Arowana

[roclement]

I know this is going to raise some eyebrows...I have had my silver aro with my discus for over 1 year, the aro went from 5 inches to it's current 20 + inches and they all get along very well!

I have 6 fully grown discus in a 200gl sand bottom tank, up untill recently there were to stingrays in there as well that have since been moved to attempt breeding, they are also great discus mates!

Rod

[greyhoundfan]

pics would be nice.

[lhforbes12]

Rod,
I've never had discus and arowana's together but I've had both. I can't say that I would trust a discus in an arowana's tank, their mouths are just too darn big. I've kept pirhana and big Central American cichlids, the only fish I've ever owned that actually frightened me was the arowana (it was a silver and got to 24" in a year in a 240) while all other fish would tend to move away from my hands when they were in the tank, that fish would come to it to see if it was something to eat! I guess since you raised them together they get along though.

[Ed13]

Arowanas, discus, rays, big catfish, SA cichlids and even pirañas are good combos, is the size of the tank that might raise eyebrows not the tankmates!
Anything shorter than 8 feet leght wise and 3 feet wide wise is unsuitable for an Aro alone long term, at least thats my personal view!

[lhforbes12]

Arowanas, discus, rays, big catfish, SA cichlids and even pirañas are good combos, is the size of the tank that might raise eyebrows not the tankmates!
Anything shorter than 8 feet leght wise and 3 feet wide wise is unsuitable for an Aro alone long term, at least thats my personal view!

One of the reason's I got rid of mine, since my tank met the width of 8 feet but was only 2 feet deep. The poor thing could turn around but it would touch both front and back when it did.

[Ed13]

One of the reason's I got rid of mine, since my tank met the width of 8 feet but was only 2 feet deep. The poor thing could turn around but it would touch both front and back when it did.

Hey Larry did you know el pez mono is a food fish in SA you can see hundreds in the fish markets of Manaus and Peru, makes me wonder how you got rid of yours:inquisitive:
In retrospect 3 feet wide is stil too narrow for a fish that often reaches the same 3 feet!

[lhforbes12]

Hey Larry did you know el pez mono is a food fish in SA you can see hundreds in the fish markets of Manaus and Peru, makes me wonder how you got rid of yours:inquisitive:
In retrospect 3 feet wide is stil too narrow for a fish that often reaches the same 3 feet!

Ed,
Yep! As are discus. I bet some SA's would find us eating blue gills odd too though, or rainbow trout for that matter.

[Ed13]

Ed,
Yep! As are discus. I bet some SA's would find us eating blue gills odd too though, or rainbow trout for that matter.
I would, the only freshwater fish I've eaten in my life was aquacultured Tilapia and very few times at that. I guess when you're in the middle of the ocean you eat what the ocean can provide;)

[roclement]

Hello everyone

I knew this would make a great topic!

First things first, yes I do agree that the arowana will need a bigger tank, I have a 300gl rubermaid conatiner in my basement with my redtail catfish ready for it when it outgrows the tank. Big fish, big needs!

I would not recomed keeping discus with arowanas unless the arowana starts of small and grown in with the discus so it recognizes them as non-meals, also the arowana has to be properly fed so as not to get any urges! The redtail was a bigger challenge untill it outgrew the tank.

The biggest concern is not the safety of the discus but the quality of the water, big fish = big waste, lots of water changes and clean filters = happy fish!

I would never recomend keeping discus with arowana or redtails, or even my tiger shovelnose that is in one of my tanks, unless you are comited to maintainng your tanks properly, but it can be done! Mine are happy!

Rod

[roclement]

Picture...

[Ed13]

Hello everyone

I knew this would make a great topic!

First things first, yes I do agree that the arowana will need a bigger tank, I have a 300gl rubermaid conatiner in my basement with my redtail catfish ready for it when it outgrows the tank. Big fish, big needs!

I would not recomed keeping discus with arowanas unless the arowana starts of small and grown in with the discus so it recognizes them as non-meals, also the arowana has to be properly fed so as not to get any urges! The redtail was a bigger challenge untill it outgrew the tank.

The biggest concern is not the safety of the discus but the quality of the water, big fish = big waste, lots of water changes and clean filters = happy fish!

I would never recomend keeping discus with arowana or redtails, or even my tiger shovelnose that is in one of my tanks, unless you are comited to maintainng your tanks properly, but it can be done! Mine are happy!

