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Hi, newbie here.

I have large silver arrowana, about 20" long, in a 75 gal tank. I'm planning to upgrade to a 120 gal tank when I redo my flooring and have to move the tank.

Just wondering what are the tank mates I can keep with it. I was hoping for some large parrot fish or cichlits(sp?). I alos spotted a 8" black African ghost knife fish the otherday too, need to know if any of these will be safe tank mates.

Any help will be appreciated.

Sorry don't no much about arrowanas. But I am sure someone will be able to help. Just thought I would say welcome. the people on here are very helpful and are loaded with good information. They have helped me numerous time.

So welcome.

Welcome to FP!!

Here is a link that shows some compatible species. I don't think the 8" BGK would be a good tankmate for a currently 20" arowana. Would think that he might become lunch.

http://www.fishprofiles.com/interactive/compatibility.asp?action=Show+Compatible+Species&salinity=Freshwater&sci=Osteoglossum%20bicirrhosum

Jim

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Water, taken in moderation, cannot hurt anybody. -- Mark Twain

I was hoping for some large parrot fish or cichlits(sp?). I alos spotted a 8" black African ghost knife fish the otherday too, need to know if any of these will be safe tank mates.

What sort of cichlids interest you? Size issues aside, do you have a (South American) black ghost knife or a true African black knife in mind?

thanks for all the info, and i can tell this is a very friendly and helpful place.

Welcome to FP

I've found that there are two things people often mix up in the fish keeping hobby: the food chain and aggression. Larger fish have a tendancy to eat any smaller fish that will fit in its mouth. Considering their size, arowanas are actually pretty laid back. They just have absolutely huge mouths. That's why recommended tankmates are huge fish like pacus and the clown knife. I hope you have an absolutely ENORMOUS tank (one that you can go SCUBA diving in ) if you plan on keeping the arowana AND takmates.

><>Dani<><

Last edited by gartenzwerfe at 26-Apr-2005 21:19

Arowana get 3-4' your 120g is only going to be the length of the fish full grown. You need at least a 6' but probably an 8' tank to keep an arowana.

the 120g is already too small for him. A large pond is about what you would need to accomadate a full grown arowana. About the only tank mates would be red tail catfish, big pacus, and very large common plecos. Full grown arowanas are awesome and they deserve to be in large ponds not some little glass tank.

Hiya Agent,

It is best to keep things that would not fit into the arowana's mouth for a start. Pacus are good, but ensure that your tank walls are thick enough. The Silver is going to grow to huge sizes and Red-tail Cat will too. Parrots seem OK, but stick to the rule I mentioned and all should be fine. The arowana may take nips at its tank mates depending on the aggression of the fish which varies from fish to fish. I am not too sure about African cichlids actually, I believe they have different water requirements. Birchirs are also good tank mates and if you can ensure great water quality, I'd say a FW ray would be s great talking point in the tank, but careful when handling them OK?

I have kept these fish for the past 20 years, and currently have a black arowana. Tank mates are really not that hard to pick. If you keep him fed well, and feed him non-live fish, it will be better, and his aggression will also be less. Their natural food source is actually insects. If you are feeding him feeders now, it is not too hard to change him over. Try red worms and night crawlers, and some freeze dried stuff, like plankton and krill. I always got mine to even take flake.

These fish are very laid back, except to conspecifics. Another good idea is not to have them with fish that frequent the surface of the water. As this is primarily the place your arowana will stay. So keeping other fish that stay below the surface would make it less tempting for him.

Personally, with full grown, 3 foot silvers, I have kept clown knives, Salvini, Convicts, Flyer cichlids, Geo and Gymnogeophagus, plecos, Red Tailed Cats, and though never personally kept them, I have a friend that has several FW rays with his.

Personally, I recommend nothing less than a 150 gal 6 foot tank. As they do need some swimming room. This is the smallest tank I have kept any in.

HTH.....

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There is always a bigger fish...

you can try a red devil, or a parrot, or nothing it sounds a little tight, or a clown knife.

I think you might have gotten the wrong impression. Acid was 100% right that a 150 - 180 gallon tank is the best size for an aro. But, that might not be outside of your future budget. You definitely don't need an indoor pond for one. Most tank raised aros don't get much bigger than 3', even with the best conditions. If you do happen to get a large tank, I suggest sting rays. Very exotic and very, very cool.

Hi & welcome to FP!
Probably the best tankmate I would say for your tank size would probably a clown knife fish (be sure to get it at least 45 cm).

An AMAZING fish, i absolutely love it! But my parents wont let me have a 6x2x2 tank or bigger in the house (i had to BEG for a 4x2x2) so i chose to go with Oscars.

They do need a quite a large tank, and i have seen these fish grow HUGE.

Beautiful fish, Goodluck!

Look into a lung fish there pretty neat fish.