Care Level:    Difficult
Temperament:    Semi-aggressive
Color Form:    Silver
Lifespan:    10-15 years
Size:    Up to 36 inches
Diet:    Carnivore
Family:    Osteoglossidae
Minimum Tank Size:    250 gallons
Tank Set-Up:    Freshwater: rocks, and plants
Compatibility:    Moderate

The Silver Arowana is a bony, freshwater fish that is native to the South American Amazon River Basin.

Also known as the Dragon Fish, Monkey Fish, and occasionally misspelled as Arawana and Arahuana, this fish is adored by many hobby aquarists. Arowana are strong powerful swimmers and can be fairly aggressive at times. They are predator fish that can grow up to 4 feet in size and weigh in excess of 6kg. When raised in captivity you should expect an Arowana to have a lifespan of 10-15 years.

If you ever encounter them in the wild, you will notice their unique hunting style. They have a huge leap which allows them to hunt animals on low-level branches etc.

General Behavior

For a large fish, they can be surprisingly skittish. Arowanas will get scared from sudden movements, for example when you approach the aquarium quickly or turn the lights on.

You should make sure to keep your Arowanas in a tank placed in a low foot traffic area. This prevents them from getting startled each time you walk past the aquarium.

When watching your Dragon Fish, you will notice they spend most of their time swimming close to the surface of the water.

However, it should be noted that Silver Arowanas are notorious jumpers. It’s been claimed that they can jump up to 3 meters high. They are most likely to jump when they are new to an aquarium or are placed in an aquarium that is too small for them.

When placed in an aquarium that is too small for them, they will repeatedly try to jump to freedom. Even if the aquarium is covered, they will still jump and can injure themselves when bouncing off the lid.

Habitat and Tank Requirements

As mentioned in the appearance section above, Silver Arowanas are large fish and strong swimmers. They quickly outgrow most hobby aquarist tanks and require a tank at least 250 gallons in capacity.

Juveniles can be raised in a smaller tank of 60 gallons, but will quickly need moving out into a larger aquarium.

If they aren’t moved into a large enough tank, you will quickly start to have problems with your Arowana, most notably body deformation and reduced lifespan.

The substrate should consist of fine, small gravel. The tank should be sparingly planted, and have lots of open space for them to move around in. If you like to decorate your aquarium, you can do so with driftwood, rock work, and sturdy plants. You should avoid plants with weak roots as they can be dislodged by Silver Arowanas.

Tank Conditions

You should aim to keep the water temperature anywhere from 21-28°C. Meanwhile, pH levels should be 6.5-7.5, and water should be soft to moderately hard. As Silver Arowanas are particularly susceptible to poor water quality, strong water filtration is required, in addition to weekly water changes of 25%. Like other freshwater fish, Silver Arowanas are tolerant to changes in these conditions; however, you should aim to keep your water within the tolerances outlined above.

Tank Tip: Arowanas are easily spooked, so you should keep the aquarium in a low-traffic area.

Tank Mates

The first thing to remember about Silver Arowanas is that they are first and foremost a predator fish. This has implications for their compatibility and which fish can share a tank with them.

Let’s start by looking at them as juveniles.

When they are young they are particularly susceptible to bullying by more aggressive breeds. So you should bear this in mind when placing them in an aquarium.

You should also know that when young, they can be kept together and raised. It’s recommended that you keep 6 or more Silver Arowanas together. This prevents the smaller ones from being excessively bullied by the larger Arowanas.

Now let’s look at the compatibility and ideal tank mates for adult Silver Arowanas.

It probably isn’t surprising to hear that finding ideal tank mates can be difficult. This is because they are targeted by aggressive fish due to their size. On the other end of the scale, smaller fish aren’t good tank mates as they usually end up being eaten by Silver Arowanas; remember they are predator fish.

However, there are still lots of species that can live with Arowanas.

When assessing fish to keep with your Arowana, keep in mind these three general rules:

    You want to find peaceful yet slightly aggressive fish.
    Fish should also be large enough that they can’t be eaten by the Arowana.
    You should introduce the Arowana to the tank first.

So good examples of this would be: Green Terrors, Oscars, Knifefish, Large Plecostomus, Parrot Cichlid, Angelfish, and Catfish.

Diet

Silver Arowanas are generally considered to be carnivores, however, they are occasional omnivores.

In the wild, they will consume a wide variety of prey including: small fish, snails, large insects, rabbits, frogs, and even snakes!

However, if given an option, their food of choice is normally small fish and crustaceans.

Arowanas have a distinctive hunting style. Due to the position of their mouth they can swim just below the water line before jumping up out of the water to catch their prey. They can also catch small fish by swimming beneath them and scooping them up.

When keeping these fish you want to make sure their diet is as close to what they would eat in the wild.

Their preference is a meat-based diet, which can include: earthworms, crab, crickets, shrimp, beef heart, krill, and crustaceans.

You can also give them feeder fish. This allows you to watch them hunt which can be very absorbing. If you want to use feeder fish, I would generally recommend you breed your own, this way you can ensure the breeder fish are healthy.

If you are buying feeder fish from pet stores or online you can’t ensure they are healthy and you risk bringing disease into your aquarium.

If you’re worried about the expense of fresh meat, you can feed your Arowanas frozen food to try and keep the costs down. I have heard that some have been trained to eat pellets but this isn’t common.

Finally, it should be noted that juvenile Arowanas are very fussy eaters.

You should only feed them fresh/live food at this stage in their life. As they begin to mature (above 8-9 inches) you can introduce them to frozen foods such as krill.

Approximate Size Sold: 6" Long
Colour: Silver