Rod

I do recomend them togher plus some Silver dollars to, but only if you have $$$$, space and time to maitain properly the thousands of gallons for it to work.

BTW, the rubbermaid container is too small to maintain long term the catfish alone (i'm guessing you've never seen an adult RTC or shovelnose)

[roclement]

Hello again,

Ed, I have seen, fished, and raised these fish since I was 14 back in Brasil. the fact that I keep them in tanks that are appropriate for their current size does not mean that I don't have a plan for them as they grow older, and much larger!

I do appreciate your concern with propper husbandry for large fish, and agree with you that (many) more times than not, people buy fish that they have no way of maintaining without a small lake in their house!

I believe that this was one of the purposes of this post to discuss other ways of keeping discus, not just your usual bare bottom tank, but also as a part of a regional tank with other fish that come from the same area, oddly enough not only the discus, but the arowana, and the shovelnose, are tank bred, not wild fish, so the only real south american fish is the redtail!

Fortunatly for me, I have the space necessary and the means, to maintain large fish and will soon start construction of an indoor pond in my basement that will be sufficient to house the redatil, and the shovelnose, more on that project later! :)

This project will be the culmination of my 20 years in fishkeeping, and hopefully will make for another great discussion!

Rod

[Ed13]

I believe that this was one of the purposes of this post to discuss other ways of keeping discus, not just your usual bare bottom tank, but also as a part of a regional tank with other fish that come from the same area, oddly enough not only the discus, but the arowana, and the shovelnose, are tank bred, not wild fish, so the only real south american fish is the redtail!


Many people would be surprise about what you can do once you break the hundreds of gallons mark! For example a black wing arowana, metynnis spec., discus, cards and rummys, and some rays could be a loose biotope and very good combos if there is enough space and territory available


Fortunatly for me, I have the space necessary and the means, to maintain large fish and will soon start construction of an indoor pond in my basement that will be sufficient to house the redatil, and the shovelnose, more on that project later! :)

This project will be the culmination of my 20 years in fishkeeping, and hopefully will make for another great discussion!

Rod
Oh why din't you say so before! Thats cool and something I've actually done and promote, actually I've convinced 4 guys of building ponds for big fish. One of them even kept a ray in one!
I'll keep an eye open for when you post about this project!

[roclement]

Sometime ago I read an article in some magazine about a guy that built a pond in his basement to house his redtail...that got me thinking...why not!

Ed, do you have any recomendation on dimensions for the indoor pond? I have read so much conflicting information so far that you would think one is trying to build a hotel! Filtration wise, I am leaning towards a pool sand filter with a skimmer intake as well as daily water changes, water source and drain are in the location. I fyou have some experience with this kind of project, any imput would be appreciated!

Thanks!

Rod

[Riche_guy]

I was wondering about how active a Arowana get as they continually swim back and forth. discus on the other hand are generally slow moving fish that like to hang about. Does that cause a conflict?

[Ed13]

AS big as you can afford and space will permit! The ARO(AND RAYS) will probably be OK in shallow water with REALLY BIG surface area so a minimum of 8'l x 4'w x ??d if you have space lengthwise go longer on the other hand if you don't have to much space go to at least the 5' x 5' x 3'

Pimelodids on the other hand prefer depth and even a 4' x 4' x 4' cube will be good. The more species you want to add the more you have to expand and don't forget to think in all dimensions.

If money and space are no problems then just take the biggest fish you'll house to measure things for example a full grown Tiger shovelnose will reach 5 feet long so a 4x factor is good lengthwise a 2x for width an a .75-1x deep wise. A 20 feet long by 10 feet wide by 4 feet deep~6,000 gallons pond will suffice, bigger the more fish you add. A pool sand filter is extremely good, no need for daily water changes

Other things to consider is you need the water surface as much as 18 inches below the walls to allow at least some space for the aro when it decides to jump. I heard twice already " my silver arowana committed suicide last night"

Take a close look at Grahams thread of his Koi house, he can probably be off more help regarding in house ponds, Most of my work concerns preformed PVC ponds, dugouts ( small man made lakes), concrete and polymer liners

[roclement]

Hi Riche! Good question! Yes it does disturb discus in the beginning, but as they grew together, they seemed to get used to each other, the tank is deep enough so that the aro stays above doing his own thing, the discus are midwater chillin', the fun beggins on feeding, the aro is very violent, jumps a lot and makes a lot of splash, the discus are happy with wathever they can gather up! Pellets, shrimp and feeders for the aro, and CBW and flakes for the discus.

