Silver Arowana Tank mates

[theyangman]

Hi guys, I have done some reading here on this site, and I was trying to find a definitive answer.

I want a small community tank, nothing crazy, maybe 4 or 5 fish, what gets along best?

Also at what size should I introduce new tank mates? My arowana is only 3 inches long, and is fairly small, but I don't want to add something that will outpace or lag behind in growth speed and have a huge disparity in size within a few months. I know I want some Motoro Rays, but what else works well in a tank of my size? (180 gallons, soon to be a 300 within the year)

~Tony

 

[Mount_Prion]

What kind of rays you can keep depends on the dimensions of your tank. I'm no expert, but if you haven't gotten your 300 yet and you want to keep rays (and heck, this makes sense for aros too) you should try to get one that isn't very tall but has a very wide/long footprint. Of course aros need more length and rays need more width, but they all get big so the more space the better. Since rays are at the bottom and aros are at the top, neither needs much space in between.

Also, I wouldn't introduce any potentially dangerous tankmates with a 3'' aro. They're very very delicate at that size. The only real safe tankmates would be things he'll either eat now or soon, so just wait till he's 7''+ imo to add anything potentially aggressive.

 

[Kaya]

tony.. Aros are best left alone until they are about 12".. don't think of any tankmates for now mate..

 

[theyangman]

Thanks guys, I know nothing would be safe at their current size, it was more or less about figuring out, WHEN I could add them and WHAT. But after doing more reading and such, it seems the consensus lies in around the 8-10 inch range.

~Tony

 

[Bderick67]

Yes small aros are vulnerable and easily overwhelmed by other fish their own length. So for sure no tankmates until 5-6" and then with larger cichlids wait until 10-11" with the arowana being 2x as long as the cichlids.