Arowanas - need info.

[Typical Tony]

Can anyone direct me to a site or forum with some good reading materials?

Im seriously thinking about getting one for the tank im going to get soon..

Thanks

[gacericardo]

Monster fish keepers has tons of good info. Try reading up there. What size tank you getting?

[Typical Tony]

Monster fish keepers has tons of good info. Try reading up there. What size tank you getting?

110-125ish...Im pretty sure they will outgrow it but i want to start with one that's about 4-5 inches.

[Deco]

just make sure you have a cover for your tank. I like the black arrowanna or the Jardini.

[flamenco-t]

Keep a single arowana, make sure EVERY sq inch on the top of your tank is covered either with glass, acrylic or egg crate and put something to weight it down.

Keep up with water changes (1-2 at 30-50% weekly).

They are hardy, they can tolerate meds, they eat anything, they can tolerate almost anything other than another arowana (if you want to have more than one, you need at least 200-300 gallon with plenty of space) I have 2 - 24" Black arowanas and 1 -19" Silver aro in a 240 gallon. I had another black as well as leichardti at one point.

[Austin]

30" wide tank at absolute minimum. They will get that big in just a couple years.

[Typical Tony]

Thanks all, been reading alot of the posts on MFK since this morning... Im guessing i will have to stop by Half Price Book to see if i can find some books on them, want to learn as much as i can...

[oscar-lover]

Go for Jardini, my friend had one for over 5 years and it was around 26 inches long, temp was around 28-30, was fed on live bloodworms, earthworms, shrimps and occasionally live feed. Water changes were atleast 50% minimum every week.

Poor guy went carpet surfing, imagine burrying such a big fish......:(

[Austin]

Jardini have the tendancy to become the spawn of Satan himself. After my big silver goes to the fishbowl in the sky I will only keep black aros, they don't seem to grow as quickly or get quite as big. The colors on my black are amazing still and he's 2' at least.

[MarkS]

Jardini have the tendancy to become the spawn of Satan himself. After my big silver goes to the fishbowl in the sky I will only keep black aros, they don't seem to grow as quickly or get quite as big. The colors on my black are amazing still and he's 2' at least.



Austin, do you know where to get a Black Ara? I've neen looking for a while with no luck

[Austin]

Gonna have to have it shipped in, the downfall of living in the middle of the country :).

[oscar-lover]

Jardinis are the easiest to obtain apart from the silvers in India......the black arowana often remains a dream to the hobbyist and the other aros like the spoonheads, RTG, Greens etc are very expensive....

What aros are legal in USA ?????.......has anybody kept african aros

[Austin]

Black aros are fairly easy to come by if you are willing to pay the shipping. There are a few Africans around also. Any of the Asian aros are illegal (S. formosus)

[MarkS]

Know of any reputable importers??

[fidel]

You can check on aquabid, and i think infinite aquatics had some too

[flamenco-t]

You can check on aquabid, and i think infinite aquatics had some too

He hadn't had any for almost 2 years now..

Africans are awesome, they're just hard to keep alive at anything under 8-10 inches. They're one of the few species best kept to an experienced and DEDICATED aquarist. At juvenile, they do not have the ability to stoere fat as reserve so they require 2-3 times a day of feeding on top of excellent water quality NOT to mention will not tolerate any other african aro species.

I started with 6 and ended up with 2 that are 10-12" now.

Black goes for $ 200-300 ish, Fish gallery brings 1 black from time to time for $ 350. Not a bad price since you'll pay about $ 100 in shipping from out of state. With fish gallery, you can see before you buy and the quality that they have are usually one of the better ones.

Another species to get is Leichardti. They're not as evil as jardini and get better coloring IMO than jardini.

I propably have kept more aros that most of you ever keep combine in your lifetime LOL.

I had 4 black aros, a silver and a leichardti all in one tank with perfect harmony.

Right now, I am down to 2 black aros, 2 leichardtis, 2 African and a wild caught silver.

Stan

[pam916]

I was at Aquatic Wonderland in Arlington yesterday and they had a lot of arowannas, I am not sure which varieties they have since I am not into aros, but it might be worth checking out. The owners are a very nice couple and if they don't have what you want they might be able to get it for you. You can also check out their web site.

