# Arowana Question



## RhomZilla (Feb 12, 2003)

Ok.. Ive went through the search engine, read 5 pages of old and current topics, read Draco's great tutorial (KingsoftheAquarium), but I still couldnt find the propper answer to my concerns.

Whats the actualy PH for Silvers? Ive read slightly to moderate water hardness, and with slightly acidic water. Can someone give me actual #s? Reason is, Ive read somewhere that Arows mostly swim up on top and hardly swim on the bottom (unless harrassed by other fish or to prey on food). He's all alone in a 240 gal. And Ive noticed that my Arow swims in the middle, or sometimes just sits on the bottom of the tank for a couple seconds, then swims away again. Is he looking for food? Are the outputs from 2 pumps (Mag Drive 5) from my wet/dry too much for him to swim on top? Is he resting? And how are water current in their natural habitat?

I just got him earlier today, 25"er. Here are some pics..


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## dnz03dw (Apr 4, 2004)

AIM'ed you Rhomzilla hope that website helps becuz it should


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## Joga Bonito (Oct 30, 2004)

nice monster man


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## hyphen (Apr 4, 2004)

to be honest, i would keep it around 7.5. but the reason you havent found exact numbers is that it doesn't really matter so long as it's stable. unless it's an extreme on either end of the spectrum, i don't think it's the issue. just keep a steady ph.

oh, he also seems to have some drop eye









lastly, wrong forum you noob!


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## jiggy (Jun 27, 2004)

www.arofanatics.com

see ya there!


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## AzNxGuY2o9 (Jul 26, 2003)

ph stable is fine. how long did you have him?
mines stays at the bottom sometimes when I first got em.


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## RhomZilla (Feb 12, 2003)

dnz03dw said:


> AIM'ed you Rhomzilla hope that website helps becuz it should
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Thanks bro, you rock!!!










HYPER said:


> lastly, wrong forum you noob!


Hows this in the wrong forum??? Its under Tank Busters... right?


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## thePACK (Jan 3, 2003)

stop your tripp'n homie..yo fish iz alrizzel...


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## hyphen (Apr 4, 2004)

RhomZilla said:


> dnz03dw said:
> 
> 
> > AIM'ed you Rhomzilla hope that website helps becuz it should
> ...


you posted it in the lounge before.


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## dnz03dw (Apr 4, 2004)

hows the aro rhomzilla?


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## RhomZilla (Feb 12, 2003)

dnz03dw said:


> hows the aro rhomzilla?
> [snapback]1085987[/snapback]​


Its been great!! Tried to feed it shrimp, but didnt touch the shiz even when i dropped it right in front of its face. He still sometimes just sits on the bottom of the tank for a few seconds, but then starts swimming again. Im gonna run a test on the parameters and see where its at. Will update and thanks again man!


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## hyphen (Apr 4, 2004)

RhomZilla said:


> dnz03dw said:
> 
> 
> > hows the aro rhomzilla?
> ...


give it some time







my aros LOVED shrimp. they would literally dart all the way across the tank to get bits of shrimp i dropped in. just wait til yours settles in, it'll eat you out of your house.


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## jiggy (Jun 27, 2004)

i dunno how silvers are.. but the 'special' aros may take a week or even a month before it eats when u first put it in a new tank..


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## dracofish (Jul 13, 2003)

hyphen said:


> oh, he also seems to have some drop eye
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Unfortunately, most Silvers actually get dropeye at larger sizes when kept in tanks in at least one eye regardless of perfect water quality and diet. I believe it may have something to do with being heavily overbred on farms, at least in part. Usually the eye that is used to look out of the aquarium is the one that drops. It doesn't seem to bother the fish at all.

As long as pH is constant then it's fine. Mine is kept around 6.5.

As for swimming space, they don't always stay towards the top. Fish usually don't pefectly mimic their wild behavior when in captivity. My large Silvers would regularly swim in the middle sections of the tank. However, I would check into stress factors and water quality if it's laying on the bottom for any amount of time.


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## dnz03dw (Apr 4, 2004)

dracofish said:


> hyphen said:
> 
> 
> > oh, he also seems to have some drop eye
> ...


aros usually get drop eye because of the surrounding, and its not becuz of overbred, its becuz they build up fat behind the eye for stearing the ground or other tank mates like plecos that tends to stay near the ground for a long period of time. And you are able to cut if you dont want the drop eye, or placing a red ball or floaty to keep his eye at the surface, it usually helps.
http://www.arofanatics.com/members/toospic...peyesoperation/


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## dracofish (Jul 13, 2003)

Oh lord. I have kept all my Aros in the same conditions on the same great diet (frozen shrimp, squid, scallops, pollack, and Azoo floating sticks) and the only ones that have ever gotten drop eye were Silvers. Not my Jar at 17" and not my Black. Just the Silvers. Water quality was definately not an issue as I keep Stingrays with my Aros as well (not the Jardini).

