tanks mates for silver arowana

[Scuba Kid]

i was wondering, how aggressive are silver arowanas? and can they be kept successfully with discus?

thanks

-Katie

[blixem]

Someone correct me if I'm wrong but the general consensus is you shouldn't have anything with Arowanas.

[Beerleader]

Scuba someone on here posted a website (maybe Eurasian posted it) but the guy had a HUGE tank around 500 gallons, but it had some type of Arrowana, not sure it was a silver maybe an Asian, but it had one of those w/ some discus, and some type of ray. Now I would be afraid only because I paid lots of money for my discus and wouldn't risk it in a smaller tank, maybe it was ok since it was such a HUGE tank and not a silver. Although my silver was very docile and I wouldn't think he would bite anything that wouldn't fit in his mouth, and they obviously wouldn't. But not sure about that maybe depends on if you have a huge enough tank like the one I saw w/ 3 combined.

If I can find it I'll post in it so it'll bump it up and you can see that guys tank, it was awesome! I think it was in the arrowana threads somewhere.

[Scuba Kid]

alright, thanks.

[Beerleader]

I haven't been able to find that old thread, maybe when I see Eurasian I'll ask him if it was him that posted that, if so I'll have him post it to you or answer your question about the mixture. I'm not positive to be honest, I just remember seeing that combo but again it was in like a 500 gallon so maybe thats why it was fine..and I'm not sure what type of arrow that was either. If nothing else you'll love that tank it was awesome! worth the look

[euRasian32]

Originally Posted by Scuba Kid

i was wondering, how aggressive are silver arowanas? and can they be kept successfully with discus?

thanks

-Katie

Hi Katie
As stated above, weigh your prize discus vs. worst case scenario. If you did decide to, you'd have the best luck with a baby that either has a yolk sac or it being absorbed recently, and you heed to the obvious factors below.

I've seen 3x 12inch silvers with some parrot cichlids at an LFS and they seem to do fine. They haven't sold a silver in 2 months. I saw compatibility issues with a recently introduced 6inch jardini to that tank this weekend, and the silvers and the parrots don't look too happy.

Obvious factors: Tank size; where the width should be equal to max length of 4feet. A tank smaller could cause spine problems from the inability to turn around with ease. Having other fish or bare bottom is the most probable cause of droop eye.

some results
fishprofiles.com = Predatory towards small surface fish. Otherwise relatively peaceful for a large fish.
liveaquaria.com = semi aggressive
thetropicaltank.co.uk = Highly predatory, can be aggressive.

beerleader: i think i know what you're talking about, but i can't find it either. A different link for asian aro breeding

[Scuba Kid]

liveaquaria says i only need a 125 gallon...but you're saying i need one much bigger...they also say it will only get to be 3 feet. confused: ???

[euRasian32]

Minimum 125 gallons. I know, it's not what you wanted to hear. My suggestions were based on keeping one for life, they can live in home aquaria for 10years +. Also, my suggestions would produce best results. There are always exceptions.

They average 3 feet, but can reach up to 48 inches in home aquaria. They've reached up to 6feet in the wild.

Here are some other sites input on Min. tank size and length.
Min 150gal, max size 39inches
Up to 47inches, average 24-30
39 inches
47 inches
44 in captivity, 60 recorded in wild

So the average of these 5 sites is = 43 inches or approx 3 1/2feet.

[Beerleader]

Yeah Eurasian I thought it was maybe you that posted that, wasn't sure, but I remember the tank was AWESOME but it was also like 500 gallons plus even. Wish I could find it just for kicks hehe


And To the original poster. I just got rid of my silver one due to a death in the family, inherited a dog and lots of stuff, so didn't have to room to had a 200 to 250 gallon aquarium. And I also was told it would only reach 2 to 3 feet, but read plenty of things that said they max more close to 4 feet if not bigger. So I didn't wanna be cruel and possible get a 125 then have it outgrow it. So I just gave him to someone that I knew was prepared for him. They are really neat fish but I'm like Eurasian, never wanna take a chance on expensive fish just in case. Plus a 125 is pushing it, especially if you have other fish in there w/ it.

[starrfish71]

Arrowanas are aggressive only towards what they can fit in their mouths, which are quite large, and actually tend to be almost wimpy other wise- small ones can be easily torn and killed. Adult discus should be fine, I would think. The fish occuply different levels of the aquarium so there really shouldn't be territorial overlap. But, I haven't ever tried it, so it is speculation on my part. One thing I do know is arrowanas jump- HIGH. they have been filmed in the wild catching birds out of the air as they fly over the river.

[euRasian32]

South Americans would be the least aggressive out of the six different species, including the african boneytongue. I wouldn't go as far as referring to them as wimpy. Compared to the temperment of a managuense cichlid yeah, but aro's are a natural predator.

The jardini being the most aggressive, will bully, bruise, hurt, injure, bite, or eat whatever is in the tank with it. Even plants, driftwood, intakes and powerheads get bitten every now and again. Anyone who has tried to mix these have had tragedies happen. There was one guy who knew a guy who had a friend that knew this girls exboyfriend said another cousins uncle had success with oscars and jardinis, come to find out he didn't exist.

A lot of people have had the most luck mixing silver aro's with large tankmates.

[Beerleader]

I was told to mix mine by a LFS w/ an Archer, but I thought they were in brackish waters? Either way I was gonna keep mine alone just in case! I've only seen in most stores Arrows w/ other arrows but they were in 300 plus gallons of water also. I dunno I'm sure it could work out but I wouldn't take the chance especially with Discus. And plus someone was saying ealier at least they do spend their times in separate areas. I'm not so sure. My discus are everywhere. Mine haven't really paired off either like most ppl say. I have 10 and maybe only 2 really stay together. All the rest have their specific areas, some at the very bottom, some in the middle and some actually closer to the top in certain areas of plants. And my arrow didn't always hover at the top. I saw him swimming pretty deep a few times. Especially if he was hunting live foods, he did what he had to do once they got smart enough to stay away from the top hehe. But I wouldn't wanna hurt my discus or scare the life out them by adding an arrow in there But everyone chooses their own path w/ their fish I guess. Good luck if you do it!

[Scuba Kid]

i decided im not going to...i thought about it and i think the tank i want would be too small. i really dont want to put it in the exact minimum of a 125. i think the discus would be much happier as well without the aro.