96 x 30 x 24 Tank and Arowana Species

[Backfromthedead]

Okay I have a few more points to make because I think I'm finally seeing the whole picture here. I am thinking that there are three groups of people chiming in on this thread. Two of these groups have kept Asian Arowana and one has not. Now this is just my way of thinking and I'm not suggesting someone is lesser than anyone, nor am I saying that these groups actually exist. I'm just trying to interpret what I have been hearing and organize it efficiently. Because there are obvious patterns and correlations in what information people are giving me, the attitude people give this information to me in and the overall demeanor of these individuals as a whole.

The first group is what I call the "Veteran Arowana Keepers". The ones that have been around the block. The ones that have tried many ways of doing things and have narrowed down what actually matters and what is just talk in the hobby. The second are the "Competent Arowana Keepers". Individuals who have kept Arowana for years but are still caught up with the differences of what works for them and what works in general. To the point where they may still be stuck in their ways and not willing to see another point of view. As if it works for them, it must be the answer. And the third is what I call the "Second Hand Arowana Non-Keepers". Individuals who have done their research and are basing their advice on the experience of others while not having kept an Arowana before.

I am getting a lot of different advice from people from all sides. But they all seem to share some similarities between one another. This is why I have grouped them as I have. Some people will laugh at this and that's fine. But it seems like the Veteran Arowana Keepers say one thing and the Competent Arowana Keepers say another. The VAK's understand where the CAK's (I just know I'm going to get a lot of crap for these acronyms) are coming from and provide reasoning behind why they feel they are incorrect. The CAK's get upset and do not wish to provide their reasoning to why they do the things they do and so it leads to turmoil between everyone. And arguments ensue. And for the people that just genuinely don't know, it makes their head spin and they don't know who to listen to.

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Now that I have that out of the way I have to say again that I'm not starting out with Arowana. If only for the sole reason that they are expensive and if I make a mistake I will lose an expensive fish not to mention a life. I don't want to do that. I will be doing Silver Dollars probably and then when I feel comfortable I may add an Arowana to the tank. And just to be clear, this is all hypothetical and not to mention FOR THE FUTURE. I haven't made any decisions yet because I am doing my research.

With that being said, I have also been hearing that Arowana are no different than any other fish like [B]Galantspeedz[/B] has said. That it's not this impossible to keep fish that people make it out to be. They are hardy for one and the only thing you have to watch out for is temperament. Each Arowana will be unique and that is where the "difficulty" comes in. Galantspeedz and jaws7777 are not the only ones who has said this either. Maybe they are the only ones here on this thread who have said it but in other places people are saying the same things. I've been talking to a bunch of knowledgeable individuals who have years of experience with a variety of fish including Aros and they have said the exact same things he has been saying. That people are really overthinking things here. I think there is a lot of truth to this.

And towards the height issue people have been pointing out, in the wild I have been told that Asian Arowana live in very shallow waters. They go there to bask etc. Now I know the issue with height is not that it will be housing JUST an Arowana but that the tank could be housing a community. And that there would not be enough space between the fish at the different levels to make the Asian Arowana feel comfortable. Now one thing I find very interesting is some people here have referenced to Joey (King of DIY) keeping Asian Arowana and Silver Dollars together. And how that didn't work. In that specific case he had a tank that was wider than mine but it was only 25 inches tall. So only 1 inch taller than my tank. That's my first point. That tank didn't seem crowded at all mind you but what do I know? Joey had no problem housing them together though so that's something to consider. Sure it was wider but the height was the pretty much the same. Secondly, he specifically said that Silver Dollars and Arowana "SHOULD" work together but in his case it just didn't. He equated that to the personality of HIS Arowana.

Now that to me is a big deal. He kept his Arowana and Silver Dollars in a 25 inch tall tank and no one here has brought that point up. The only reason it didn't work, was not due to space or that an Asian Arowana needs more than 24 inches to feel happy etc, it was because this specific Arowana just didn't get along with the Silver Dollars. Now maybe this could have been a non issue in a taller tank. Maybe. But given the circumstances, I find it hard to believe that raising the height of the tank to 30 or even 40 would alter the way Joey's Arowana interacted with the Silver Dollars. But again, I'm not arguing for anything as I really don't know. I'm just bringing up others points and would love to hear counters to it. This is how we learn.

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Now to the people that are saying I will end up doing what I want no matter what I am told or how much advice I am given, I feel like this attitude is very counter productive, not to mention pessimistic. When I bring up a countering argument, I am not arguing with your points to assert some sort of self confirming bias. What I am doing is bringing up what others have said in order to hear your thoughts on them and to see your counter arguments. I bring up these points to hear everyone's side of things. That is all. I am trying to learn and figure out what I should do.

What SDs are you gonna go with?

 

[islandguy11]

What SDs are you gonna go with?

