Arowana Planted

[woodduck]

Hi fellow hobbies

Was thinking to start a Arowana Planted but have few question, can someone advice....

1)Algae problem- Yamato will too expensive and more like to be food source for the arowana then doing his job, Flying fox a good choice? or every two week dump 100 malayan in?
2)Snail problem- will the puffer live with the big brother or some other snail control?
3)Can my planted have driftwood as it may cause injury to the Aro.
4)Temperature- Planted tank alway prefer lower temp. but Aro is on high side..any suggestion.

Thank

[vinz]

1) Algae:
Correct, any small shrimps will be eaten. Get SAEs. They are perfect in arowana tanks as they seldom get fed, so they don't get spoilt and stop eating algae. They are fast enough to evade the arowana too. Forget about otos, they are too slow and they tend to rest on top of leaves, whereas SAEs lie on the substrate under the leaves. Snails will help too.

Best bet is nutrient and waste control. Regular water changes and make sure whatever food that does not get eaten, is remove within minutes. I feed mine with chopped market prawns. I feed piece by piece and remove anything he does not eat immediately.

2) Snails... I don't find them to be a problem unless they get too big and start eating plants. Otherwise, they help to control algae.

3) Driftwood will not injure your arowana... but your arowana may injure itself if it swims into the drift if it dashes around bindly when frightened. IME, arowanas dash blindly only if they are frightened and have nowhere to hide, and or if you try to catch it and it tries to avoid your hands/nets. Younger ones more so then bigger ones that are used its tank/location and the ppl around. A well planted tank has plenty of hiding space, and the arowana will do so if it needs to, instead of dashing around blindly trying to escape a perceived threat.

Avoid driftwood that take up the swimming space or get in the way of the arowana (don't forget they will get quite big). Low driftwood that are tied with plants are definitely ok.

It also depends on how jittery you arowana is.

4) Temperature: My personal opinion only... most fishes will adapt to a range of temperatures... large fluctuations are more of a problem. Arowanas also stay in deeper or shadier (i.e. cooler) water during the warmer parts of the day. I think an arowana can take 26 degrees without problems. To play safe, I'd drop the temp by 1 or 2 degrees every few days till it reaches 26.

Lastly, search AQ for "arowana" and "aro". There are a handful of postings about arowanas in planted tanks, all of which either have nice pictures or a fair bit of info.

[woodduck]

Thank alot Vinz