New to arowana

[Kaya]

Bro finally i got the hikari food sticks for aro...i knw my aro is still a baby and i have to feed him thrice a day but please tell me how many sticks should i feed him at one time ?..secondly do let me know what do you suggest about the occasional treats which i have mentioned above...thanks

hey mate.. sorry my net was down.. i saw the pic of the aro and the other thread too.. about feeding.. how many pellets do you throw in now? lets assume 5.. if the aro eats it.. try another 5.. if thats done too.. try another 2.. and then prob another 2 if thats done also.. you'll come to a number.. try the same way in about 12 hrs.. i think two time feeding should be ok.. morning and evening.. as the aro becomes bigger / adult.. or even when younger say about 10" a varied diet is needed.. no beef heart.. upto you.. i dont give it.. if you do trim away the sinew and excess fat.. fish fillets are great.. especially tilapia.. you could try market shrimp too.. vary the diet.. pellets for 4 days and two days of of fish fillet(as the aro gets older).. always feed bite sized pieces..

you did right by switching off the power filter.. it does cause a lot of agitation and your aro might find it hard to swim.. your aro is still getting used to the new surrounding.. so dont worry.. dont disturb or tap the glass by any chance.. make sure your tank top does not have any holes and is tight fit.. do you leave like a light on near the tank at nights? a zero watt bulb around the tank would make the aro feel a lil more comfy than total darkness.. cheers, all the best..

 

[CichlidL]

hey mate.. sorry my net was down.. i saw the pic of the aro and the other thread too.. about feeding.. how many pellets do you throw in now? lets assume 5.. if the aro eats it.. try another 5.. if thats done too.. try another 2.. and then prob another 2 if thats done also.. you'll come to a number.. try the same way in about 12 hrs.. i think two time feeding should be ok.. morning and evening.. as the aro becomes bigger / adult.. or even when younger say about 10" a varied diet is needed.. no beef heart.. upto you.. i dont give it.. if you do trim away the sinew and excess fat.. fish fillets are great.. especially tilapia.. you could try market shrimp too.. vary the diet.. pellets for 4 days and two days of of fish fillet(as the aro gets older).. always feed bite sized pieces..

you did right by switching off the power filter.. it does cause a lot of agitation and your aro might find it hard to swim.. your aro is still getting used to the new surrounding.. so dont worry.. dont disturb or tap the glass by any chance.. make sure your tank top does not have any holes and is tight fit.. do you leave like a light on near the tank at nights? a zero watt bulb around the tank would make the aro feel a lil more comfy than total darkness.. cheers, all the best..

Heyy..no problem mate..presently i am feeding him 3 sticks at a time.. but from now on i will adopt ur method of feeding..one thing id like to know how should i feed him shrimps and fish fillet i mean when i will throw those bite sized pieces they will sink so how would the aro be able to eat them..? or should i keep on holding them after dipping them a little in the water ? or should i adopt some other method ?..as you have advised i wont be feeding beef heart..mate what do you suggest about small live fish (not goldfish)?..yeah i am of the same view point wont be switching on the power filter..i am trying best to make him feel at home but he is very skittish i am sure he will change when he grows up..at nights the room is dimly lit..

bro what dimensions do you suggest for my future tank ?..what i have in mind is 8' length x 3.5' width x 2' height..i would want that tank to house aros and gars..Thanks in advance

 

[Kaya]

just drop it into the water.. one at a time.. the aro will pick it up.. aros natural food consist of insects and small fish.. so you could feed live fish but what will you feed is the question? i used to do gold fish like once in two months before.. thats like a good year back.. now i dont feed my aros live fish.. live feeders and you have the risk of infections being passed on.. so really i'd not recommend it.. your call again.. the only thing is your aro has taken to the pellets and thats good.. cos young aros take sometime to start pellets.. and the pellets contain all the nutrition they need.. let the aro be by itself.. it will take its own time to settle down and minimal intervention will make it settle down quicker.. future tank is a big question.. i'd say pond cos i have one and i can see they are doing well there.. how big a tank can you provide.. lets assume in a year you have to get this tank ready.. would you be able to? think about other aspects.. filtration.. electricity etc.. what sort of gars are you planning? do a thorough research before you get one.. you might have to house them separately till they are both the same size.. the dimension you have given sounds nice.. have a look at the video in this thread..

http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/f...e-450-Gallons-Worth-of-SA-Arowana-and-Friends

its a little larger than your dimensions..but will give you an idea.. i'm not really the expert in large tanks.. but its definitely a decent size for a couple of aros..maybe a little more than a couple..

 

[CichlidL]

just drop it into the water.. one at a time.. the aro will pick it up.. aros natural food consist of insects and small fish.. so you could feed live fish but what will you feed is the question? i used to do gold fish like once in two months before.. thats like a good year back.. now i dont feed my aros live fish.. live feeders and you have the risk of infections being passed on.. so really i'd not recommend it.. your call again.. the only thing is your aro has taken to the pellets and thats good.. cos young aros take sometime to start pellets.. and the pellets contain all the nutrition they need.. let the aro be by itself.. it will take its own time to settle down and minimal intervention will make it settle down quicker.. future tank is a big question.. i'd say pond cos i have one and i can see they are doing well there.. how big a tank can you provide.. lets assume in a year you have to get this tank ready.. would you be able to? think about other aspects.. filtration.. electricity etc.. what sort of gars are you planning? do a thorough research before you get one.. you might have to house them separately till they are both the same size.. the dimension you have given sounds nice.. have a look at the video in this thread..

http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/f...e-450-Gallons-Worth-of-SA-Arowana-and-Friends

its a little larger than your dimensions..but will give you an idea.. i'm not really the expert in large tanks.. but its definitely a decent size for a couple of aros..maybe a little more than a couple..