Good question -- and as OP has now made clear that "he's not going to start with an Arowana", which is a wise decision (good on 'ya Zugs, plenty of time to go that route later), it would be appropriate and more helpful toward his efforts if he started out a new thread in the "Other Characins" sub-forum https://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/forums/other-characins.234/ -- I think most can agree this particular thread has run its course for now.

 

[twentyleagues]

So if the arowana won't survive or thrive, which fish do you recommend TS to rear that you are so very sure will survive or thrive?

So by practicing with other fish first, you are saying other fishes lives are lesser than an arowana?

Get my point?

Why do you want to go there?
Obviously by my other posts I dont think any life is insignificant.
I am still on the side that arowana require more specialized care and more experienced keepers then some other fish.
So with that being said the silver dollars would probably be a good start. Which if you had read anything I posted before, I have been saying all along. I even said a good amount in a 300g would look quite nice.
So no I don't get your point because youve only been paying half attention to what myself and others have said. Ive read and thought about everything youve said id appreciate the same consideration from you.

 

[RD.]

Now to the people that are saying I will end up doing what I want no matter what I am told or how much advice I am given, I feel like this attitude is very counter productive, not to mention pessimistic. When I bring up a countering argument, I am not arguing with your points to assert some sort of self confirming bias. What I am doing is bringing up what others have said in order to hear your thoughts on them and to see your counter arguments. I bring up these points to hear everyone's side of things. That is all. I am trying to learn and figure out what I should do.

It's not being negative, or pessimistic, it's being a realist. The majority of your counter arguments are baseless, most going back to a single example, of a single person, and his single fish, Joey, whilst you ignore everything else. As I said many posts back, I have lost count how many times that I have seen this play out on fish forums, including here on MFK. Hundreds, perhaps thousands at this point. In the end the person gets a nod of approval from a few folks, and damn the torpedoes, full steam ahead. The very fact that you are referring to, and tagging, a member who most likely has never even seen an Asian aro in person, let alone cared for one, shows me just how poor your reading comprehension skills have been through all of this. You seem to enjoy typing out your thoughts, but can't seem to understand anything that others are attempting to get across to you. I suspect that part of that is because you are jumping from forum to forum in an attempt to form the foundation of your opinion. How's that working for you?

Does this mean that 333cm or 131 inches of fish can be put into the tank? So one Asian Arowana at 24" (24" total), 8 Silver Dollars at 10" (80" total) and 3-4 Geophagus at 8" (24"-32" total)? So that type of community should work given the maximum size of these fish? This actually aligns with what people are saying to me in terms of stocking.

Like I was saying. LOL

Oh I know, you're just thinking about all of this, you're getting the SD's (maybe?) first and then maybe later you will start building your Asian aro comm. lol Whatever. You have threatened to quit the forum, delete your account, and throw other tantrums over nothing more than some words posted by strangers on the internet. Boo-hoo-hoo.

What are you going to do when you are faced with some real challenges, with your new tank, and your fish?
Seems to me you get really worked up, and really frustrated, really easily. Not exactly great qualities for this hobby.

 

[Backfromthedead]

Gentlemen and ladies, the ethical argument concerning the aro is over. We are now moving on to the ethical argument of how many SDs can be tastefully crammed into this 300 gallon tank.

 

[RD.]

Says who?

 

[RD.]

If it makes you feel any better you should have seen what happened when someone asked if they could keep an oscar in a 55G. That was a true battle thread that went on for a week.

BTW - that wasn't someone asking, that was someone telling, making a statement, and supplying links to support his claims. He was later banned, not due to the piss poor info supplied in that thread, but due to the fact that he snuck in the back door from a previous infraction, and got caught.

 

[twentyleagues]

Gentlemen and ladies, the ethical argument concerning the aro is over. We are now moving on to the ethical argument of how many SDs can be tastefully crammed into this 300 gallon tank.

Well lets see.....the golden rule is 1"/gallon so ive seen sds at my lfs at 2" so 300÷2= 150. 155! Just in case a couple die.



Obviously I'm kidding. Id think 8 to 12 would be a good starting point. Ofcoarse we'll need to touch on filtration first.
I really like and forgive me I forgot who said it the ac110s idea. Fill them full of biomedia and put intake sponges on them.

 

[RD.]

I have to go play with the grandkids, someone tag me when the comm tank is up & running. lol

 

[Nilsafeller]

Well lets see.....the golden rule is 1"/gallon so ive seen sds at my lfs at 2" so 300÷2= 150. 155! Just in case a couple die.



Obviously I'm kidding. Id think 8 to 12 would be a good starting point. Ofcoarse we'll need to touch on filtration first.
I really like and forgive me I forgot who said it the ac110s idea. Fill them full of biomedia and put intake sponges on them.

Do you like pre filter sponges? I tried using before but everytime I'd take em off to rinse ,so much particulates would come off as I would pull em... makes quit the mess!