ally07

Yup, but the number I see varies from day to day lol. Some days I see only 5, but other days when my finace has a look, she spots 25.. So maybe my eyes aren't what they used to be lol. Definitely do see at least a few alive every day though, so somehow I must be doing something right! Question: how long can fry eat microworms for? I'm not really keen on using brine shrimp because of the hassle of hatching them and then rinsing out the brine. Is there an alternative to brine shrimp or can the fry survive on microworms till graduating to a bigger type of food?

Gratin

Read this info on an arowana forum and thought it was very informative (based on science, not myths). Enjoy! Coloration is controlled by the endocrine and nervous system, but dietary sources of pigment also play a role in determining color in fishes. The endocrine and nervous system both influence coloration in fish. The pituitary gland secretes hormones that direct the production and storage of pigments throughout the life of a fish, and particularly as maturity is reached. Pigment production and storage often increases at the onset of maturity. Many species use color to provide camouflage and attract a mate. The autonomic nervous system directs rapid color changes in response to stimuli such as a predator or an aggressive tankmate. Anyone who has observed fish knows this color change can occur at a spectacular rate. Specialized pigment containing cells called chromatophores are located beneath the scales. These cells are branched, permitting pigment granules to be near or away from the surface and aggregated or dispersed. These cells are the reason for the variable and sometimes rapid changes in fish color. Additionally, colorless purine crystals are contained in specialized chromatophores called iridophores. These crystals are too large to move in the iridophores but are stacked to provide a reflecting surface and the base or structural coloration of fishes. The iridophores are responsible for the silver sheen, particularly of small pelagic fish. These cells are capable reflectors of light and are responsible for the counter shading effect where fish appear darker when viewed from above and lighter when viewed from below. This mechanism helps detour predation. Pigments are characterized by their colors. Carotenoid pigments are red and orange. Xanthophylls are yellow. Melanin pigments are black and brown. Phycocyanin is the blue pigment derived from blue-green algae. Cells containing yellow pigments overlying those containing blue pigments can produce green hues. Fish are capable of producing some pigments, but others must be supplied in the diet. Black and brown pigments are produced in cells called melanocytes. Fish are incapable of producing carotenoid and xanthophyll pigments. Therefore, these must be supplied in the diet. Spirulina algae is a source of pigments to enhance blues. Natural sources of pigments are available in the diets of most fish. Color enhancing diets may contain additional natural pigments to enhance colors of ornamental fishes. The carotenoid pigment found in most marine and a few freshwater invertebrates is astaxanthin. This pigment gives the characteristic color to the flesh of salmon and is available in the diet of aquarium fish in shrimp and krill meals and salmon (fish) meal used as sources of protein in some feeds. Pure astaxanthin or canthaxanthin (synthetic astaxanthin) may also be added to fish feed to enhance red and orange coloration. Xanthophylls (yellow pigments) are found in corn gluten meal and dried egg that may be added to the diet to enhance yellows. The ground petals of marigold flowers have also been used as a source of xanthophylls. The blue-green algae spirulina is a rich source of phycocyanin and may be added to a diet to enhance blue coloration. The expense of supplementary pigments often limits the amount used in tropical fish feeds. These natural sources of pigments are in contrast to several methods routinely used to enhance colors of ornamental fish. Genetics Let's just take the colour red as an example. Colour is produced in a similar way to photographs in newspaper where from a distance, a photograph will look detailed, well defined, and clear. Yet under closer examination, particularly through a magnifying glass, the picture consists of thousands of tiny dots of ink, each working together to produce a picture of dark and light areas. Skin pigmentation is caused by dots (colour cells called chromatophores) the intensity of which is determined by how densely the dots are packed and how intensely each dot is coloured. An aro's genetic code will determine both factors, with the role of colour enhancement through feeding only being able to improve the colour of each colour cell (rather than increase their density in the skin). However, there is always hope as that same genetic code will also code for colour development where pattern and the appearance of other chromatophores may develop in the future. Carotenoids are the massive group of colour enhancing compounds that are stored and exhibited in a fish. They are a group of chemicals that impart colour by the way they absorb and reflect light. Those that refract higher wavelengths of light (reds)are more desirable than those that refract the lower end of the spectrum (yellow). They are organic in nature, and are very closely related to Vitamin A, and similar in structure to vitamin E. Due to their similarity in chemical structure to these 2 vitamins, they behave in a similar way in living tissue, being very reactive and unstable, easily degraded in oxygen heat and light. As carotenoids do degenerate over time, in the same way that a leaking bucket needs to be topped up to keep it full, koi require a constant supply of carotenoids to keep the chromatophores packed with carotenoids. Many different organisms (including shrimp, krill and koi) have the ability to convert certain pigments into others. Shrimp and krill are marine crustacea, and are renowned for their red pigmentation caused by the carotenoid astaxanthin. However, these filter feeding organisms feed on marine algae that is suspended in the water (and definitely not pink!), converting a range of pigments (carotene, lutein, and zeaxanthin) into the red pigment astaxanthin. Natural sources: There are several recognised natural sources of carotenoids suitable for colour enhancement. Like any natural commodity, qualities and pigment content can vary from source to source, and being organic, can be liable to degradation during food manufacture. However, natural sources are also renowned for offering a superb range of carotenoids. For example, marigold petals have more than 20 different carotenoids. They also have a high concentration of these compounds (approximately 9000mg per kilo), whereas shrimp or krill meal will only have about 200mg per kilo, with the added issue of the exoskeletal material have an exceedingly high ash content. Good natural sources of red pigmentation include shrimp, prawn and krill, with similar red pigments found in high quantities in red peppers (paprika). reference 1: Jason Selong reference 2: Pond Doctor Answers

C'mon, lol, where's your commitment? I have two exams on Tue and I'm still with my fish and the forums everyday haha. I call them "study breaks" but who am I kidding?? LoL.. :roll:

Also, air stones tend to look quite ugly in a natural-looking aquarium lol. I hide all my heaters and air stone in the sump so there's more oxygenation but less visibility haha.

lol, that sounds cool. Massive aro = massive tank mates. :thup: ...Wait, what happened to the albino themed aro tank?

