i planning to get a black arro. what water temperature and ph value should I maintain for the tank. so far there are few African chichild living happily in the tank. I heard arrowana is super sensitive and hard to take care . any advise on what to do before introducing my arrowana to the tank ?
what to do to build arrowana tank?
- Thread starter walrus14
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1. How long has the tank been up?
2. How big is the tank?
3. What is your filtration?
4. What is the size of the arowana?
Ideally you want the tank to be 4 times the length of the fish *in this case the tank would be about 10 feet), 2 times the length of the fish for the width (in this case it would be 6 feet), the height can usually be 2 feet with no problems, so that makes for the tank to be about 900 gallons. You need to consider filtration, for a large fish you want 2 times the amount of filtration the filter is rated for (so if you have one rated for 400 gallons, you want 4 of those filters to filter twice the volume of the water, though this is just my opinion), I personally would recommend a few sponge filers in the corners (if possible) to aerate the tank and to remove any detritus at the bottom and have a few canister filters (eheim or fluval IMO). The tank should be well cycled (which is sounds like it has been), preferably for 3 or more months, and the pH should be around 6.5, but anything from 6-7 would be acceptable. I'd get the arowana and make sure the water parameters match up very closely before adding him in, and if possible quarantine and medicate the arowana first, preferably medicate for 1-2 weeks and quarantine for 1-3 months if possible
2. How big is the tank?
3. What is your filtration?
4. What is the size of the arowana?
Ideally you want the tank to be 4 times the length of the fish *in this case the tank would be about 10 feet), 2 times the length of the fish for the width (in this case it would be 6 feet), the height can usually be 2 feet with no problems, so that makes for the tank to be about 900 gallons. You need to consider filtration, for a large fish you want 2 times the amount of filtration the filter is rated for (so if you have one rated for 400 gallons, you want 4 of those filters to filter twice the volume of the water, though this is just my opinion), I personally would recommend a few sponge filers in the corners (if possible) to aerate the tank and to remove any detritus at the bottom and have a few canister filters (eheim or fluval IMO). The tank should be well cycled (which is sounds like it has been), preferably for 3 or more months, and the pH should be around 6.5, but anything from 6-7 would be acceptable. I'd get the arowana and make sure the water parameters match up very closely before adding him in, and if possible quarantine and medicate the arowana first, preferably medicate for 1-2 weeks and quarantine for 1-3 months if possible
Medicate for what? Why would you tell somebody to medicate a fish he doesn't have yet, with no indication the fish will be sick?
What he is mostly correct about, OP, is that you will need a very large tank. 8-10 feet long, and 36" wide, would be about the absolute minimum. The "rules" of tank size are more like guidelines, and people have different opinions. However, it is common sense which tells us the tank would need to be 3' wide, as arowana can grow 3' long. And 8' long would be about twice the eventual length of the fish.
If you are surprised by this info, and do not plan on getting a gigantic tank, or perhaps a pond... please find another fish. Most people can't care for arowanas.
I mean if he gets the fish to medicate it for any diseases, especially if you have other tankmates in there, you don't want to get a sick fish and add it into a tank and then it has something and then you need to treat 900 gallons of water
the tank set up for about 3-4 days. size about 4ft long .I'm planning to move my other fishes to another tank so the arro will be the only fish in the tank until it's big enough to have tankmates. The size of the arro that I'm gonna buy is about 2-3 inches. what about the temperature?
No, do not buy the arowana. Do not buy any arowana infact, every arowana will outgrow that tank. Also your tank isn't even cycled yet. I'll get you a link about cycling if no one else gets it before me.
Tank looks really nice, but its not cycled or big enough.
Read this bud,
https://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/threads/help-with-cycling-a-new-aquarium.361938/
Also how long have you been keeping fish for if you don't mind me asking?
https://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/threads/help-with-cycling-a-new-aquarium.361938/
Also how long have you been keeping fish for if you don't mind me asking?
medicating can be stressful on fish, often can mess with bacterial population depending on the medicine; not sure what you are advising he medicates for. Just seems like confusing advice, not well thought out, to me. Sure, if he posts a pic of an arowana with a disease and asks for advice, then tell him to medicate. But you don't just go medicating fish for no reason.
OP- Tank unfortunately will be nowhere near large enough for an arowana- do you think a large pond or 8x3' tank is feasible for you in the near future? If not, an arowana is not the fish for you. They really do need that large space.
Do you know about the nitrogen cycle? That is the first thing to understand. I would do some reading about it, if you aren't farmiliar- your tank will need to have an established bacterial population to convert ammonia into less harmful nitrate. There are many ways to accomplish this- one of them is to put fish in the tank, monitor ammonia, nitrite, nitrate levels, and do water changes as needed to keep levels from killing fish. Another is to seed new tank with media from an older established tank. Yet another is to purchase bacterial additive products and speed the cycle up. But I would get that completed before worrying about any new fish.
Best of luck
It's great that you asked in advance. I applaud that. Aros are great fish, but as others have explained, they need a very large, cycled tank to live in. Due to their very rapid growth rate and expected large size, it's typically, if not always, better to have the tank (or pond) ready before getting the Aro.
Look through the answers above and continue asking questions and you will be better able to avoid an expensive and frustrating experience. That tank looks wonderful but it isn't what most people would consider a proper home.
Look through the answers above and continue asking questions and you will be better able to avoid an expensive and frustrating experience. That tank looks wonderful but it isn't what most people would consider a proper home.
