ally07 Posted January 11, 2011 Report Share Posted January 11, 2011 Finally, I've purchased my first arowana! :happy1: I went to Bird Barn yesterday with the intention of looking for a jardini, which they didn't have. But they did have a juvenile green arowana available (!!) Unfortunately it has a bit of gill curl on one side, probably due to an unhappy childhood, but otherwise he (?) is such a good looking fish and he's got so much personality. Quick question: He does this slight "gasping" motion with his mouth, just a very small opening and closing every few seconds, but not like he's really struggling to breathe or anything. I looked it up on the internet and there have been a few reported cases on various forums and in most cases the fish didn't make it. Reasons reported were food stuck in the throat; bad water condition; lack of oxygen in the water and internal infection. As far as I know, Bird Barn has fed this arowana pellets only, but even if there was live food it must've taken something like a frog bone or prawn shell to get lodged in an arowana's throat. (Ruled out as unlikely) I tested the ammonia, nitrate, nitrite and pH which all came out to 0.0; 0.0; 0.0; 6.8. (The pH is slightly higher than I'd like but I'm working on bringing it down with more tannins - thus unlikely) The tank is filtered by an overflow into a wet/ dry tower sump with an airstone inside (I counted about 4 different points of aeration - therefore unlikely) Behaviour-wise he seems to be doing just fine, no loss of colour, he swims around without a care in the world but he isn't eating yet (I'm putting it down to new environment). Is it possible that the gasping is due to "house-moving" stress or something to do with his gill curl? Any thoughts would really help me to get to the bottom of this and let me sleep better at night.. :-? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A-town... Posted January 11, 2011 Report Share Posted January 11, 2011 just out of curiousity how much did you pay Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snookie Posted January 11, 2011 Report Share Posted January 11, 2011 congratulations , good choice , what date is on the certificate ? wonder if its from the same batch as mine , the gasping could be due to moving house , how was he/she behaving at the bird barn? , was he/she a trade in ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rabbit Posted January 11, 2011 Report Share Posted January 11, 2011 Very odd that you got a reading of 0 for Nitrates Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anthony law Posted January 11, 2011 Report Share Posted January 11, 2011 how long has he being in the new tank. when i first got my one.. he didnt eat at all for three days then slow started to...what size the tank hes in....any pics where there any more ill love anthor one .... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fruju Posted January 11, 2011 Report Share Posted January 11, 2011 Gill curl can recede. Keep water conditions good and it might begin to reduce, saw him the other day, had a weird shaped head though very different to others I have seen. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
henward Posted January 11, 2011 Report Share Posted January 11, 2011 agreed, weird that nitrate is zero. Amonia , Nitrite zero is all cool but nitrate.... ph is a little high for an arowana. should be around the 7s. but, the mouth movement can mean many things. arowana will at an extend always have a movement in the mouth like breathing, like most if not all fish. BUT, if its pronouced and the fish is lethargic, thats a problem. was it eating, did you ask to see it eat? if you saw it eat with zest, i wouldnt worry for now, could be stress. check your water again. temp should be 27 - 29 celcius. ph should be around 7. but arowanas willa dapt to 8 ish, but preferred 6 to 7 ish ph. in terms of your water parameters, measure again, nitrate being zero doesnt make sense. im not trying to be difficult, but some have said their water is perfect here and asking why their fish is sick, but relaly... we all know the water isnt perfect. a high ph means that your tank could be new, perhaps even uncycled. straight out of the tap - as some areas in auckland have higher ph. Albany, shore is always around 7 to 7.2 out of tap. south or west, not sure - heard sometimes its higher. if your tank is uncycled, you WILL face issues. but doesnt mean its the end of your fish. it just means you hvae to manage it extremely carefully... pedantically and very closely. gill curl can disappear. should disappear wtih good water. if not, surgery may be needed to cut it off and let it grow back again, should be last resort. question, you have researched aros before i hope? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
