Old Pacus, New Arowana

[nixson]

Hello All.

I have a 500 gallon tank with a school of 14 year old pacus. that eat just about anything. I had introduced a 3" silver arowana some time last year and by the morning the pacus had him for a late night snack.

So i'm trying again, except this time i have placed the silver arowana in a pond and grew him out to over a foot. I would like to introduce him now to the 500g aquairum, but after growing him to this size i am worried that the lower tank dwelling pacus will rip the newly introduced yet large arowna to pieces from attacks from below.

I'm wondering if any of your have had experience introducing an adult arowana which was grown in a pond setting- (lots of plants, hiding spots) to an aquarium setting with some existing predictor(ish) fish?

1)The possibility of him jumping out?
2) The ability of him to hold his own at this size.

The tank holds about 5No Pacus, tin foil bars, some iridescent sharks, silver dollars, school of clown loaches... all of them over a decade old- which all co exist in a peaceful manner at this time.

The pic added is an old pic of my dad giving the tanks a clean.... the pacus are hiding out below

 

[Adrius]

thats nice
IMO, the aro will be fine, but you never know...put him in and when the lights go out at night grab a flashlight and take a peek...do this for a week
how big are the pacus?
as for the jumping issue, definitely have it all sealed up...aros will find a way out, especially if threatened
good luck

 

[Bderick67]

You said the pacus would eat anything right? IMO putting anything that will fit in their mouth will be devoured. Baby arowana should be raised by themselves to 5-6" then with only select few tankmates until they are 10-11".

More pics of your tank are definitely needed.

 

[soccerpunkid]

MORE PICS PLEEEEEEASE!!!

 

[Gshock]

You said the pacus would eat anything right? IMO putting anything that will fit in their mouth will be devoured. Baby arowana should be raised by themselves to 5-6" then with only select few tankmates until they are 10-11".

More pics of your tank are definitely needed.

x2. IMO I would only throw the silver in if its atleast 2' perferably bigger.

 

[nixson]

Thanks for the quick response. The tank is not fully covered. and its pretty difficult to do so. There is a 300mm free board. and him jumping out on one side would be straight into an adjoining pond. the other side- he would jump to his death.

What would you say an arowana's jumping height would be? The free board could be increased- i guess.

The pacus are about 12" in diameter. they are sorta roundish. But they have been known to chew a baby turtle to pieces.

 

[Adrius]

Thanks for the quick response. The tank is not fully covered. and its pretty difficult to do so. There is a 300mm free board. and him jumping out on one side would be straight into an adjoining pond. the other side- he would jump to his death.

What would you say an arowana's jumping height would be? The free board could be increased- i guess.

The pacus are about 12" in diameter. they are sorta roundish. But they have been known to chew a baby turtle to pieces.

jumping height for a 1'? about 16"
older ones jump higher...
ya man, i would risk it only if i had a flashlight...hehe
otherwise grow him to about 20" and then put him in...if the pacus kill it, they need to be exorcised

 

[Juxtaroberto]

The first arowana was probably eaten because it was small enough. They will most likely leave a bigger aro alone. Pacus aren't like piranha.

 

[nixson]

Gshock. in you opinion - The 2feet length would take how long for the aro to grow? we got him at about 3" and he has grown to 12+ within about 4 - 5 months.

He is very comfortable in the pond. but we cant see his beautiful orange sides....


one of my worries, is the advantage the pacus have from the position from below. When fed. they shoot to the surface with such speed- if the feeder doesnt run away quickly he gets soaked with the splash! I feel like they can attack him from below.



the pics i have are from 2005. really do need to get some updated ones. but here are a few.

 

[nixson]

16" !!!! sheesh.