Thanks mate ...wont be feeding live fish...yeah i am sure he will settle down soon..bro i dont have enough space for a pond though i would love to have one someday ..id love to see your pond please send me the link..yeah i am preparing myself and family for a new big tank..i am planning to have florida gars infact i wanted to have them right now i posted my query in gar section but they advised not to have them because they wont be happy with aro they are saying that gars usually dont like silvery fish...i do wana have florida gars but i dont think so it will work the way i want even in the bigger tank also.so i may not keep them..i may go for aro specie tank...i have seen the tank its simply beautiful...the dimensions which he has stated are alomst the smae as mine except for the little difference in height and width...now i am aslo thinking to increase the height of my future tank a little..

 

[Kaya]

great.. the pond link is right there in my signature.. have a look.. and for your question on how many in the same tank.. about 3 should be fine.. 4 can be ok.. cheers..

 

[CichlidL]

great.. the pond link is right there in my signature.. have a look.. and for your question on how many in the same tank.. about 3 should be fine.. 4 can be ok.. cheers..

Thanks mate id go with 4 ..your pond is simply awesome!!..one thing id like to know for knowledge sake lets say one of the two barbels of an aro gets broken/damaged..does it grow back after some time? or is it a permanent damage ?..secondly if i put 4 aros in my future tank wouldnt they fight ? or will there be some occasional nippings only ? and one thing more id like to know the size of all the four aros should be the same ? or there can be some difference(not a very significant difference) ?..God knows whats gonna happen in the future but out of curiousty what i am planning is that i will shift my present aro to that new tank..and id once again buy a baby aro will wait till it grows about 10 to 12 inchs and then he too will be shifted to the bigger tank and so on...thats how i am planning to get 4 aros in the bigger tank...id like to know your opinion on this plan of mine ..Thanks in advance

 

[Kaya]

Thanks mate id go with 4 ..your pond is simply awesome!!..one thing id like to know for knowledge sake lets say one of the two barbels of an aro gets broken/damaged..does it grow back after some time? or is it a permanent damage ?..secondly if i put 4 aros in my future tank wouldnt they fight ? or will there be some occasional nippings only ? and one thing more id like to know the size of all the four aros should be the same ? or there can be some difference(not a very significant difference) ?..God knows whats gonna happen in the future but out of curiousty what i am planning is that i will shift my present aro to that new tank..and id once again buy a baby aro will wait till it grows about 10 to 12 inchs and then he too will be shifted to the bigger tank and so on...thats how i am planning to get 4 aros in the bigger tank...id like to know your opinion on this plan of mine ..Thanks in advance

Thanks.. the barbel will grow back.. i've had it happen to one of my aros and it grew back.. but you really have to keep the water super clean and filtered.. this accelerates the growth.. aro communities are usually a hit or a miss.. depends on the temperament of the aros that are put together.. when they are younger one of the major reasons for being dominant or aggressive, i believe, is food.. being surface feeders the dominant aro will tend to push the others down.. but as they get bigger they tend to mellow down but now they need the space.. so they tend to nip occasionally.. when you plan an aro community make sure you stick to the same size.. an 1" more or less is ok.. your plan.. i'm not too sure cos when your second aro is about 12" your first aro will be around 24".. and there is always the possibility of the smaller one getting whacked.. you could use a divider till they get used to each other but again.. i'd say chances are slim.. so think about it..

 

[CichlidL]

Thanks.. the barbel will grow back.. i've had it happen to one of my aros and it grew back.. but you really have to keep the water super clean and filtered.. this accelerates the growth.. aro communities are usually a hit or a miss.. depends on the temperament of the aros that are put together.. when they are younger one of the major reasons for being dominant or aggressive, i believe, is food.. being surface feeders the dominant aro will tend to push the others down.. but as they get bigger they tend to mellow down but now they need the space.. so they tend to nip occasionally.. when you plan an aro community make sure you stick to the same size.. an 1" more or less is ok.. your plan.. i'm not too sure cos when your second aro is about 12" your first aro will be around 24".. and there is always the possibility of the smaller one getting whacked.. you could use a divider till they get used to each other but again.. i'd say chances are slim.. so think about it..

Bro then what do you suggest ? what should i do to make aro community tank ?

 

[Kaya]

You could get a larger tank now and raise another 2 more with this aro.. or try to buy adult aros the same size as yours later.. just give it some time.. think about it and take it one little step at a time.. the impulsive interest to own a larger tank and a whole community is always there.. but the amount of responsibility and time spent is a lot.. so think of it in the long run rather than now.. you always have the option of buying aros later.. prob when your aro is 12".. you can buy another two more at the same size..cheers

 

[CichlidL]

You could get a larger tank now and raise another 2 more with this aro.. or try to buy adult aros the same size as yours later.. just give it some time.. think about it and take it one little step at a time.. the impulsive interest to own a larger tank and a whole community is always there.. but the amount of responsibility and time spent is a lot.. so think of it in the long run rather than now.. you always have the option of buying aros later.. prob when your aro is 12".. you can buy another two more at the same size..cheers

Bro its very hard to find an adult aro in my country..and even if i find one it will be very expensive..i think i will have to take the risk i am planning to add few more aros of the same size in my current tank which is of 84 gallons..with zero decoration except for a single artiifical plant and substrate...i know if i add more aros i will be having lesser time for a new tank i will try to manage that...but i know its still a risk to add more aros to my existing tank...mate now tell me should i add 2 more aros or 3 ?..if i add 2 then i will be having 3 in total otherwise 4...Thanks in advance