henward Posted January 11, 2011 Report Share Posted January 11, 2011 pics would be cool! arowanas are the best fish to keep. cos they get large and eat large objects. anyway, what size tank by the way? filter configuration ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ally07 Posted January 11, 2011 Author Report Share Posted January 11, 2011 So many questions! I'll try to answer as many as I can.. -I managed to bargain it down to $400, which I can live with because I was prepared to pay $350 for a jardini.. -Was I supposed to get a certificate? The guy didn't mention anything about one and I didn't expect one because as far as I know greens aren't endangered..? -At Bird Barn he was swimming around quite happily with the other fish, as he is doing now as well. -The tank is approximately 750L, 1.8m (L), 0.8m (H), 0.6m(D) - if I remember correctly lol.. But the capacity is definitely right. -The tank is definitely cycled, it has been running for about 2 months with a pleco and some convicts. I just did another nitrate test and it looks like 5mg/L now, even though it still showed 0mg/L about 5 min ago, so maybe I didn't wait long enough last night. :oops: -Not sure exactly how to describe my filter config. but here goes.. 1. Overflow pipe leads down to sump 2. Water goes through three layers of fine filter wool 3. Drip tray leads down to lots and lots and lots of bio-balls 4. Underneath bio-balls is some ceramic noodles 5. In the "reservoir" area is an airstone and a pump which sends the water back into the tank above -How do I upload pics without a flickr account? The pics are all on my Facebook account but I doubt if I can link the URLs to the forum haha.. (And I'm not too keen on doubling my friend count with unfamiliar forummers, no offence ) EDIT: @Henward: Yes, I have researched arowanas rather extensively for about 3-4 years, when I first got the crazy dream of owning one. Every tank since then has been leading up to this glorious setup. But I imagine it's like having a newborn, you read all the books but when you really have the baby you freak out about every little cough. (I hope my arowana is just coughing!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
henward Posted January 11, 2011 Report Share Posted January 11, 2011 all good then. all the boxes are ticked:) and you have your shiz sorted! i think the aro should be fine:D feel it well, shrimp is good. shrimp with pellets stuffed in it. OR pellets even better. morning pellets, evening shrimp. i stuff shriimps with massivore:D yum yum! awesome, aros are awesome! they are a regal fish to keep Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snookie Posted January 11, 2011 Report Share Posted January 11, 2011 all Asian Arowana should be certificated , all are endangered , he /she will have a microchip i will show you mine if you show me yours (aro that is ) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sunbird73 Posted January 11, 2011 Report Share Posted January 11, 2011 straight out of the tap - as some areas in auckland have higher ph. Albany, shore is always around 7 to 7.2 out of tap. FYI - Am in sunnynook just sth of Albany - our tap water comes out at 7.8 - 8.0 consistently, measured with both standard pH tests, and an accurate expensive one from DH's work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ally07 Posted January 12, 2011 Author Report Share Posted January 12, 2011 That's a relief! I'm just going to wait for him to settle before feeding him pellets.. I'm sooo tempted to spoil him with a delicious insect treat though.. Next thing to do is to go back and get my certificate haha.. P/S I am working on setting up an online photo storage account so pics are in the works. EDIT: I've set up a Photobucket account but I can't upload the photos to the forum because it keeps telling me that it can only be 800 pixels wide. I've resized the photos to the smallest size possible but still no-go.. Can anybody help with this problem please? :dunno: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ally07 Posted January 12, 2011 Author Report Share Posted January 12, 2011 During transport in a plastic fish bin he must've freaked out and thrashed around, knocking himself against a bit of protruding plastic. As a result, he lost 2 scales and a bit of tail fin. I've read that it will heal in about 1.5-2 months. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blueether Posted January 12, 2011 Report Share Posted January 12, 2011 I've set up a Photobucket account but I can't upload the photos to the forum because it keeps telling me that it can only be 800 pixels wide. I've resized the photos to the smallest size possible but still no-go.. Can anybody help with this problem please? :dunno: Select the pic, on on it's page click the " Share to See more »" click "get code" you will want the "IMG for bulletin boards & forums" and probably the thumbnail option HTH Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ally07 Posted January 12, 2011 Author Report Share Posted January 12, 2011 Sweeeeet.. Cheers matey. As a reward for your Samaritan-ness, I will soon be posting all the pictures of my recent trip to Qian Hu Fish Farm in Singapore. (Spoiler alert: Arowana lovers prepare to drool..) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
