Ray,
I have kept a number of arrowanas, just not at home. We kept a number of them in our displays over the years at the stores, so I am well aware of their habits and requirements. As I mentioned, our boss finally agreed to stop stocking them because so many came back to us when they outgrew the customer's tanks. (In the big city, especially the "ghetto" areas they are popular because of their aggressive behavior and eating habits... yes.. some people are lacking in the morals department) The largest one we had in the store was well over 3 ft long and it was only 2 yrs old... it was a silver. Eventually it was moved to a zoo habitat. The 3+ ft silver I mentioned was kept in a 175 gallon tank for about a year before it was simply too large, making maintenance near impossible to keep up with and making for some very cramped conditions for the fish.
We also had a few of the arapaima come through our store over the years, though we didn't have them long enough to raise them beyond about a foot in length. The arapaima were much slower growing than the arrowanas which meant we had more time to worry about space issues.
As for wild vs captive sizes, any captive fish has the potential to reach its full size if the environment it lives in is of proper size and is properly maintained. I have always found that purposely stunting the growth of a fish is not only cruel but often causes deformities and health issues, so I try my hardest to speak out on that topic whenever I see a need. I would have to compare an adult arrowana in a 125 - 150 gallon tank to a St Bernard forced to live in a crate or a closet.
The other thing I question about fish such as the arrowana, red tail catfish, and other "monster fish" ... even goldfish, oscars, jack dempsey, etc fall into this category, is life span and what others consider a long life or "kept for a long time". When it comes to a fish that can live 25, 35, 50 or more years, what exactly is considered a "long life"? I have listened to people brag about keeping a long lived fish for "years" without problems... come to find out that the years they are talking about range from 3 - 5 yrs, when in all reality, these fish are still nothing more than juveniles because they should have lived well beyond 10, 20, even 50 yrs if properly housed and cared for. When someone can come to me and say "my arrowana lived for 20+ yrs without problems" that is another story.
Yes, at times our opinions differ, and sometimes by a lot... but as you said, it is in the best interest of the fish that we both have at the top of our minds at the time.
So just wanted to reassure you that I am speaking from personal experience, not something I read in a generic fish book. I also speak from the experience of colleagues of mine who come from the zoos, Shedd Aquarium, and other well known areas of expertise with these animals.
Just a side note... not sure what you were feeding your arrowanas, but ours were eating adult mice by the time they were 3 ft long, (among other things). Feeding that species of fish can get quite expensive once they obtain any amount of size, which is another consideration that a lot of people don't take into account before bringing the fish home.
I'm glad we do at least both agree that these are not suitable "aquarium" fish and I do hope that the person who wrote the original post heeds this advice and relays it to the person wishing to keep an arrowana. I truly hate to see animals kept and made to suffer just so they can provide human entertainment. There is nothing moral or decent about that.
Dawn
Dawn Moneyhan
Aquatics Specialist/Nutritionist
To learn more about me go to
http://www.helium.com/users/449334
--- On Sun, 11/28/10, Ray <sevenspringss@wmconnect.com> wrote:
From: Ray <sevenspringss@wmconnect.com>
Subject: [tropical fish club] Re: arowana
To: tropicalfishclub@yahoogroups.com
Date: Sunday, November 28, 2010, 9:12 AM
I don't mind a difference of opinion Dawn, even if it's wrong. At least it shows you're conscientious enough to try to dissuade this person (or the person he's giving advice to) from attempting to keep an animal in inadequate quarters.
I don't believe I've indicated this in the past, although I do remember mentioning having some (63) years experience with tropical fish -- which is not to say I know that much more than the next person. However, I don't recall stating that any and all posts I make on these Groups are only done so with having hands-on personal experience with anything I write about, or I do not try to suggest anything I don't personally know. Such is also the case with Arowanas, as I've had several of them in my lifetime of keeping tropical fish, and I know first-hand of their needs and requirements -- AND, Arowanas (Osteoglossum bicirrhosum) CAN be kept quite successfully and comfortably in a 100 to 125 gallon tank -- WITHOUT THEM BEING CROWDED (TOO CONFINED).
While they may attain 4' long in the wild, it's a known fact that has been borne out time and time again, that fish in captivity rarely if ever reach the full potential size of their wild counterparts, partially due to the fact that not even the public aquariums can supply these (or any) fish with an environment as encompassing as their wild river from which they came. When adequate tank space is given these fish, they will not fail to approach the size of wild fish. I've grown several Arowanas up from about 4 or 5 inches up to 39" and another to about 42" -=- just shy of their maximum wild size -- in just the size tanks I indicated, with no discomfort to the fish in the least and with their displaying of extreme well-being.
The wild Arowanas never reach 5' in length, as you state, and I can see by your remarks that you've apparently never kept one. They will have more turning room when provided with a 24" wide tank, such as a 150 gallon, which I've also provided them with, but their extreme flexibility does not require it. I've raised them in 135's, 125's and 100's with no substantial difference that I could see. By "100's," I'm referring to the older 5' long tanks, which comfortably held those reaching 39". They probably would have grown larger, as I saw no reason to indicate their growth was slowed down at any time, but I was getting requests from time to time from my friend Jim Atz who was the curator of the New York Public Aquarium at that time, and who periodically wanted them for display.
This fish's backbone is quite similar to that of snakes, and while the fish may be long, they PREFER to turn in tighter circles, not even using the 18" or 24" of tank width they're in; their movements are serpentine. They could probably even be kept in a 4' 75 gallon tank with no ill effects, provided the aquarist keep up with PWC's in maintaining water quality, but this would be akin to placing a person in a closet -- they could live but would be too confined for comfort. As a reminder too, these animals are auxiliary air breathers, similar in effect to our better-known Bettas, even though that's no reason to get lax on their medium's O2 content.
