Unpopular Opinions - Arowanas

[Matteus]

So my unpopular opinions will most likely make the Americans cranky. ???

I don’t like silver aros at all. I think they look like Granpa who lost his teeth. Almost always have a de by the time they are 10-12” and they get bigger than most peoples 2-300 gal tanks (if I’m being generous)

9/10 times a person who says that they like a silver over an Asian it’s because they either can’t have them or else they have never actually had them.

there is a lot of hype around them. Lots of superstition, and folk lore, religious beliefs etc. I’m not a superstitious type of person, but I can tell you after you experience an Asian aro in YOUR OWN tank you will understand why. It just changes things when it is in your tank, it is radically different than watching one at a store or in a museum etc. Seeing them online doesn’t do it for me.

when that aro swims by and eyes you up…
When it shows off to you, when you pull out the camera…
When it eats shrimp out of your hand so gently as if to say “ I won’t hurt you”…
When you move about in the room and your friend tells you it keeps following you all around…

I am a ray guy no questions asked. They are my bread and butter favourite, I can’t have a tank that isn’t suitable for rays. But rays just do their ray thing and they are there. An Asian aro looks at you, and it knows you are there, it pays attention to you and what you are doing. (So many times I look up from working away in the fish room and the aro is just watching me) some of the folklore that is believed about them is that they understand the intentions of people around them and they will protect their owners. Again I’m not superstitious, but I can see why people say that.

I bought my first one about 2 years ago and immediately understood what the hype was when the first night out of the bag it was basically eating from my hand. Since then I have bought/ sold traded close to 30 of them. There is no other fish in the hobby quite like the Asian aro.


This one here is currently in my care. It is not my favourite type. I’m not much of a red guy, and I’m not super keen on short body, moon eyes, spoon head all the “fancy things” (deformities). But the monetary value aside, this aro has been the most amazing aro to date. It eats anything I offer, never picks on any of the other fish, always in a good mood etc. I’m going to be very sad when this one leaves my place ?

 

[Matteus]

Every other video I see of an Asian aro it has dropeye ??‍Look up Asian aro vids on YouTube. You’ll see what I’m talking about

Out of the 30 Asian aro sales I have been a part of, only about 3-4 of them have been posted online. Only 1 of which made it to YouTube famous. I am a small time hobbiest not even a big importer/ breeder etc. I know of people who buy lots of 50-100 aros at a time, and I rarely see any footage of the aros.

this tells me that there is a very small amount of people who are actually posting their aros on YouTube. And often the people who end up buying the really nice ones hardly ever show them off (believe it or not). So I think the aros of YouTube are a very small percentage of the “real life” aros that are around. At least in my area, I can’t speak for Asia or anything like that.

 

[MultipleTankSyndrome]

Since this thread was bumped, I really can't understand what the big deal was over me not liking arowanas was, since this is not an arowana specific site. Nor does preferring things like cardinal tetras to arowanas not make me a monster fish keeper, it just means that the monster fish I have aren't arowanas.
Plus, like I said before, an opinion like that is perfect for this unpopular opinion thread.

As for Matteus: Great to hear you like your arowana so much, if the things it does are to your taste. Also sorry to hear you have to let it go.

And since I'm here, it wouldn't hurt to elaborate on why I choose things like loaches over arowanas (as also mentioned in this thread):

-Arowanas are not schooling fish. But most loaches are, meaning that loach owners get to see their fish do interesting group things (be it simply swimming together as a school, regrouping after having split up for whatever reason, congregating in one area altogether kuhli-style, or settling their group hierarchy with color changing and clicks Botia-style) which arowana owners don't.

-As subjective as this opinion is, loaches look much nicer to me.
Like I said before, I don't consider arowanas ugly. But their color does not compare in my eyes to the vibrant orange and black stripes of clown loaches+kuhli loaches, the yoyo-spelling+intricate reticulation of yoyo loaches, the well-defined and numerous stripes of zebra loaches, the eye-catching polka dots of Burmese loaches, or the 'chain' stripes+spots of dwarf chain loaches.

