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just wonderin'

  • Thread starter rco911
  • Start date
anyone here have any arrowanas?
 
No... but I used to work for a tropical fish wholesaler and we brought in rainbow & black arowanas.
 
hi jimscott!

i used to have silver and both types of Australian, truly great fish. i gave one australian away, as far as the other... it died. i was so sad! it died because it ate the freshwater lobster thing my friend gave me for my bday one year. its face started to bubble and blister, it was nasty!! a friend of mine at the pet store said he guesses the shell was too hard and either cut the insides of the fish up and liquid made the face swell up and blister. they were HUGE blisters. it died a few days later. maybe it was poisonus?? we all had no clue why. i was depressed for a while. i grew that australian aro from a baby - 1 inch to 1 foot.

had them for a while, but i had to move and could not really take my fish with me. i gave the silver to my cousin where my sliver eventually outgrew the tank, and after about a year, the silver died - i guess it tried to jump out once too much. i dont know. it was a 100 gallon tank, but these fish grow too big for that size. i think a 200g tank would be ok. i have other friends with 200g and their aros are spectacular!
 
Wholesalers do bring in the 2-3" baby arowanas, which wouldn't be too expensive at the retail level. 200 gallon is quite adequate for several years worth of enjoyment. A 10 gallon tank of feeder guppies and then goldfish would be a good idea. Sorry you went through such anguish. I remember buying my dad a dozen "large" Neons and unfortunately I didn't take into consideration that his Tinfoil Barb had the capacity to eat them all. I was pretty upset!
 
I've had both silver and black arowanas and they get huge. They're terrific jumpers, so make sure you have a VERY secure cover on your tank or you'll find a dried up arowana on your floor. Not fun...

You'll often see baby arowanas for sale that still have the yolk sac attached. I say DO NOT BUY THEM. One, they're notoriously difficult to get to start feeding and secondly arowanas are mouthbrooders - I've read where the parents are killed in order for the babies to be harvested. I don't know if that's true or not since many African cichlids are mouthbrooders and the babies can be harvested without harming the parents. I personally think it's better to buy the larger arowanas that are about 4" long. They're much easier to work with.

Will
 
Will, the parents are usually killed for food, the Arrowana is a food fish in south america, so the babies w/ yolk sacks are an attempt at saving those fish (for the purpose of getting a few cents), though the vast majority will die anyhow.

I have had silver Arrowanas, and they are amazingly beautiful fish, and i love to sit and watch them, however i have to take an opposing view to Jim.

These are not suitable creatures for a 200 gallon tank, will they be happy there for a few years? yes... but... most people buy as big a tank as they can afford, and rarely upgrade. Silver Arrowanas need a tank on the order of 350 - 500 gallons, they need to be deep front to back, and lengthwise, but not neccissarily top to bottom.

All arrowanas can suffer from a condition called 'gill curve' where the protective skin over the gills curls out and exposes the gills to everything. This condition while, not always life threatening, is obviously not good for the fish and it causes stress. Gill Curl is caused by water conditions, which have to be absolutely pristine. to give you an idea, way back in the day i kept a small arrowana in a planted tank, the plants thrived and sucked EVERYTHING out of the water, no amonia, no nitrate, nothing bad.. but the hard water here in San Antonio was all it took. Someday I hope to keep them again, and I will use 75% RODI and 25% tap.

Finally, big predators make a big mess, a big tank costs a lot, and so do the filters that run them. Arrowanas are awesome fish, but if you are not willing, and absolutely sure your financially capable of supporting this fish through it's entire growth cycle, that includes when it's 4 feet long, then don't get one.

If you do, keep a tight heavy glass lid on your tank, and don't put anything sharp in there like drift wood until the fish is used to you, they are very skittish until they come to recognize patters on activity in their 'home'.

hope that helps.
 
I have had silver Arrowanas, and they are amazingly beautiful fish, and i love to sit and watch them, however i have to take an opposing view to Jim.

These are not suitable creatures for a 200 gallon tank, will they be happy there for a few years? yes... but... most people buy as big a tank as they can afford, and rarely upgrade. Silver Arrowanas need a tank on the order of 350 - 500 gallons, they need to be deep front to back, and lengthwise, but not neccissarily top to bottom.