As for Arowanas requiring a minimum of 300+ gallons, alls I can say is that they thrived for me in tanks half that size -- for years on end. BTW, I also raised several Pirarucu (Arapaima gigas) for the New York Aquarium, but in 475 gallon plywood (4' X 8' footprint) tanks -- and of course, not up to full size <G>. As you're probably aware, these fish can grow to 12' -- 16' in the wild. I grew them to about 44" after importing them from Louis Chung, a world renown collector/exporter at the time (circa, 1968) in British Guiana. This species is related to Arowanas and have similar requirements. A beautiful fish in its own right, being jet black with bright red increasing progressing through the tail, forward through the body, with age. This is a fish I would not recommend for any hobbyist, unless he or she has a promised, pre-arranged eventual outlet for it when it becomes too large for the home aquarium.
My recommendations on tank requirements in my previous post though, was meant only to dissuade the writer from attempting to keep this fish, just as your intentions are -- since it was asked if the fish could be kept in a small aquarium (of a size we still do not know). It seemed rather plain that there was no intention on the part of the writer (or his respondent) to supply -- or even possibly to be able to supply -- a tank even approaching the size I mentioned. It should be kept in mind, that only in the most optimum conditions should the tank sizes I mentioned be used to house an Arowana, as strict maintenance is required. If the hobbyist is more relaxed in his maintenance regimen, I'd recommend a 135 to 150 gallon tank (6' X 2' footprint), as a minimum, up to as large as can be afforded.
Ray
--- In tropicalfishclub@yahoogroups.com, Dawn Moneyhan <dawnshungryeyes4u2c@...> wrote:
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> I hate doing this, but I have to disagree with the minimum tank size listed here... sorry Ray. A healthy arrowana will outgrow a 125 gallon tank by its 2nd year or sooner. Unfortunately, our zoo has a number of them, all orphaned from fish keepers who bought those cute little babies at the pet store, yolk sac still attached, and when they could no longer house them, they were given to the zoo. Depending on the specific species, some arrowanas can reach an average of 4 - 5 ft long easily, (such as the silver arrowana) and the cost of feeding an adult is something even the zoos struggle to do.Â
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> The store where I used to work took a number of them in over the years... and finally stopped selling them because they all ended up coming back to us or dying because they are not suitable as a "house pet". Minimum tank size for an adult arrowana should be at least 300+ gallons, and that still would be a lot of work and a tight fit for a fish that needs a lot of surface area and plenty of swimming room.
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> I DO agree with the opinion that its best to tell the person asking that its not a proper fish for keeping in a home aquarium. It would be much easier to find a more appropriate fish after knowing what size aquarium the person is working with. There are a lot of appropriate fish out there that do wonderfully in an aquarium environment... this just isn't one of them.
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> Dawn  Â
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> Dawn Moneyhan
> Aquatics Specialist/Nutritionist
> To learn more about me go to
> http://www.helium.com/users/449334
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>
>
> --- On Sat, 11/27/10, Ray <sevenspringss@...> wrote:
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> From: Ray <sevenspringss@...>
> Subject: [tropical fish club] Re: arowana
> To: tropicalfishclub@yahoogroups.com
> Date: Saturday, November 27, 2010, 11:07 PM
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> Hello Alireza,
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> Arowanas are not difficult to keep, but it is not possible to keep one in a small aquarium for very long, as they grow quite fast. You have not said what size tank you have, but unless it is at least 100 US Gallons (378.5 Litres) you would eventually be confining the fish to too small of an environment for its comfort. Such an adequate size tank is needed to promote proper growth, health and longevity (long life time) of the fish.
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> These fish are often sold very young, with the yolk sack still attached. While they may be raised from this size successfully, they may sometimes refuse your food offerings after their yolk sack is absorbed, often leading to the death of the animal. You are better off to pay a little more and get one nearer 5" or 6" in length, and that you can see that it is eating when asking the store owner to show you that the fish is really eating before you buy it. Still, to give you some idea of its growth rate, an Arowana starting out at the stage of still having its yolk sack can reach 12" within 10 months, on average.
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> Arowanas will easily reach at least 42" (105 cm.) in captivity (in the aquarium), so a small tank is not able to be used to raise one in. For this reason, I would have to recommend against you (or the person asking you about it) purchasing one of these fish unless you want to first buy a larger tank for it. A 378 Litre tank would be the very smallest tank you could house this fish in. For the most comfort for the fish a 473 Litre (125 US gallon) tank or even a 568 Litre (150 US Gallon) tank would not be too large for this fish, since this larger tank would be 60 cm. (24") wide, allowing the fish more turning room even though they are flexible enough to be able to turn in 45 cm. (18"). The tank should be covered at all times, as they are great jumpers. They eat best when you can supply them with live food, unless you can get them to eat fish pellets or the like.
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> Ray
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> --- In tropicalfishclub@yahoogroups.com, "nassiri.alireza10" <nassiri.alireza10@> wrote:
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> > My name is Alireza Nassiri. I'm a boy from IRAN and I'm 17.
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> > I'm searching about some information about Arowana and I want know how can I keep small one in an aquarium .
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> > I have a weblog and a person ask me about this and I should answer him.
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> > please tell me your information about this fish.
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> > my weblogs address is:
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> > www.arowana.persianblog.ir
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> > but if you want see that you should know persian.
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> > I cant speak English very well please tell me my problems in my message,and please don't use hard words in your message that you write your answer in that.
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> > thanks a lot.
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> > alireza.
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