black arowana vs. silver arowana

[TheEelKing]

1) What is the difference between the adults of each specimen?
2) Is the silver arowana more predatory than the black arowana?
3) I was thinking of buying one of these arowanas. From the responses I got in another thread, I don't think even adult filament barbs would be safe with a large silver arowana. Would they be safe with a black arowana or african arowana? Filament barbs grow to 7" and they look like this:

They are the colorful barbs with the dark spot near their tails. I have kept these at adult size with a 22" clown knife and there were no problems. My CK grew up with them since the knife was 3" long and it never had any feeders in my tank.

 

[Serpentine]

Black Arowanas are a bit slimmer and more lightly built than silvers. They have somewhat darker coloration. Very pretty. They aren't nearly as prone to drop eye. They are IME somewhat less hardy. They also cost big bucks.

Silvers are chunkier. They do often develop drop eye. They tend to be hardier and easier to keep, again IME. They are also beautiful, though common. Much less expensive.

Either black or silver would likely eat your filament barbs, though each individual is different. I wouldn't risk it. Their mouths open at a 90 degree angle like a drawbridge and they can take large prey. In the wild they have been observed to leap 9 feet out of the water to snatch small birds, snakes, rodents and even baby monkeys off overhanging branches. (Oh, yeah... cover that tank.) I'm even rethinking the wisdom of putting clown loaches in with my silver and they can get considerably larger than filament barbs. I don't think either is more predatory than the other. They're both dedicated carnivores, though neither is particularly aggressive toward fish that they don't perceive as edible. Both will both stuff in whatever fits into the gaping drawbridge. FYI Jardini Arowanas can be genuinely nasty. Can't speak to the African Arowana as they are unfamiliar to me.

Tinfoil barbs would be OK. Oscars. Big clown knife fish. Larger cichlids that won't rip up the Arowana, such as severums or Uarus. From hard experience... you'd want to make sure that the faster, greedier tank buddies didn't snap up all of the Arowana's food and leave it hungry.

 

[Balistik928]

1) What is the difference between the adults of each specimen?
2) Is the silver arowana more predatory than the black arowana?
3) I was thinking of buying one of these arowanas. From the responses I got in another thread, I don't think even adult filament barbs would be safe with a large silver arowana. Would they be safe with a black arowana or african arowana? Filament barbs grow to 7" and they look like this:

They are the colorful barbs with the dark spot near their tails. I have kept these at adult size with a 22" clown knife and there were no problems. My CK grew up with them since the knife was 3" long and it never had any feeders in my tank.

Black arowana are a rare color varient of the silver arowana. However, in my opinion, the blacks are worth the price with the color they have.

 

[Serpentine]

The black Arowana is closely related but it is a different species. Blacks are Osteoglossum ferreirai and silvers are Osteoglossum bicirrhosum. The difference is in the body shape as well as color.

 

[moe214]

Black Arowanas are a bit slimmer and more lightly built than silvers. They have somewhat darker coloration. Very pretty. They aren't nearly as prone to drop eye. They are IME somewhat less hardy. They also cost big bucks.

Silvers are chunkier. They do often develop drop eye. They tend to be hardier and easier to keep, again IME. They are also beautiful, though common. Much less expensive.

Either black or silver would likely eat your filament barbs, though each individual is different. I wouldn't risk it. Their mouths open at a 90 degree angle like a drawbridge and they can take large prey. In the wild they have been observed to leap 9 feet out of the water to snatch small birds, snakes, rodents and even baby monkeys off overhanging branches. (Oh, yeah... cover that tank.) I'm even rethinking the wisdom of putting clown loaches in with my silver and they can get considerably larger than filament barbs. I don't think either is more predatory than the other. They're both dedicated carnivores, though neither is particularly aggressive toward fish that they don't perceive as edible. Both will both stuff in whatever fits into the gaping drawbridge. FYI Jardini Arowanas can be genuinely nasty. Can't speak to the African Arowana as they are unfamiliar to me.

Tinfoil barbs would be OK. Oscars. Big clown knife fish. Larger cichlids that won't rip up the Arowana, such as severums or Uarus. From hard experience... you'd want to make sure that the faster, greedier tank buddies didn't snap up all of the Arowana's food and leave it hungry.

+1

Blacks are generally calmer as far as being territorial goes, easier to Ben bullies by tank mates. I’d say based off the behavior and size you’d have better luck with a black, but as mentioned by serpentine it’s going to depend on your specific specimen. For the best bet, raise it with them and don’t feed live ever.