Need advice on keeping Arowanas

[anthoni]

hi

I have decided to keep arowana and wondering if someone can provide me some basic tips.

Cheers
Anthoni

[vinz]

The basics are the same for any fish... clean water, regular water change, good large filter.

Keep the tank clean. Do you intend to feed live food or market prawns? Any dead food, leftovers must always be removed within 5 minutes to maintain water quality. For example, if you feed it with market prawns, any uneaten pieces should be removed quickly.

Cover the tank well. Leave no hole big enough for them to fit through. Fish have a knack of finding holes to jump through. Arowanas are great jumpers.

Make sure the tank is large enough.

Arowanas are primitive fishes with primitive organs. They don't take to some medications well. If your arowana get sick, I suggest you get advice from reputable arowana shops, not just any fish shop. The arowana shop owners will know best.

Any specific questions?

[anthoni]

Morning

I understand there are various types of arowana sold in the shop. Is there any particular type which is the strongest. May I know what is the price range like if I will to start of with 4" size. And with such size, what can be fed to it.

Tks
Anthoni

[richietay]

I suppose you got a tank for the arowana, what is the size of it?

[vinz]

Morning

I understand there are various types of arowana sold in the shop. Is there any particular type which is the strongest. May I know what is the price range like if I will to start of with 4" size. And with such size, what can be fed to it.

Tks
Anthoni

There are several lines of the asian arowana. The basic ones:
- crossback gold
- red
- red tail gold

There are few others which are variations or hybrids of these lines. You will see names like Bukit Merah Blue, Violet Fusion, etc.

Juveniles come ranging from 4 inch to 6 inches. It won't make much of a difference in time whether you get a 4 inch or a 6 inch one. It only takes a month or two for a 4" to get to 6".

I'm not very in touch with prices. You can easily get an indication by visiting the arowana shops. Approximately:
- gold or red: $2000 (give or take $200)
- red tail gold: $500 (give or take $100)
Really, my estimations are very wide. Hopefully someone else can give a better indication. But go to the shops to see for yourself.

You might want to go to www.arofanatics.com and www.aroclub.com. These 2 have large local arowana keepers communities. They have a wealth of information in them.

[anthoni]

I have a 3 feet tank and I want to start with it first before getting a bigger tank later. I have a colleague who is rearing arowana; however, he said his is "zhengzhu" dragon. Is this one of the good type or just normal.

Tks

[vinz]

Pearl arowanas are not asian arowanas, but a close relative. They are from Australia, not protected by Cites and in general, consider not to be as beautiful as the asian arowanas I mentioned in my earlier posts. However, there are exceptional specimens out there to be found. There are also some that are dark in colour with red-spots. I believe those are know as red-spotted jardini. These guys go for less than a $100, if I remember correctly.

In any case, the care information is about the same.

Note: There is another large Australian game fish called the Jardini. They are not arowanas. Jardini is not the proper name for the Australian arowana. So if you serach for Jardini on Google, you might end up with a few pictures or information not about the arowana. Read carefully.

[anthoni]

I visited Panda Arowana and understand their types of arowana .

I was told that there are basically 2 types of arowana-- Gold and Red.
However, from the forum, there are so many names involved; and from Qian Hu, there are also many names and gradings involved.

I am now a bit confuse as I have still undecided what type to purchase. A Red or Crossback cost S$1500 each and a normal Panda Gold cost S$450.

Can someone advise me if it is a correct rate; or is there others that I have miss out. Is there other aquarium outlets that have arowana supplies as I believe fish farms are more expensive

Tks
Anthoni

[vinz]

Those prices are about there. You could say that the crossback gold is the "pure", "original" or "natural" strain golden arowana. The Panda Gold is actually a hybrid of the crossback gold and the red tail gold.

If budget is an issue, I suggest getting the red tail gold. It's a natural strain (i.e. as natural as farm bred can get without involving cross strain breeding). I like it as it's got the spoon head of the gold and the upper dark colouration gives it a "fierce" look. Price wise it's close to or cheaper then the Panda gold.

The reds have what is called the bullet head.

Plenty of arowana shops. To name a few:
- AroPacific: Yio Chu Kang Road, opposite Serangoon Stadium/Swimming Pool. There are a few more in the area. Just 5 mins drive away you can find another one at Lim Tua Tow Rd.
- Pet Provision: Upper Changi Road area.
- There a few near the Jackson Place food center (now it's called Jackson Centre???).
- Clementi Block 328 has 2 big general fish shops, but they have arowana's too.