henward Posted January 12, 2011 Report Share Posted January 12, 2011 scales heal no worries. sunnynook. do you get your water from Okura resevoir or the forrest hill one? or even the northcote one? cos mine is definitely around 7 ish, doesnt get much higher. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fruju Posted January 12, 2011 Report Share Posted January 12, 2011 Tail looks broken? Do you know its origin? If it is from the old batch it could be stunted? Nothing you can't repair with good food and environment Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
evil_elmo Posted January 12, 2011 Report Share Posted January 12, 2011 ph should be between 6-7.5, i prefer 6.5 but as long as your ph is stable it will be fine imho this fish looks stunted and not very good condition, he is missing bottom part of his tail? and the gill curl is a good sign he wasnt looked after by the old owner Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ally07 Posted January 12, 2011 Author Report Share Posted January 12, 2011 Yeah, the bottom part of the tail was from the traumatic house-moving. I found the bit of the tail and 2 scales in the fish transport bin afterwards. You reckon he's stunted? Honestly, I'm not very familiar with medium sized arowanas. I could probably tell if an adult was stunted but I thought he was just young. The gill curl was a concern and did hint at a bad childhood but I'm hoping it will recede with good water conditions. I went in to Bird Barn earlier today and the guy told me that the fish didn't come with a cert, but he'd check it out for me. Apparently they know a guy who imports them into NZ who also imported the B-grade reds that HFF sold a while back..? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
evil_elmo Posted January 12, 2011 Report Share Posted January 12, 2011 just keep good water conditions and he should be find, the gill curl wont go away unless you cut it which i wouldnt recommend and the tail will heal if you can get a cert you will can figure out the age of the fish but i'm sure there has been only one batch of greens imported into nz in the last couple of years Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ally07 Posted January 12, 2011 Author Report Share Posted January 12, 2011 just keep good water conditions and he should be find, the gill curl wont go away unless you cut it which i wouldnt recommend and the tail will heal if you can get a cert you will can figure out the age of the fish but i'm sure there has been only one batch of greens imported into nz in the last couple of years Yeah, I wasn't too worried about the tail after I read on another forum that it should heal in about 1-2 months. The gill curl isn't ideal I guess, but I knew about it before purchasing it and he really is a great fish to have around so I'm still happy. The guy at Bird Barn told me that the importer operated on three of his own fish for gill curl - one died. 33.33% chance of losing a fish is a bit too dicey for me, so I highly doubt if I'll operate on it. Just curious, is the growth stunt due to bad water conditions/ diet/ genetics? Will good water and diet overcome this problem? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fruju Posted January 12, 2011 Report Share Posted January 12, 2011 Just curious, is the growth stunt due to bad water conditions/ diet/ genetics? Will good water and diet overcome this problem? Will still grow substantially but may take a lot longer and will not make it to the extent that say Henwards RTG is at. Growth stunt due to small tank and poor husbandry, optimum conditions will improve health overall. Small tanks cause the gill curl + poor water quality - researched it myself. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ally07 Posted January 12, 2011 Author Report Share Posted January 12, 2011 Will still grow substantially but may take a lot longer and will not make it to the extent that say Henwards RTG is at. Growth stunt due to small tank and poor husbandry, optimum conditions will improve health overall. Small tanks cause the gill curl + poor water quality - researched it myself. Yeah, I'll believe the bit about the gill curl.. I once saw an arowana that was so badly disfigured. Imagine the hunchback of notre dame but in arowana form, its spine was nearly an S-shape and one of its gills was so badly curled.. No doubt it was stuck in a tiny tank for most of its life. If I were the owner of the store I think I would have culled it. It's just pitiful to see it in such a state, obviously suffering greatly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David R Posted January 12, 2011 Report Share Posted January 12, 2011 Just curious, is the growth stunt due to bad water conditions/ diet/ genetics? Will good water and diet overcome this problem? Too small a tank is the most likely cause, doesn't matter what you feed it or how perfect the water is, if you're keeping a big fish in a small tank its not going to grow. A bigger tank and good diet now will help, but I think your fish will never reach its full potential after having such a slow start in life. Here's some pics of my green, it was close to 50cm when I sold it back in May. Yours is almost certainly from the same batch, the difference being that mine cane straight out of quarantine and into a 630L tank (there was a price difference too). And when I got it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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