New member and new Arowana owner

[slv3rarowana]

Hello guy, glad I was able to find this great forum with so much information.
Like the title says, I am a new owner of 2 beautiful Silver Arowanas.
I am also new to the fish keeping hobby, I know some might get upset that I am jumping into something so adance.
I fell in love with the hobby about two months ago when it all started with a few goldfish for my little girl.
well after the 10 gallons came a 55 gallon and now I have a 220 gallon where I have the Arowanas in.
I am constantly checking on the water parameters and making sure they are good, I bought a test kit with the tubes and the drops with the scale to see where the parameter are.
I started the fish with a bottle of quick tank startup I believe, I got it a local fish aquarium location here in Richmond KY.
As for filtration, I have a 5-gallon bucket filled with Lava rocks and a polyester on top to catch any debris.
I have a pump that can pump 1100 GPH so I believe that should fine.
Could you guys take me to school in whats best in everything...from filtration to planting to whats better to keep the water clear.
I would appreciate the help and it would be a pleasure to learn from you all.
thank you

 

[hibackgoldaro]

if your fish are healthy and eating, swimming normally..theres not such a great need IMO to constantly check water parameters...maybe do it once a month for your peace of mind...not sure what you mean by having a 5g bucket for filtration....pretty sure a 220g tank would need more than that...

 

[cichla & saratogas]

Hello there , Sounds like a nice tank what are your dimensions on your 220 just wondering? Your filtration sounds pretty good if its just the 2 arowana your keeping to keep clean i would say don't overfeed them and keep on top of water changes and tank maintenance.

 

[slv3rarowana]

Hello, thanks for the reply.
When I mean a 5 gallon bucket I meant a DIY set up. I follewed the king of DIY on youtube (the dude is genius).

if your fish are healthy and eating, swimming normally..theres not such a great need IMO to constantly check water parameters...maybe do it once a month for your peace of mind...not sure what you mean by having a 5g bucket for filtration....pretty sure a 220g tank would need more than that...

 

[slv3rarowana]

Hello there , Sounds like a nice tank what are your dimensions on your 220 just wondering? Your filtration sounds pretty good if its just the 2 arowana your keeping to keep clean i would say don't overfeed them and keep on top of water changes and tank maintenance.

Thank you, the dimensions are 72”x24x30 if I am correct. Im just very nervous and I want them healthy, as for eating they are bot eating very well i should say.
They are calm, swimming fine and dont seemed stressed.
I was having some cloudiness issues so I started doing 30% water change everyday, I started yesterday and did another one just now. I made sure the water was poured in very slowly to not ahocke the fish or the water temps. I wave a controlled 800 watt heater in the tabk and some air stones in the tank.
I also have 4 Tiger oscars including a beautiful Albino one, man these fishes are crazy lol.
They are about an 1”-2” in length and the Arowanas are about 8-10” max so I dont want to add them just yet unless you guys recommend to do so. I am affraid the Aros would attack the Tiger Oscars. I have the Oscars in a 10 gallon wating for them to get about another inch bigger.
What do you recommend?

 

[cichla & saratogas]

I would observe the oscars behavior this is coming from someone who has kept oscars some will kill off tankmates someone they are a very moody fish so just be careful , also i wouldn't add them right now id wait till they were all about 5 - 6 inches each. Your dimensions most likely be able to accommodate your arowanas as a forever home you I would recommend a tank that is 36-40 in width 32 as a minimum , but it should last you 2 years at most before getting a new tank also they are flexible so it wont be as much of a stress on their back when turning as it would be for a leichardti or jardini.

 

[slv3rarowana]

I would observe the oscars behavior this is coming from someone who has kept oscars some will kill off tankmates someone they are a very moody fish so just be careful , also i wouldn't add them right now id wait till they were all about 5 - 6 inches each. Your dimensions most likely be able to accommodate your arowanas as a forever home you I would recommend a tank that is 36-40 in width 32 as a minimum , but it should last you 2 years at most before getting a new tank also they are flexible so it wont be as much of a stress on their back when turning as it would be for a leichardti or jardini.

Yeah the Oscars are CRAZY lol, I have to say wouldnt it be wise to put them in sooner with the Arowanas? Specially now that they are younger and can get used to tank mates? I guess 5-6 inches they arent cery big.
As for another tabk, the wife would kill me but I have a 55 gallon upstairs where I can switch the goldfish from that to the 10 gallon for a month or 2 or 3 gowever long they take to get there which for what I have seen it wont be long.
What do you recommend feeding the Arowanas? I bought them pellets but they will not eat that so I got them shrimp, scallops, and tilapia. They are very picky eaters, pergaps because they are still getting used to the tank?
Should I not feed them for a few days before tryig to feed them again?

 

[cichla & saratogas]

Yeah the Oscars are CRAZY lol, I have to say wouldnt it be wise to put them in sooner with the Arowanas? Specially now that they are younger and can get used to tank mates? I guess 5-6 inches they arent cery big.
As for another tabk, the wife would kill me but I have a 55 gallon upstairs where I can switch the goldfish from that to the 10 gallon for a month or 2 or 3 gowever long they take to get there which for what I have seen it wont be long.
What do you recommend feeding the Arowanas? I bought them pellets but they will not eat that so I got them shrimp, scallops, and tilapia. They are very picky eaters, pergaps because they are still getting used to the tank?
Should I not feed them for a few days before tryig to feed them again?

I would say for arowanas hikari massivore pellets , and cichlids pellets would be a good staple for them and if they have been recently added i would hold off from feedings for about a week by then they might accept any foods you give them including your pellets , feeding them tilapia and shrimp would be good. The most important thing i would advise you is never feed them feeder gold fish unless you want dead or parasite infested arowanas. On the topic of getting them on pellets a trick i use to pellet train fish is to crush pellets into powder and bread the shrimp or tilapia in the powder and the fish will get a taste for pellets , or if that doesn't work starve for 2 weeks.

 

[slv3rarowana]

I would say for arowanas hikari massivore pellets , and cichlids pellets would be a good staple for them and if they have been recently added i would hold off from feedings for about a week by then they might accept any foods you give them including your pellets , feeding them tilapia and shrimp would be good. The most important thing i would advise you is never feed them feeder gold fish unless you want dead or parasite infested arowanas. On the topic of getting them on pellets a trick i use to pellet train fish is to crush pellets into powder and bread the shrimp or tilapia in the powder and the fish will get a taste for pellets , or if that doesn't work starve for 2 weeks.

The pellets I have are Soft Line Arowana floating sticks. I would never feed them feeder fish, everything I read on them is a horrible idea.
I would stop feeding for a day or two, they eat just been picky eaters and I have to pick the food out of the bottom of the tank. If they dont eat next time I try feeding them the. i will not feed them for about a week. Im sure by then they will be starving. I mean I cant go a few hrs without eating without feeling like I am starving lol.

What do you recommend to plant in aquarium? I would like to plant some live plants and make it look nicer. Is a san on the bottom but bare besides that.

 

[cichla & saratogas]

Fish can go quite a while without eating but if you don't want to starve your fish I fully understand. For Aquatic plants I would say get some floating plants like water lettuce to make your arowanas feel more protected I'm not that good on aquarium plants so Idk what you could plant in the tank. I would also recommend you to keep your aquarium lids on tight possibly weighed down so your arowanas do not jump out which they are know for doing when they are spooked.