My advice: shop around for a fish you like. Only the adult fishes will show their full colouration, so check out the specialist shops and see what the adult fishes look like. Then decide which species you like most. I feel the those shops I named by name are pretty respectable. At AroPacfic, look for Simon. He's quite knowledgeble. Be a good idea to call and find out when he will be around. The shop opens till late.. as late as 11PM.

Sorry, I don't have their numbers nor addresses. Look them up on Google or yellowpages.com.sg

[anthoni]

I appreciate very much for ur your advise. I shall visit the shops that u you had indicated in the mail soonest. Meanwhile, can I check with u you if it is true that there is constant cutting of the tail or gill cover as I had read in other forums. Is it that complicated to rear arowana.

Is low PH or high PH good for the arowana. May I know what is the estimate price for a 4--6" red tail gold .

[vinz]

No Arowanas are not so troublesome if you keep the water clean and make sure the tank is well cover and do not have sharp surfaces in the tank.

Gill cover cutting is to treat gill cover curl which is a symptom of inflamed gills. Arowanas get inflamed gills when the water is not clean... normally high ammonia, nitrites or nitrates. If you have an appropriate sized tank, a good filter and keep the water clean with good habits (i.e. remove uneaten food promptly, don't leave too many feeder fish in the tank) and regular water change, you should never have this problem.

Fin cutting is only when the arowana makes jumps out of the tank. Sometimes their body slime and fins get stuck to the floor. Lifting them could cause tearing. People cut their fins so that their will grow back evenly. So, if you are careful, your arowana should never make that jump at all. Once or twice in their life time may be a possibility.

RTGs are about $400.

The pH depends on the species and sometimes the farm it comes from. A reputable arowana shop can tell you. RTGs normally needed lower pH... about 6.5pH should be ok.

[anthoni]

Again, I appreciate very much for your informations.

I had visited a few aqaurium shops and finally I bought a RTG from C328 yesterday night.
The cost is S$298 and it looks very good to me. I believe you agree that the price is reasonable.

Right now, I will have to study more on the rearing habits for perfect health.

[anthoni]

I wonder what is the level for the water for the tank. In the past, i use to fill the water up to the brim of the tank.

However, I am not so sure now as I am worry that the RTG might jump and hit the lighted fluroscent tube. The lighting is attached to the tank cover.

Is there a need to get a plastic nesting cover below the tank cover.

Again I would like to know is it is too hot as I am putting a T5 red color light for the tank.

Tks

[vinz]

Yes, there should be a cover between the water and the lights. The cover must be secure and properly weighed down. A large thrashing arowana can dislodge the cover and eventually allow the fish to jump out.

Another thing, fish can see what is above the tank. If they can see the cover, they are less likely to jump. That said, never assume they will never try to jump even if there is a cover. If they are caught completely by surprise, they will still attempt to jump out of pure fright.

As for heat, make sure the hood (assuming you are using one) is well ventilated. An option is to put a complete cover between water and lights/hood and keep the hood open.

If you are not using a hood, it should be alright. Just don't use glass/acrylic covers. They trap heat.

[anthoni]

For a 5" RTG; can I check what is the estimate number of small 3cm fishers it can consume. My RTG consume around 4 on the first day and only 1 on the second day.Is it consider healthly.

[anthoni]

hi

Finally, I have the cover done and I appreciate very much for all the informations given to me so far.

Tks

[vinz]

For a 5" RTG; can I check what is the estimate number of small 3cm fishers it can consume. My RTG consume around 4 on the first day and only 1 on the second day.Is it consider healthly.

It's possible that the shop does not feed the fish much, so on the first day in your tank, it gorged itself.

The stomach of the fish is not very big. A 5 inch arowana, probably only has a stomach slightly larger than a Singapore 50 cents coin (thicker of course). So how much do you think it can eat at one go?

Something interesting for you to know... the arowana is a mouth brooder. I.e. the female lays the eggs, the male fertilises the eggs and then scoops them into his mouth. He will hodl the eggs in his mouth until they hatch. The fries will live in the protection of it's mouth for a number of weeks. It cannot eat during that time.

So don't worry too much that it will starve to death quicky if your arowana stops eating completely. BUT, you should still it as a sign that it's not well and investigate.

[vinz]

Oh... just occurred to me. Did you let the tank and filter mature and cycle properly before putting the arowana in? If you did not, watch out for a ammonia peak, followed by a nitrite peak before your tank stablises. In that time, your arowana could well be killed by the ammonia or nitrite peak. You had fishes before, so I hope you didn't forget.

[PLee]

what is the size of your tank by the way??

[illumnae]

he mentioned that he was using a 3ft tank and he'll upgrade the size next time