Fishie123: any pics of your black/ silver? :lol:

LoL, with arowanas any purchase is diminishing return haha. We're definitely not in it to make any money lol; more likely that we're spending more than the cost of the fish in the long run just to keep it alive haha.. We should start a club: Arowanas Addicts Anonymous.. :slfg:

Nougat

As promised.. Updated pictures of my green: Jan 2011 (approximately 27cm) June 2011 (approximately 38cm) Sorry for the lack of older photos, that was the best I could find, the others were partial shots of the head, no full body shots. All the updated photos were taken with room lights + aquarium lights + flash (it was too dark any other way).

Well, no offence, Henward (or to the new owner of the RTG).. For the amount that you're going to pay for such a nice fish, just save up for a few more months and go for gold (pun intended) - cross back with base colour! In the grand scheme of things, if you're going to drop a few grand on a fish, you really might as well top it up a little bit more and get a jaw-droppingly nice fish. Now, the question is: are you willing to drop so much money on a fish? :lol:

Yeah, I'm totally for making tanks look as natural as possible.. I mean, my tank has gravel and driftwood and rocks as well, but I balance out with a very lightly stocked tank. My opinion is that when the tank has too much going on, the viewer gets distracted. In my tank, I want the focus to be immediately on my green arowana and the bottom dwellers as a secondary thought, not the viewers getting their focus constantly disrupted by another fish whizzing by. But in the case of such a massive aro comm tank, I wouldn't put any more than maybe one good piece of driftwood as a centerpiece so that the viewers can appreciate the magnificence of a school of arowanas (no mean feat in itself). If it were one arowana, I would add more natural decor. With so many, the practicalities also demand that water quality has to be top-notch (I doubt if that tank can be vac'd) and the less stuff for the arowanas to impale themselves upon, the better. With such a huge school, fights are almost imminent, so there has to be ample space for escape without harm. So the bare tank is not just aesthetic but practical as well. I think the owner pulled it off well by having the backgrounds blacked out with good lighting - everybody knows what he wants us to see. But, just my opinion is all! P/S Cichlids would be completely different - that would be a case of "how many rocks can I squeeze into this tank?" :lol:

Dead

Apologies for not being a planted tank fan.. :lol:

OK, lol.. I'll find some time later tonight and post some pics. Maybe I'll post some old pictures and you guys can do a comparison. What I really like at the moment is that his ridge above the head is getting more pronounced which is awesome. From the top view as well, his "shoulders" seem thicker and broader. When I first got him he was so skinny lol. Agree with Henward, that jar at HFF Mt Roskill has been there for a few weeks now. He's really tiny, so there is so much potential to get him to eat the right foods and grow really big if you put him into a large tank for the rest of his life. He's probably like 10cm or so long? Don't see them that small very often..

That's good! At least yours alternates between pellets and prawns haha. Mine is either/ or. If he gets prawns, the pellet training has to be restarted. But I don't mind keeping him on prawns because this way he can eat some massivore. Three things I've learned from Henward: 1. MASSIVORE. 2. Variety. 3. Live food. Surfing the forums, I have not seen another aro (so far) as bulky as Henward's except for this green: Maybe I should enlarge this picture and stick it on my tank background to motivate my green lol! :lol:

I measured last week and he measures in at 38cm. Still small for his age, but it's a total growth of 11cm since I got him in Jan. Recently streamlined his diet to prawns stuffed with massivore and gut stuffed mealworms, so I'm anticipating better growth rate. Previously he was fed on prawns stuffed with tropical sticks, then I weaned him off prawns until finally he stopped eating his pellets unless there were prawns.. :nilly: :facepalm: Also tried FD silkworm pupae which he took for a while but doesn't anymore. So, his diet has been streamlined to stuff that he cannot resist - prawns and mealworms. He's NEVER too full for mealworms. Still does his weekly auto-fast though, so I don't need to remember to fast him for a day lol, he does it for me.

That

Sherman

Hi aro fans Since recently there has been a bit of a surge in aro discussions, I thought I'd start a discussion thread for all things aro, simply for the ease of not starting a new thread for every little topic/ observation. To please the Mods, the ground rules are: 1. Don't go :smot: 2. Try not to get TOO chatty (without content), even though we are passionate about our aros. 3. Standard forum rules apply. To kick off, I'd like to share that I installed a 6000L/hr wave maker in the tank last night and my green is LOVING IT. At first I was afraid that the power would be too much for it, but he is unfazed. He swims right up to the outlets and stays there, enjoying a bit of a body massage, I imagine. So that's really cool, hopefully the current will make the tank more 'natural' for him and help him bulk up a bit. This totally goes against what I've been taught years ago about aros, that they like slow moving water, but it looks like they actually do thrive on a bit of water resistance!

*gasp* Am I the only one who is willing to strip away all the peripherals and appreciate the zen serenity of watching a group of ridiculously expensive fish swim together? If it were one arowana, I would make it look natural, but somehow with big comms, I prefer to keep the tank black/ bare so that it doesn't look so crowded and messy - let the fish do the talking. Minimalist, baby! :thup:

I think I've found.. "THE ONE".. The holiest of grails (IMO):

Tom

If it's too good to be true.. It probably is! :sage:

Whichever lol! A pic of your gold would be awesome..