2 Silver Arowanas

Don't mean to sound like a broken record, but its not a smart idea to keep an aro in a 75 or 90g tank.

There are just too many problems that can arise from a tank that small (swimming room, water quality, disease outbreak). Also, the guys in Singapore have a very different approach to fish keeping. It is not uncommon to have HEAVILY overstocked tanks there. The reason they keep their tanks bare is for ease of maintenance (with so many fish in such a small volume of water you need to do everything you can to keep your water clean), BUT it is also because their tanks are often too small to begin with, hence their fish injuring themselves on decor. An arowana in a larger tank with driftwood in it will not injure itself on it.

An i don't know who in Singapore you have been talking to, but the smallest tanks (that are not growouts) that aros are housed in are 4X2X2s which IMO is still too small, many others are housed in tanks that are 5-6 feet long and 30" wide. Sorry to break it to you, but you have been misinformed about caring for arowanas

Taken verbatim from the DFI website
Young fishes of 6 inch (15cm) can bekept in tanks of 4feet by 1.5feet by 1.5feet(depth). Adult fishes of around1 feet (30cm) would be better off with a 6feet by 2feet by 1.5feet(depth)tank.
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http://dragonfish.com/
 
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you are rediculous for thinking that a fish that can attain 4' would fit in a tank that is only 4'x1.5'... My 24" silver lives in an indoor pond that is 8' in diameter and 30" deep, and I know that this will not be big enough for a full grown atleast IMO. If I ever see a large arowana in a tank that small I will be forced to confiscate it... morons.. and I have a 6x2x2 tank and a 5x1.5x2 tank i would never think about putting a large aro in either one...... just cause you have seen it done before doesnt make it right
 
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rottbo said:
you are rediculous for thinking that a fish that can attain 4' would fit in a tank that is only 4'x1.5'... My 24" silver lives in an indoor pond that is 8' in diameter and 30" deep, and I know that this will not be big enough for a full grown atleast IMO. If I ever see a large arowana in a tank that small I will be forced to confiscate it... morons.. and I have a 6x2x2 tank and a 5x1.5x2 tank i would never think about putting a large aro in either one...... just cause you have seen it done before doesnt make it right
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Agreed! Maybe not about more than the 8' diameter needed for one aro, but to each his own. :D
 
blakskyz said:
Go to singapore and ask around. 265g tank or a 75 gal tank not much of a difference except maintenance.
Arowanas grow big yes its true, in the wild or a huge pond/lake..not in a tank.

If thats the case a lot of fishes should not be kept in tanks, nor reptiles, etc...

You are entitled to your opinion, but I'd rather have information from people that raise and breed arowanas for decades. Yes they are salesmen, its a business but these people are not just business people, they're arowana fanatics.

The whole time I was in singapore bugging these guys for info, not once have they tried to push a sale on me, aside from the fact that I was from US and can't have one anyway. But they gave me a lot of info and tips about caring for a silver , austrailan and even the black arownanas. So excuse me if I put stock into what I was told from experience people. As for the link of that photo of someone's arowana in a 265g tank, a big no-no on his/her part of having a driftwood in the tank, because arowanas can injure themselves on objects like that when feeding time comes. Another thing I picked up from these pros, when having arowanas irregardless of breed, keep the tank as simple as possible..no ornaments of any type, as to avoid any injuries.

But everyone is entitled to their own thoughts and opinions.


srry but your wrong, not just in my opinion. its a fact that thats cruelty since an aro can get as long as that tank. and dont think its alright to keep a fish in a smaller tank because it wont get as big as it does in the wild or a pond. the reason they dont get as big is they are stunted, which means theyr insides keep growing but theyr body doesnt and they eventually die from it. a full grown non stunted aro would have to lie down on the bottom of the tank, it wouldnt even be able to swim. if this is your opinion then your opinion is its alright to keep aros in bad living conditions.
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You can keep an Aro in a ten gallon! All you need is a shoehorn and some vaseline. LOL
 
neonmadness said:
blakskyz said:
Go to singapore and ask around. 265g tank or a 75 gal tank not much of a difference except maintenance.
Arowanas grow big yes its true, in the wild or a huge pond/lake..not in a tank.

If thats the case a lot of fishes should not be kept in tanks, nor reptiles, etc...

You are entitled to your opinion, but I'd rather have information from people that raise and breed arowanas for decades. Yes they are salesmen, its a business but these people are not just business people, they're arowana fanatics.

