black aro in a 150g in my bedroom when I was at school and had to sell it when I finished as I moved house about 8 times over the 10 years from when I finished school until I bought my own house and settling down. It had nearly out-grown the 150g and there was no way I would have been wanting to shift a 2' fish and an even bigger tank around the country, taking it to the LFS was hard enough!
If you're getting a small eel then get it now so it gets a head start on the aro, which will grow much faster. If you buy them both now then get a fire eel thats bigger than the aro.
And why not just wait until you're back at home with the 180g to get the arowana? I'm not sure how long you're going to be at school for or how far away it is from home, but moving any arowana is stressful for both the fish and owner. IMO being patient and waiting until you're settled before getting the fish would be a good idea. Think about where life is going to take you over the next few years, and if you can really commit to housing and maintaining such a large fish. I had a black aro in a 150g in my bedroom when I was at school and had to sell it when I finished as I moved house about 8 times over the 10 years from when I finished school until I bought my own house and settling down. It had nearly out-grown the 150g and there was no way I would have been wanting to shift a 2' fish and an even bigger tank around the country, taking it to the LFS was hard enough!
I see where you're coming from. I thought of it too, but I supposed it would be easier for me to raise it here in my apartment for the first 2-3 months, then permanently move it into (my parent's) house.
I want the fish, so it wouldn't be fair to put the responsibility of taking care of it on my parents and such.
Also- nothing's in my living room besides a coffee table, TV, couch, and some empty furniture so I might as well spice it up.
I've been looking through countless dozens of videos on these fish and I'm still debating what to get.
Right now I'm interested in getting the arowana for sure, and maybe the fire eel, albino bicher, or something else.
I used to just want the silver arowana because it looks the most majestic, despite it being the most common, i think it looks the best.
But now.. the black/blue arowana is growing on me for some reason. Can anyone tell me which one looks better? I've only seen the silver in real life.
-I can probably get my hands on an Asian arowana since I have few contacts through my relatives that own them in the US- but they don't look as good imo.
I want the fish, so it wouldn't be fair to put the responsibility of taking care of it on my parents and such.
Also- nothing's in my living room besides a coffee table, TV, couch, and some empty furniture so I might as well spice it up.
I've been looking through countless dozens of videos on these fish and I'm still debating what to get.
Right now I'm interested in getting the arowana for sure, and maybe the fire eel, albino bicher, or something else.
I used to just want the silver arowana because it looks the most majestic, despite it being the most common, i think it looks the best.
But now.. the black/blue arowana is growing on me for some reason. Can anyone tell me which one looks better? I've only seen the silver in real life.
-I can probably get my hands on an Asian arowana since I have few contacts through my relatives that own them in the US- but they don't look as good imo.
Black aro is far nicer than silver, nowhere near as prone to DE or PLJ as a silver. IMO silvers get uglier as they get older, get thick and chunky and lose that serpentine elegance that younger blacks/silvers have. Blacks don't get as bulky and look more elegant at a larger size, IMO.
And if its only 2-3 months until you move back to your parents then you may as well wait, especially if you're getting a black. Whats the point in putting your fish (and yourself) through the hassles of moving it for the sake of getting it a couple of months earlier. The fish will have just settled into its tank and you'll be disturbing it again...
And if its only 2-3 months until you move back to your parents then you may as well wait, especially if you're getting a black. Whats the point in putting your fish (and yourself) through the hassles of moving it for the sake of getting it a couple of months earlier. The fish will have just settled into its tank and you'll be disturbing it again...
I got my aro at 5" when my TT eel (very close relative to the fire eel) was around 7-8", and they were fine together (and still are at 26" and 16"), so I'd say they make perfect tankmates as long as there's not a significant size difference between them. I agree with just about everything you said, but for filtration, I think the OP would be better off getting an FX5 and either a higher-end HOB or a smaller canister (ie Rena XP3, Cascade 1200, etc.) if he can afford it.Juxtaroberto;4777262; said:
IMO, any spiny eel will probably bring you more pleasure than a senegal bichir, don't get me wrong, I own both and I do find the bichir to be pretty interesting, but if I had to choose one or the other, I'd definitely go with the eel. As for black vs. silver, I'm not really a big fan of blacks. It is awesome that they don't get DE as often, but they often have far less color once they are 24-30", whereas some silvers (like mine) retain quite a bit of color on past the 24" mark (I've seen a few silvers on the internet that were 24"+ and still had 90% of their juvie coloration). And another + to silvers is that they often cost over $200 less than blacks.yangcliu;4777860; said:
I'll probably end up getting the Fluval canister but the setup I described earlier is being offered to me for $50, that's why I was considering it.
As for the black/silver arowana debate- I like the silver because its a pure color all around and I've noticed that blacks seem to become silver later on anyways besides their tail.
But that's the thing, the blacks seem more elegant as they are older whereas the silvers look more chunky. The black aros swimming just looks more fluid and streamlined imo. Any opinions on that?
I think I'm going to pass on the bicher since it just waddles on the bottom all day.
I want something relatively big and apparent in the tank like the arowana.
I want my tank like this
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WtI1D4Ezdx0
Dark with white light and blue accents... and it'd be cool if I got a black arowana with a deep blue on its fins, but that just depends on if I get lucky I guess.
Any chance of having fish less than 50% the size of arowana without it getting eaten?
As for the black/silver arowana debate- I like the silver because its a pure color all around and I've noticed that blacks seem to become silver later on anyways besides their tail.
But that's the thing, the blacks seem more elegant as they are older whereas the silvers look more chunky. The black aros swimming just looks more fluid and streamlined imo. Any opinions on that?
I think I'm going to pass on the bicher since it just waddles on the bottom all day.
I want something relatively big and apparent in the tank like the arowana.
I want my tank like this
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WtI1D4Ezdx0
Dark with white light and blue accents... and it'd be cool if I got a black arowana with a deep blue on its fins, but that just depends on if I get lucky I guess.
Any chance of having fish less than 50% the size of arowana without it getting eaten?
Can you set up an airstone under a filter to increase aeration, or would this defeat the purpose of aeration altogether?