Ed, my goal is for around 16 feet by 8 feet with a 4 feet depth, close to your recomendation, I am quoting formed concrete construction for the "pond", a friend of mine would do the work and another one will work out the size and construction needed as he does this for a living...hopefully I will not end up with a flooded basement! : ) No glass, just viewing from above, if it all works out, i will upgrade my histrix rays to some motoros! The goal for the pond would be to keep the redtail, the shovelnove, 2 silver arowanas, and maybe a couple of larger rays. What do you think!?

Rod

[Ed13]

Ed, my goal is for around 16 feet by 8 feet with a 4 feet depth, close to your recomendation, I am quoting formed concrete construction for the "pond", a friend of mine would do the work and another one will work out the size and construction needed as he does this for a living...hopefully I will not end up with a flooded basement! : ) No glass, just viewing from above, if it all works out, i will upgrade my histrix rays to some motoros! The goal for the pond would be to keep the redtail, the shovelnove, 2 silver arowanas, and maybe a couple of larger rays. What do you think!?

Rod
3,840 GALLONS worth of a tremendously amount of fun! PERFECT! Enough space and depth for every body!
A large flat surface on the top of the pond walls will make it feel like a public display and will allow you to lean over it for longer periods of time. Also good to place food, nets and other stuff!

Make sure they seal properly the concrete as it will drain the water trough the capillary system form inside the pond if not done correctly ( I think; this part of the ponds are handled by other people:o ) not a problem outside

You do have to let it cure to get it strong and then let it cure with water as it will probably leach calcium that will raise the ph to the clouds the first couple of weeks to months, after that its good to go!

On the rays, histrix and motoros are cool but for some reason I love leopoldis with very the black an white dots yet, I theoretically will only spend money on motoros:confused: I say theoretically since they are illegal here:( . I can only get tea cups

[roclement]

Leopoldis...there is an idea...! Not as easy to breed...

Maybe I'll get some and then invite your up north to come and visit them! : )

He'll I might just flood my whole basement and solve the whole building issue altogheter!!!! Bring the scuba gear! If all goes well I will start the process in December, when my season at work goes into slow mode. Plan to post a lot with many pictures.

Rod

[Ed13]

Leopoldis...there is an idea...! Not as easy to breed...

Maybe I'll get some and then invite your up north to come and visit them! : )

He'll I might just flood my whole basement and solve the whole building issue altogheter!!!! Bring the scuba gear! If all goes well I will start the process in December, when my season at work goes into slow mode. Plan to post a lot with many pictures.

Rod

mask.......check
O2 tank...check
flippers....check
basement full of fish and water..... priceless

With all of those Amazonian fish I hope you don't put Candirus in the water:p

[roclement]

candirus...better wear tight fitting swim suit!

Rod

[Riche_guy]

I'm not sure if this has been answered, but like an indoor pool, doesn't a pond produce a lot of humidy in a house??

[roclement]

Helo again Riche_guy,

I am sure it does, and that is certainly one of my issues that I have to consider properly, I do have external ventilation in the basement, and also a very large dehumidifier ready, but I have to do more research on the subject to make sure or what steps i have to take to not ruin my house!

If anyone has any experience it would help!

I think I am going to start a thread in the fishroom section and start a debate!

Rod

[TheXman]

So, after you finish your project, are you planning on having Mr. Bond over for "dinner"!

[jkb]

wow this is a very intereating post have keep arrow discus and a redtail keep the redtail and arowana together and about size of fish is true should should we fault the lfs for selling fish to big for tanks or us for buying them after 25yrs ive found that ive made many mistakes sometimes twice (hardheaded) but if we dont try new things we wont learn anything new and our hobby will die i really do understand when your fish hits two feet what do u do cause ive been there and thats the ony reason i dont have have a arowana now yhere not mean they cruse slow they will watch u as much as u watch them hardy they just get too big sorry for rambling

[FishLover888]

Daily water changes for a 3,840 GALLONS pond? Your water bill will go through the roof and your local police may think you are growing something else in your basement;)

One thing to consider is that most fish we keep are to be viewed from the side, discus, aros, silver dollars and so on. Viewing them from the above, they are much less attractive to us.