The whole time I was in singapore bugging these guys for info, not once have they tried to push a sale on me, aside from the fact that I was from US and can't have one anyway. But they gave me a lot of info and tips about caring for a silver , austrailan and even the black arownanas. So excuse me if I put stock into what I was told from experience people. As for the link of that photo of someone's arowana in a 265g tank, a big no-no on his/her part of having a driftwood in the tank, because arowanas can injure themselves on objects like that when feeding time comes. Another thing I picked up from these pros, when having arowanas irregardless of breed, keep the tank as simple as possible..no ornaments of any type, as to avoid any injuries.

But everyone is entitled to their own thoughts and opinions.


srry but your wrong, not just in my opinion. its a fact that thats cruelty since an aro can get as long as that tank. and dont think its alright to keep a fish in a smaller tank because it wont get as big as it does in the wild or a pond. the reason they dont get as big is they are stunted, which means theyr insides keep growing but theyr body doesnt and they eventually die from it. a full grown non stunted aro would have to lie down on the bottom of the tank, it wouldnt even be able to swim. if this is your opinion then your opinion is its alright to keep aros in bad living conditions.
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All these folk are only looking out for the best interest of your Aro and other peoples Aros.

Please you have to understand that you are giving out bad advice and nobody on here wants to see someone fallow in your foot steps.
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blakskyz said:
Actually you can have 2 arowanas in a 90 gal tank, as long its wide enough. If its at least minimum of 18" wide tank..its not a problem. I had 2 arowanas, silver and pearl in a 75 gal that was 4 inches shorter than a 90 gal, but same lenght and width.

Silver was 25" whilst the pearl was about 21" or 22". This is going back several years ago, and I have both of them for 3 years and both were doing fine and as a matter of fact they are still doing fine. I don't have them anymore since I moved I gave them away. The silver is now in a 90 gal tank at a friends house and has grown to about 28"...growth may have been stunted a bit, but fish is happy and healthy..no spinal curvature, bulging eyes or curled gills. Same for the pearl (australian) arowana, housed in a 75 gal tank, my old tank at my bro's house and has peaked at 24". May not be as big but both arowanas are still alive and healthy.

As long as you take the time and effort to maintain the tank...you should be okay. BTW, purchased both of them when they were about 2" big.
The pearl was the meaner of the two..used to chase the silver around, but as they grew bigger together they got along.

Sure, the bigger the tank the better..no doubt but if you can't afford it or have the space for it, you can get by with that 90 gal. If you are worried then just get one silver, personally I prefer the austrailian, its the closet to the golden and super reds.

As for me, I'm in the process of re-setting up a new tank, most likely a 125 gal that will house 2 -3 arowanas, possibly a teacup stingray too.

If you do decide to do it, make sure you got a really good filtration system. My old 75g had a wet/dry system that I made out of a spare 20g tank and kept my tank pristine.

Only reason I got into was when I visited Singapore, and a friend of a friend from there took us to the Dragon Fish Industries arowana farm. I swear if it wasn't illegal to have a Super Red arowana, I'd get 6 of them. Heh.
Anyways, while there we asked a lot of questions and these guys are the pros, they breed these babies and know them like the back of their own hand. They told us its pefectly alright to use a 75 gal or bigger tank to house an arowana, as long as its wide enough (min. 18" best 24"). They even stated that if you have a longer tank, 8ft in lengh won't make much of a difference, since they only get real big in the wild or in their farms, since they have huge ponds set up. But indoor captivity with the traditional tanks..not very likely, unless you have a huge custom made tanks like Aquariums do..sure it'll get big, but how many people have that?

If you are really into arowanas, I suggest taking a trip to Singapore. There are other arowana farms out there, and the super reds..omg...what's amazing the price of them out there...hmmm..if I can get my wife to go along with the idea of moving to singapore....lol

There are some web sites that have great info about arowanas, do a google search and you will find some.

Good luck.
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are you kidding me? that is torture!!!!! i have a 15" aro in a 75 right now and i will be moving him in a month to a 180! a 25" aro in a 18" wide tank what are you thinking?
 
you cannot stunt an aros growth to make it live in a 75 that is BS!!!!! so what your telling me is that I can get an arapaima and keep it in a 100 for life???? your just misinformed and should not be keeping fish that you know nothing about or even keep fish at all IMO... You cannot stunt a fish they will die instead of stop growing... thats why your aro that lived in a 75 only lived for a few years instead of the 25 that they can live... man this is making me get all worked up!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
 
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