-Loaches are much more compatible with my favorite non-loaches than arowanas are.
Most of my favorite non-loaches that I have or will have with my loaches, like pictus catfish and roseline sharks, would be eaten if they were with an arowana. But the loaches cannot and will not eat them.

-Relating to the first point, loaches have much more variable and interesting (at least to me) behavior. Arowanas tend to swim close to the surface most of the time, whereas loaches can be doing any one of the things in the first point when the owner is watching.
Additionally, I have experienced my clown loaches at least doing all of the things Matteus said his arowana does, with the exception of gently eating (they eat like sharks). I don't strive for these things to happen and have no issue if they don't, but since it was mentioned I figured it was worth pointing out.

-Loaches are much cheaper. At my local aquarium store, for example, I can get 12 kuhli loaches for the price of a silver arowana.
And this means that all the funds I have set aside for my loach tanks go a longer way towards buying fish than they would if I had arowana tanks.

-Loaches have more variety. By having the 7 species of loaches that I do, I own fish with far more variety than any arowana species (if someone can point out arowana species with as much or more variety relative to each other as clown, kuhli, yoyo/zebra/Burmese, and dwarf chain loaches, I'll take this back) in terms of size, color, behavior, and compatibility within each of my tanks.

-The size of the loach species I keep, unlike any arowana species, allows for plenty of loaches in all of my tanks. I plan to own a grand total of 79 loaches, and in no tank I have do I plan to have less than 13, with the tank with the most loaches having a total of 42 planned.
By contrast, 79 arowanas with 13-42 per tank is clearly unrealistic for the majority of fishkeepers on here.

-Somewhat continuing the previous point, loaches are more compatible with other species of loaches than arowanas are with other species of arowanas. This lets me have a total of 4 species in the 42 loach-planned tank, for example.

Hopefully these will help the arowana fans see why I choose loaches.

 

[Midwater]

I don't think you can compare loaches with aros. I love them both ... most aros and most loaches.

I do believe that the design concept behind the silver arowana is all wrong. It looks like someone copied the front, forgot about the scales, and got the back three quarters totally wrong. Is it some hideous science experiment?

Asian aros are super fish. Would quite like a golden head malaysian, if I ever get my 3000 litre built.

 

[L3CTR0N]

Since this thread was bumped, I really can't understand what the big deal was over me not liking arowanas was, since this is not an arowana specific site. Nor does preferring things like cardinal tetras to arowanas not make me a monster fish keeper, it just means that the monster fish I have aren't arowanas.
Plus, like I said before, an opinion like that is perfect for this unpopular opinion thread.

As for Matteus: Great to hear you like your arowana so much, if the things it does are to your taste. Also sorry to hear you have to let it go.

And since I'm here, it wouldn't hurt to elaborate on why I choose things like loaches over arowanas (as also mentioned in this thread):

-Arowanas are not schooling fish. But most loaches are, meaning that loach owners get to see their fish do interesting group things (be it simply swimming together as a school, regrouping after having split up for whatever reason, congregating in one area altogether kuhli-style, or settling their group hierarchy with color changing and clicks Botia-style) which arowana owners don't.

-As subjective as this opinion is, loaches look much nicer to me.
Like I said before, I don't consider arowanas ugly. But their color does not compare in my eyes to the vibrant orange and black stripes of clown loaches+kuhli loaches, the yoyo-spelling+intricate reticulation of yoyo loaches, the well-defined and numerous stripes of zebra loaches, the eye-catching polka dots of Burmese loaches, or the 'chain' stripes+spots of dwarf chain loaches.

-Loaches are much more compatible with my favorite non-loaches than arowanas are.
Most of my favorite non-loaches that I have or will have with my loaches, like pictus catfish and roseline sharks, would be eaten if they were with an arowana. But the loaches cannot and will not eat them.

-Relating to the first point, loaches have much more variable and interesting (at least to me) behavior. Arowanas tend to swim close to the surface most of the time, whereas loaches can be doing any one of the things in the first point when the owner is watching.
Additionally, I have experienced my clown loaches at least doing all of the things Matteus said his arowana does, with the exception of gently eating (they eat like sharks). I don't strive for these things to happen and have no issue if they don't, but since it was mentioned I figured it was worth pointing out.

