Arowana question

[camtang]

So I have been doing a lot of forum browsing about arowana tanks and keeping them as I am planing to set one up very soon.

I always thought they were a keep only one per tank fish, but recently I have seen a lot of tanks with 3 or more in them, these tanks seemingly rather small housing rather large fish.

Is this due to the price being cheap for them over seas and keepers not overly caring as they can get a replacement or is it as they are better in a trio or group if size of tank is acceptable?

[henward]

So I have been doing a lot of forum browsing about arowana tanks and keeping them as I am planing to set one up very soon.

I always thought they were a keep only one per tank fish, but recently I have seen a lot of tanks with 3 or more in them, these tanks seemingly rather small housing rather large fish.

Is this due to the price being cheap for them over seas and keepers not overly caring as they can get a replacement or is it as they are better in a trio or group if size of tank is acceptable?

There are a multitude of reasons why they are kept in such tanks.

first and foremost, arowanas CAN be housed in a 'aro comm' aro community tank. This is in fact, a dream of mine to have one day.

but having 2 in one tank can spell trouble, having 3 is the minimum, as a rule of thumb, the more aros you have in one tank, the better the chance of success. Sometimes also, arowanas can snap, and suddenly get aggressive. maybe this is when they come of breeding age or size. At times, changing the layout of the tank could also change their behaviour even if the arowanas are the same ones that used to get along. IN my tank, i re arranged and the arowana suddenly hated the giant gourami, killed it with in 2 days - when it tolerated it for ages.

but here are the reasons why when you see aro comms overseas (typically asia) - they are housed in small tanks

1) arowanas are cheap. An an example, a good quality red aro is 500usd to 1000usd, Here we pay upwards of 3k even if you import yourself.

this makes arowanas easy to replace.

2) Asian people in asian countries generally have a less regard to animal welfare. This is not a racial swipe as i am asian myself. But asia in general has very little regard to animal health. hence why you see fish in tiny bags ont he road, siamese fighter fish stored in bottle caps and when they die, they just dispose of them on the side of the road, pick up another from a bucket and put it in the same place. This is also apparent seeing pet shops in asia, small cluttered places, under filtered water with usually amonia ridden systems. Fish gasping for air, cloudy water, smelling of amonia and rotten water. This is more of an education thing, i suppose in third world countries, they dont see this as cruel.

3) Asian cities usually have weight restrictions in buildings and EXTREMELY limited space, so - through neccesity, they are driven to have smaller tanks.

4) It is asserted by breeders and experienced keepers that keeping arowanas in smaller tanks have greater success of comming them. Reason is perhaps they dont have the ability to set up territories in the tank. Logic can also be found in HUGE tanks where territories can be formed with no interference, but this is the reverse logic applied with consideration of the above. example - 7 aros may succeed in a 1200litre tank, but fail in a 2000litre.

5) distraction is apparently key to aro comming. Distraction fish OR light of sight barriers like plants, air bubbles and everyone seems to agree, power heads, current that literally push the fish, distract them from aggression - i have even seen a tank with an even number of aros fighting, but when an odd one is introduced, fighting stops. This is apparenlty because when the fish pair up to fight, there is an odd one out that tips the balance of aggression. Hard to prove, but makes sense i suppose.

in conclusion.

The above are the numerous factors in your observation, Derived fro my experience, talking to them, seeing it in practice in asia and also just the general climate and attitude of the keepers in asia.

Try this.

Go to arofanatics or arowanafishtalk forum - ask the size of tank for one single asian arowana.

And them go to MFK (monsterfishkeepers.com) and ask there the size for one arowana.

You will get 2 vastly different sizes. in the asian forums, you will get a size of 4x2x2 (feet) in mfk, you will probably get 6x3x3 or even 8x3x3.

just the culture, attitude and through the times - neccesity has forged different opinions.

i guess, you have to ask yourself this:

Will you find joy, satisfaction and pride seeing a 50 to 60cm fish (reaching 60 cm in a small tank is unlikely) that you just purchased, imported from singapore. Probably spent 3k, 4k, 5k, 6k on - just to see it hardly able to swim? or do you want it to be able to dash and swim at its leisure in a huge tank with the right footprint?

your answer that that question will determine your line of thinking.

PS: Also, in these countries, they hardly filter their tanks. I always confront people in the forums and ask them what their amonia reading is. 99% will never or have never had any test kits or even know what amonia is. They go to a shop, buy a fish and a small tank thinking its dandy, no research at all. Common threads are "fish dying" , "fish gasping" , fish not eating, water smelly and cloudy and fish sick. etc.

I am actually a mod in www. arowanafishtalk.com - got banned for life in arofanatics for confronting people there:D story for another day.

[reuben.a]

:gpo2: i love arowanas particularly black aros. i hope someday i am able to set up a huge aro tank....someday !drool:

[camtang]

Thanks for the great reply!

I now want to hear this story ....

[henward]

Thanks for the great reply!

I now want to hear this story ....

haha, simple story short.

In asia, red lights are particularly popular to make arowanas seem more red.

i made a point of asking for arowana pictures with normal light, as in, aqua glo or power glo or white reptile light etc, not red pink l ights.

they got angry cos i accused them of faking pictures. turns out that the owners of the arofanatics site are vendors too. they took offence and i got banned.

But, arowanafishtalk are also frequented by people from the arofanatics, but its set up for someone who also got banned a long time ago - similar views to mine

also, many asian keepers tend to go on myth.

also, myth help them sell arowanas. I dont like that.

just difference in views

but there is no point of keeping a nice fish in a tiny tank.

unless if there is no choice, but the argument then stands... then one should not keep such fish perhaps?

thats an opinion i suppose,

[Fruju]

Cheap part for keeping aros is the fish (asian aros excluded), expensive part is the tank. Size is money lol.

[henward]

Cheap part for keeping aros is the fish (asian aros excluded), expensive part is the tank. Size is money lol.

When you add up stand. Light. Tank. Filter... Definitely not cheap! You are right.

[reef]

The reds are amazing

[David R]

Cheap part for keeping aros is the fish (asian aros excluded), expensive part is the tank. Size is money lol.

Even with Asians the fish cost vs the cost of set up, food, power, water etc over the lifetime of a fish that can and should exceed 70cm in length is minimal, you're talking around a dollar a day over the lifetime of the fish if you keep it for ten years. That is why I can't understand the popularity of silver aros, anyone who chokes at the price of an Asian or even a black obviously hasn't added up what it costs to maintain and run a large aquarium.

On the subject of comms tho, my personal opinion is that they're best left for those with swimming pool sized tanks. It may be possible with less, but I'd rather have one perfect fish than half a dozen with missing scales and torn fins. If you're going to try it the most important thing is to have the ability to separate them if it goes badly.

[henward]

Even with Asians the fish cost vs the cost of set up, food, power, water etc over the lifetime of a fish that can and should exceed 70cm in length is minimal, you're talking around a dollar a day over the lifetime of the fish if you keep it for ten years. That is why I can't understand the popularity of silver aros, anyone who chokes at the price of an Asian or even a black obviously hasn't added up what it costs to maintain and run a large aquarium.

On the subject of comms tho, my personal opinion is that they're best left for those with swimming pool sized tanks. It may be possible with less, but I'd rather have one perfect fish than half a dozen with missing scales and torn fins. If you're going to try it the most important thing is to have the ability to separate them if it goes badly.

Very true.

[camtang]

Some great input from all, thanks for helping me work this out. Much appreciated