Silver Arowana agression...

[kittyhazelton]

I got 2 lovely little silvers for Christmas. They are roughly 8" each.
One of the two is ever-so-slightly larger than the other and is showing signs of aggression to the smaller one.
I am wondering, will adding more plants and cover help to curb the aggression and allow more "safe" places for the smaller of the two to hide, or would it be best in the long run to separate them. I have only seen the smaller of the 2 eat once so far, and have seen the larger of the two slam into it at the top of the tank during feeding time. The smaller of the two does appear to be a little stressed but is otherwise active and eating.
Advice would be great. Thanks.

 

[Bderick67]

You can try different things and I'm sure there will be the suggestion to get more aros. My first attempt a two aros ended in selling one of them. No matter what I did they would eventually fight.

It was actually on my third attempt before I was able two get arowana to live together in harmony.

 

[marshdiesel]

or add one more, 3 is supposed to curb agression. i got lucky so far i have a 7" silver and a 7" black, im adding another black just to play it safe good luck!

 

[jlnguyen74]

I got 2 lovely little silvers for Christmas. They are roughly 8" each.
One of the two is ever-so-slightly larger than the other and is showing signs of aggression to the smaller one.
I am wondering, will adding more plants and cover help to curb the aggression and allow more "safe" places for the smaller of the two to hide, or would it be best in the long run to separate them. I have only seen the smaller of the 2 eat once so far, and have seen the larger of the two slam into it at the top of the tank during feeding time. The smaller of the two does appear to be a little stressed but is otherwise active and eating.
Advice would be great. Thanks.

Separate them and raise them, if you have another tank. When they're bigger, 12"-14", you could try to introduce them together again. If you have them in a relatively large tank (5-6 ft long), you can separate them with a divider, and raise them in that tank. Good luck!

 

[kittyhazelton]

Unfortunately I don't have much means to seperate them, and I really don't want to divide the tank. I really only wanted one orriginally and now with my car crapping out on me again I'm putting on hold my idea of getting a bigger tank.
thanks guys. If anyone in the VT/NH area is in a trade/sale I'll be offering one of these guys. Posted in the B/S forum.

 

[HPIZZLE]

safest and easiest bet would be as to seperate them, IMO.

 

[kittyhazelton]

Well, good news so far. I put more floating and surface plants in the water. Today when I fed them the littler one was able to woof down some pellets without getting bullied. I'm gonna try this for a while and keep an eye on them to see what happens. They seem to be more relaxed with the added plant cover.

 

[smartlove_518]

hey can you please tell me how many days did the smaller one get bullied because i am having the same problem. my bigger aro is bullying the smaller one. just like yours. thank you

 

[Suga]

It's an old tread but

I have the same problem with my 11.5" silver and 11" black. It happened all of the sudden. They were like best friends when I put them together 3 weeks ago. The black one was the first in the 220 gallon for about a week before I got the silver one. Since the beginning my black aro has been just following the silver like best buddy. I start seeing missing scales and it is getting more and more aggressive toward the black. I do prize the black way more than the silver. I hate to get rid off the silver thou. ??!!??

 

[moe214]

I don't think I've ever heard of two aros working out, unless paired they are aggressive to each other. And even then there's no guarantee

It's an old tread but

I have the same problem with my 11.5" silver and 11" black. It happened all of the sudden. They were like best friends when I put them together 3 weeks ago. The black one was the first in the 220 gallon for about a week before I got the silver one. Since the beginning my black aro has been just following the silver like best buddy. I start seeing missing scales and it is getting more and more aggressive toward the black. I do prize the black way more than the silver. I hate to get rid off the silver thou. ??!!??

Blacks are the most timid of aros, they're the friendliest and get bullied by the rest. I've never seen or read of an aggressive black. I've only ever had one person argue me on that but nothing to back it up. You can't keep two aros, especially separate species. You have to sort with one. Don't add one. With aros the rule of thumb is 5 or more. Not 3 like most species. And 5 aros need a lot of space.