Arowana help

Germanman

Germanman

My fish are my babies
Nov 24, 2005
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Santa Barbara, California
andrewsaquariums.blogspot.com
ok a doctor i do construction work for has a sliver arowana that hasnt seen a water change in at least 5 years. its on an auto topper and has gill lice and is extreamly emaciated. he has finally allowed me to service it and add a heater to the system. the question i have is it has about 2 inches of muck on the bottom and i havent tested the levels but i know they are off the chart by the look of the fish and the water. the fish is strong looking but very stressed. it also scrapes itself on the top of the calcium encrusted aquarium whenever it eats the feeders. how should i preform the water change? should i just do an initial 15% change and then let it be and then on the 2nd time remove another 15% and the top layer of the muck? or do both at the same time. also the bottom is covered with large smooth rocks so the sand is under those and more muck than u can imagine..that i will have to do slowly...so what do u all recommend?
 
is there a filter? And how large is the tank?
 
musho3210 said:
is there a filter? And how large is the tank?
Click to expand...
lol its a 180 built into the wall.
it has a primitive sump that need to be redone and a no longer functioning wave maker. the sup has a auto topper and the return pump turns the tank over about 8x. substrait is white gravel(used to be at least) with large black rocks on top covering most the gravel. other tank mate is a Chinese algae eater. like i said no heater and some old metal halides(tank used to be a reef ages ago).
 
if its survived for this long in poor conditions changing them quickly is a bad idea.
10-15% daily water changes and sump media clean out is best, once the fish has gotten used to the better water quality then biger less frequent changes can be done.
how big is the fish, as an example i have a 17'' aro with a 14'' and 6'' datnoid in a 180 and do a 50% waterchange every week.
8x turn over for a sump is not too bad and as the water was topped up the fish has survived but it does sound like it needs sorting out badly.
it also needs other food than feeders.
any other ?
 
no other foods no so yea that would be another question what else do u recommend and anything i can put in an auto feeder? also the arowana is at least 20 inches but i wana lean towards 2'. also what can i do about me? he hasnt had any human contact for a loooonnng time...he seems to like my fingers. i have pvc reinforced aqua gloves.
 
Be prepared to get him off of the floor. I bet you anything he'll jump. Don't underestimate their power.

Clean is slowly, but steadily. 15% and a little muck removal each time. Eventually you might be able to get the fish to take pellets, but it will take some training. Feeding smelt and shrimp 3-4X a week would be better IMO.
If it wont take the prepared foods drop a feeder in the same spot for a few days in a row. Then start throwing some smelt in the mix. he should hit it fast enough that he doesn't know it's not a feeder.


The tank and filtration is fine, you could get away with less flow even. Make sure that the biomedia isnt clogged with crap too.
 
you dont want to shock him so evrything you do wil have to be very gradual. good luck. i feel bad for the poor thing:(
 
the bio media was just added about 5 months ago. i was informed today that the tank has never had a water change ever at all. im afraid the owner will not pay me to come and feed the fish that much so i dont know what to do and he is so busy im afraid it will not get proper nutrition. also its hard telling someone hat the fish that has been"fine" for so many years "needs all this extra stuff"....i hope hell let me give it the proper care. i know about the jumping i used to sell them at my old work and thx for the help Rally! the holes in the acrylic top are very small and the opening in the wall is as well...ill barricade the back so it cant fall behind the tank(has a false back 3-D scene from when the tank was a reef).
wish me luck guys!
 
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