That's okay, Steve! My perspective on them is strictly from that of a wholesaler, which means, "head'em up and mov'em out". We break every rule of thumb about overcrowding... but then again, we didn't keep them around long enough to worry about it.
 
lol, truth Jim. :)
 
I just looked at glasscages.com to see how much a 500 gallon aquarium would cost. TWO GRAND for the aquarium alone, not including the lighting, substrate, rocks, filters, etc. With a tank that big you'll need thick glass and with thick glass you'll need starphire glass so it won't look green.

Here's what a 500 gallon reef looks like. I'm afraid to know what the total cost was. My dream tank is a 200 gallon reef. Maybe when I'm a rich doctor and have space I can have a 500 gallon instead :) I can pay jimscott to take care of it for me. He'll have to supply his own wet suit lmao.

http://www.advancedaquarist.com/issues/jan2004/aquarium.htm


I think I'd have to pay someone to do all the necessary plumbing for me. All those pipes and pumps... not for me :) Plumbing by 75 several years ago was a nightmare and an all day affair. Have you guys seen the ZeroEdge aquariums? They are short, wide, and sometimes long (much like a tide pool look) aquariums where water overflows over the edges and drains down into a basin around the tank, down into the sump through a bulkhead behind the aquarium. They are beautiful and a great novelty, but 2 grand for something that's basically a fancy 50 gallon aquarium is ridiculous, IMO. It must need topping off a lot, too since it's surface area is like 5 times larger than a normal tank. On the plus side it must be very oxygenated but if the protein skimmer is quality you should have oxygenated water anyway. they don't mention that since the inside and outside of the aquarium is covered with water, you've got twice the glass to keep clean! I've still got to have one one day :) Salt water's the only water worth having in my experience!
 
  • #10
one of hte guys in my aquarium built his own zero-edge aquarium, he did it about 8 years ago and thinks the zero edge guys copied him. he doesn't care though. lol they are cool.

I would love to have a massive aquarium, I am actually moving in a few months and may take the opportunity to refurbish an old 180 i have in my garage and turn it into a open top planted tank with angelfish...

it would be a nice counterpoint to the 110 gallon cube which will be most likely going back up at the new place as well, but i have to redesign some plumbing and redo the sump. and redo the stand as well as the canopy, my taste has changed considerably since i built it the first time.
 
  • #11
Pill -- oh man a 500g is a dream! one day ... one sweet day...a 500g with a RTG

:-O hmmm....
 
  • #12
Man, just think how many fancy guppies I could put in a 500 gallon tank!
 
  • #13
... man jim. what a dream! yes 500g tank full of guppies, and then throw a red-tail golden aro in there!

sRedtl.jpg
 
  • #14
Yeah... doing the math.... 500 1" guppies plus one Arowana equals one Arowana! :-(
 
  • #15
to bad the government is to stupid to allow us to import these beautiful fish... It's ridiculous that Asian Arrowanas are still restricted, their numbers were recovered in the wild a decade ago, and the color stains bred for the hobby are to bright and colorful to have long term success in the wild... CITIES lets asian arrowanas go everywhere but the states...

ridiculous.

If I could get an Red Crossback I would sell my salt water tank and setup a 400 gallon asian arrowana planted tank in about 12.3 nanoseconds.. yeah.. i said it... 12.3 nanoseconds... I'll even time it for ya.
 
  • #16
hey ram.. oh man, they are so friqin 'awesome!!! ever seen one in real life?!?!? up here in northern CA they are strict, but i have seen them. (wont say where) but they are just AWESOME fish... and usually on the "market" they cost MUCHO $$$$$$.

ive "heard" from a friend in so. calif that in some neighborhoods, they are not as strict-- and some pet shops openly display them. i know, its crazy!!!

Rampuppy - LOL -- i think it will take me another 12.3 nanoseconds to tie a 400g tank on top of my lil Honda!
 
  • #17
well, i would advise being extremely careful, or staying away at all... these fish ARE still illegal in the united states and they care a hefty fine if your caught w/ one.

there are legal ways to get them, for instance, if you have a research permit.
 
  • #18
hmmmm... how many seconds will it take to get a research permit ?-- LOL :)

Those fish are just so cool though... so awesome!! it is the dream fish...

oh well, i guess flowerhorns, silver, black and australian aros will just have to suffice for now... :-(
 
  • #19
shawn elliiot (former san antonio spur) apparently wanted to get some asian arrowannas, and he couldn't arrange it.

its not easy.
 
  • #20
... legally at least!!!
:-D
 
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