[Venom SS]

Heres a link to a guy that carries all kinds of really cool stuff. Shipping can be pricey but his fish are really top notch. Alot of wild caught stuff. Has aro's from time to time. http://www.tangledupincichlids.com (http://www.tangledupincichlids.com/)

[iron]

I have seen some at Fish Paradise in Fort Worth on McCart St. south of I-20. Call first, the guy is pushing salties hard and forgot fresh water almost totally. He had like 10 of them for like $80 each.

[Typical Tony]

Thanks all, cant wait to put it all together.

[BenChod]

last time i went to Fish Paradise in Fort Worth it was closed...is it open again?

[TheCanuck]

He hadn't had any for almost 2 years now..

Africans are awesome, they're just hard to keep alive at anything under 8-10 inches. They're one of the few species best kept to an experienced and DEDICATED aquarist. At juvenile, they do not have the ability to stoere fat as reserve so they require 2-3 times a day of feeding on top of excellent water quality NOT to mention will not tolerate any other african aro species.

I started with 6 and ended up with 2 that are 10-12" now.

Black goes for $ 200-300 ish, Fish gallery brings 1 black from time to time for $ 350. Not a bad price since you'll pay about $ 100 in shipping from out of state. With fish gallery, you can see before you buy and the quality that they have are usually one of the better ones.

Another species to get is Leichardti. They're not as evil as jardini and get better coloring IMO than jardini.

I propably have kept more aros that most of you ever keep combine in your lifetime LOL.

I had 4 black aros, a silver and a leichardti all in one tank with perfect harmony.

Right now, I am down to 2 black aros, 2 leichardtis, 2 African and a wild caught silver.

Stan

"have" kept.

Arowanas live quite a long time. Where did they all go?



""" I have 2 - 24" Black arowanas and 1 -19" Silver aro in a 240 gallon. I had another black as well as leichardti at one point. """""

Austin is correct about the 30 min. and atleast double the length, a 300 gallon with perfect layout would be the MINIMUM for a silver Arowana.

I would go with the jardini and keep it in a 180. Unless you can bust out a 300 gallon and dedicate it to your fish. In that case your 125 would be a waste of cash. Plan carefully and good luck :D

[bknerd]

BenChod,
Fish Paradise is closed:(

[flamenco-t]

"have" kept.

Arowanas live quite a long time. Where did they all go?



Some have been donated, one of them is at the amazon tank at dallas world aquarium and some were traded in with other fish. I have lost 3 arowanas, since I have been keeping them over 10 years ago.

[Typical Tony]

ok a little too much info... lol :hehe:

[TheCanuck]

ok a little too much info... lol :hehe:

Atleast you now know the only pro at keeping your fish is you :exactly:.

Your fish will only strive as well as you provide for it, and as much as you research. I have a friend that gets 8 inch arowanas for 40-50$. He will also take trades. Jardinis are usually not a problem either they are the spawn of satan though, but come on, who doesn't like an evil monster!!

[gacericardo]

Austin, do you know where to get a Black Ara? I've neen looking for a while with no luck


Yea. Fish gallery has one right now

[Austin]

Sure it's a black? I've never seen one local. Not disagreeing, just curious cause I'd like another...

[gacericardo]

You know I am actually not good with aros. But its for sale for 199 and its listed as a black aro. The fins on its body are all black (well the parts that are supposed to be). Its a pretty badass fish

gacericardo added 0 Minutes and 40 Seconds later...

If i go in the next couple days ill take a pic

[Typical Tony]

are gars jumper as well?

[flamenco-t]

are gars jumper as well?

Gars are not known particulary as a jumper, but they will when they get spooked.

Spooked gars will jump and almost 80% of the time will break its back. at this point, it's better to put them down.

[gacericardo]

Yes they are. But they can live on the floor. I have found my gar on the floor three times. ONe time he was close to death. A week later he was as good looking as I have ever seen them. Very tough fish

[flamenco-t]

Yes they are. But they can live on the floor.


They CAN'T live on the floor lol, you just got REALLY lucky.

Stan

[Austin]

I've owned 8 gar and never ad an issue with them being "jumpers".

[TheCanuck]

In addition to breathing through gills, gar can also take in oxygen by swimming to the surface and gulping air into their swim bladders. This ability to "breathe" means they can survive in water that has almost no oxygen. They can even live out of water for many hours, as long as their bodies stay moist. If it wasn't a gar you would have been SOL. Good save though

[gacericardo]

They CAN'T live on the floor lol, you just got REALLY lucky.

Stan

Lol. You know what I mean. Mine was on the floor for 30 minutes until I found him. No more of those

[haiphan02]

would love to own one.