If fat deposits were the major culprit then the drop would be in both eyes, not just one. And it would affect more than just primarily Silvers and the majorly overbred colors of Asian morphs. I'm sure there's a couple out there, but I've never seen a Black or Australian with drop eye. I personally attribute this to the fact that Blacks and Leichardtis are still wild caught and Jardinis haven't been farm raised nearly as long as Silvers and Asians have. It may have something to do with a genetic predisposition in these two particular species (even when wild caught) but most cases aren't "fatty deposits." If you watch an Aro as it swims back and forth in it's tank, it will usually take one lap looking up and one lap looking out. I've witnessed this behavior with all my guys. With the Silvers it seems that the eye that they use to look out is the one that drops. Every single one of my Silvers only had one dropped eye, not two. If diet and water conditions were always to blame, then most of these fish would also develop gill curl, which they don't. The cases where poor husbandry is to blame for the condition are easy to distinguish from the many cases of the virtually unavoidable.

I also personally find it rather foolish to subject a fish to the major stress of being sedated, held out of the water wrapped in a towel, and then butchered with a scalpel. I wonder how many eyes or even fish are lost or near lost in this process, especially when performed by the inexperienced. Red floaty things don't work that well either. I've tried it. I was more worried about it startling the fish or that they'd accidentally swallow it. The only decent way to prevent or correct this condition is to keep the fish in a pond-like setting, which isn't always a cure-all.

The fact remains that drop eye is a condition that many Aros get. It can be caused by bacterial infections, poor husbandry (diet, conditions, etc), or it can be genetic. I personally feel that most cases out there (at least with Silvers and Asians kept in proper conditions and on a proper diet) are more related to genetics due to the fact that they get it in only one eye instead of two and that it mainly occurs in the two most highly farm-raised species.


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## dnz03dw (Apr 4, 2004)

http://arowanaclub.com/stories.php?story=03/01/14/2046318
enough said

also rhomzilla, theres other good informations on this site to learn more about your arowanas.

another one for you dracofish read question 3
http://www.arowana.com.sg/faq.html


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## dracofish (Jul 13, 2003)

Those two sources are specific to Asian Arowanas. However, I did notice that genetics is mentioned more than once as a possible factor...so I'm not arguing against those articles. They support what I said as far as the various factors that can cause the affliction.









One thing those pages failed to mention was the lack of drop eye occurance with other species like Blacks and the two Australians. Why is it that these species don't seem to be afflicted with the condition nearly as much as Silvers and Asians? Same water, same diet, same surroundings...


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## dnz03dw (Apr 4, 2004)

lol what is your source that silvers and jar are different to asian?


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## dracofish (Jul 13, 2003)

dnz03dw said:


> lol what is your source that silvers and jar are different to asian?
> [snapback]1088207[/snapback]​


I hardly think two species that have been highly bred on farms with mimimal infusions of wild blood for years can be considered "the same" as wild caught animals.


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## dnz03dw (Apr 4, 2004)

w/e you can believe what you want, when you are able to talk to many arowana farm owners as i have than i'll believe you.


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## dracofish (Jul 13, 2003)

dnz03dw said:


> lol what is your source that silvers and jar are different to asian?
> [snapback]1088207[/snapback]​


They're different species. They aren't the same. Yes, they have the same water requirements, more or less, but they are different species and tend to have different temperaments.

Either way, it's very unlikely to come across a Jardini with drop eye. The same can be said for it's other Australian counterpart, the Leichardti, and the Silver's South American counterpart, the Black. Both Blacks and Leichardtis are still wild caught as far as the hobby is concerned and Jardinis have recently within the last few years been established as a primarily farm raised species. Drop eye is uncommon in all three of these species, at least to the extent that it is common in Silvers and Asians.


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## dracofish (Jul 13, 2003)

dnz03dw said:


> w/e you can believe what you want, when you are able to talk to many arowana farm owners as i have than i'll believe you.
> [snapback]1088212[/snapback]​


You're the one that started the argument. Your first post was this:


> aros usually get drop eye because of the surrounding, and its not becuz of overbred, its becuz they build up fat behind the eye for stearing the ground or other tank mates like plecos that tends to stay near the ground for a long period of time.


You said that genetics play no part and that it's caused by "stearing the ground." Then you post up links to these articles to seemingly support your argument but they include the factors that I've mentioned, namely genetics. You seem to be arguing with yourself.

I agree with what the articles say, for the most part. Drop eye can be caused by many things...genetics being one of them. I believe that it can definately give an animal a predisposition to certain disorders. If it can happen when inbreeding mammals and reptiles, then it can certainly happen with fish as well. It may not be the only contributing factor, but it can lead to a greater susceptibility.


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## dnz03dw (Apr 4, 2004)

but who said anything about jars and black though? it was about a silver, but o well, glad to see someone really loves their jars and blacks. happy arowana keeping


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