-Loaches are much cheaper. At my local aquarium store, for example, I can get 12 kuhli loaches for the price of a silver arowana.
And this means that all the funds I have set aside for my loach tanks go a longer way towards buying fish than they would if I had arowana tanks.

-Loaches have more variety. By having the 7 species of loaches that I do, I own fish with far more variety than any arowana species (if someone can point out arowana species with as much or more variety relative to each other as clown, kuhli, yoyo/zebra/Burmese, and dwarf chain loaches, I'll take this back) in terms of size, color, behavior, and compatibility within each of my tanks.

-The size of the loach species I keep, unlike any arowana species, allows for plenty of loaches in all of my tanks. I plan to own a grand total of 79 loaches, and in no tank I have do I plan to have less than 13, with the tank with the most loaches having a total of 42 planned.
By contrast, 79 arowanas with 13-42 per tank is clearly unrealistic for the majority of fishkeepers on here.

-Somewhat continuing the previous point, loaches are more compatible with other species of loaches than arowanas are with other species of arowanas. This lets me have a total of 4 species in the 42 loach-planned tank, for example.

Hopefully these will help the arowana fans see why I choose loaches.

I think you are getting too overdramatic about it. We get it, you like loaches and stuff more than arowanas but no one asked for you to elaborate. Just move on and accept that not everyone will agree with or understand your point of view.

 

[MultipleTankSyndrome]

Hey, I mean, I can't please everyone by doing what I think may be useful ?‍

I didn't elaborate before as I likely should have, and saw no harm doing so now.

 

[Kelly_Aquatics]

Not trying to offend you but out of your 8 points the first fish you mentioned on 7 of them was loaches. We get it you like loaches but this is unpopular opinions on arowana

 

[MultipleTankSyndrome]

Yes, that was elaborating on why I prefer loaches (although I suppose the point has been made). My unpopular opinions on arowanas consist mostly of preferring much less popular fish to them, although I don't suppose there is any more need to elaborate.

 

[MultipleTankSyndrome]

Why don't I go put it in the thread about unpopular opinions for loaches instead! Maybe it just goes there!

 

[jjohnwm]

The definition of "monster" that is most relevant to fishkeeping is undoubtedly "something unusually large". So...if you happen upon a 3-inch Neon Tetra, then yes, by some standards I suppose you have a monster. Be that as it may, nobody... anywhere... ever... seriously considers neons/loaches/pictus or any other fish in that size range to be monsters. Yeah, okay, maybe they won't eat your other fish, and that's nice...but it's only because they can't, not because they don't want to. A Neon Tetra is still a monster to a newly-hatched Cherry Shrimp; everything's relative.

Aros? I love 'em. Silvers, Blacks, jardini...all favourites at various times in my life. They are big, beautiful, easy to keep and impressive. Their unique surface-cruising style, landing-barge mouths, predatory nature, surface breathing and constant graceful motion are captivating. A Jar was probably my favourite, but I like them all.

But...they're still just fish. All fish have their own unique attributes and appealing idiosyncrasies, and other types like cichlids, catfish (another favourite family of mine), gars, rays (don't see the appeal there personally...) and many others are just as cool in their own ways. Aros have that cultural-mythology thing going for them in the Asian world, and that accounts for a lot of their appeal to a lot of people. Honestly, there is a significant percentage of keepers who just keep them because of that, and plenty more wannabe-keepers who want them mainly because they can't have them and/or can't afford them.

Yeah, they're colourful and shiny; so are a lot of other fish, some much more so than Aros. They have that laid-back "pet" personality, true...but so do lots of other fish. I just don't see that quasi-supernatural appeal that some of you are talking about. Personally, a Redtail or Jelly cat, IMHO, trumps any Aro that ever swam as a pet fish. Yeah...I said it...a Jelly Cat that resembles nothing so much as a giant ball of phlegm with a mouth has more appeal...to me...as a unique fish pet than an Aro. Different strokes, different folks...

I originally thought these "unpopular opinion" threads were a complete waste of time...and, of course, they are...but it's always nice to have an officially-sanctioned forum area for arguments!