Silver arowana

Acpape0

Acpape0

Members
Hello,
I have recently emptied out my 125g tank to make room for a rescue. I just acquired a 8 inch silver arowana. I was told that he was housed in a 55g tank but when I went to check him out it turned out the tank was really a 30 long that was heavily stocked with tetras. He was at the bottom of the tank hiding under some fake drift wood. Stressed is a understatement to say the least. I had to switch substrate because the old gravel was full of crushed coral as a buffer. I ended up going with pool filter sand. So this morning I headed out to get him with one of those large round totes that people use as drink cooler and toy boxes. The removal of the fish from the tank went better than I thought it would. He rode shotgun on the ride home to keep an eye out for jumping. Once home I used drip acclimation to get him acclimated to tank water. I fully expected this fish to go straight to the bottom of tank due to stress, but just the opposite happened. He made his way around the tank exploring happily. Amazing what clean warm water will do...
The current 125 gallon tank is temporary until he needs a larger one. ( I have to justify these expenses to the wife after all , and it's hard to justify a larger tank for a 8" fish) I look forward to the upgrade.
Once I feel his is adjusted complete to his new home I will add in some geos as tank mates. Currently their is only one which is a small Dempsey that did not get sold when I emptied / sold the previous stock. Today I have to head down and pick up a nice variety of food for this guy. The staple is ping to be a hikari food stick. Variety will include frozen krill, live crickets, brine shrimp cubes and possible some blood worms. I am hoping to get this guy back up to his full potential pretty quickly.

As those of us with young kids know every fish has a name

So may I formally introduce MOBY

I will add some pics and videos to share in the experience.
The prep for pick up
ImageUploadedByMonsterAquariaNetwork1405776881.374853.jpg


MOBY checking out his new home
http://youtu.be/Nblj_ZyOfrM


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blkmjk

blkmjk

Members
After coming out of those living conditions he looks surprisingly good! Keep us updated on his progress!

Drew
 
Acpape0

Acpape0

Members
A small victory tonight... These fish are notorious for starving themselves when stressed or moved. He did eat some krill !!! Ignored the pellets but I was expecting that as he had never seen them before.
He is doing better than I thought he would...
I went out today and picked up a nice variety for him to eat :
Hikari carnivore sticks
Frozen blood worm cubes
Frozen whole krill
Live crickets ( had to buy a cricket keeper)
Freeze dried krill ( this is all he was eating)
I also already had some brine shrimp cubes in the freezer




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Thai

Thai

Members
Beautiful aro Adam! Your post inspired me to pick one up the other day :)
 

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Acpape0

Acpape0

Members
Day 2:
He seems to be shy in the light. Not sure if it is stress or if previous owners left light off all day. I have done some research and it seems to be fairly common with bright lights although his tank is only running two 36" aqua glow t8 bulbs. I have left the light off for most of the day and will slowly increase the length of time the light is on. Worst case scenario I will switch back to the less bright daylight bulbs.
He is still settling in so I hope clean water, time, and space will help. I have read that tank mates can help to reduce startling and stress ( the correct tank mates that is) . So hopefully he will enjoy the company of the geophagus altifrons that will be joining him later this week.



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festaedan

festaedan

potamotrygon fan
I used to have a big silver that I got from a member (gspark) a little while ago when i bought a tank from him. The big boy was about a 12" when i got him and died of a fungal infection when he was 18". He was shy under the bright light aswell. I put in some large anubias and pothos vines to sort of shade the tank. He seemed more outgowing and less shy afterwards.
 
AquaStudent

AquaStudent

CCA Members
He seems to be much happier now. Definitely moved beyond hiding under fake driftwood. Always nice to find a reason for an upgrade :D

It's dangerous to name your fish right away! I've found that's a death sentence! :p You've got it covered though!
 
Acpape0

Acpape0

Members
Ok so he seems to be on a little bit if a hunger strike .... Seems to be pretty normal when introducing pellets. Although if I throw a krill in the tank and walk away it will "disappear" in about an hour. As of today I will no longer put any krill in. He will get hungry enough to eat the hikari food sticks eventually. I believe ( correct me if I am wrong ) that getting him at accept pellets will be for his best interest in the long run. Once he will readily accept the pellets I will reintroduce the variety(krill,crickets,bloodworm, etc.)to his diet.
Shyness is improving slowly, I am hoping his new tank mates ( a group of 6 altifrons) will help to put him at ease.. He seemed cautiously interested in them even hovering in the group for a few min. Hopefully by this time next week he will change his mind about the pellets but I have read it may take up to a few weeks


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Becca

Becca

Members
If you'd like some floating plants for your tank, let me know.

You could try planting some jungle val or other tall, grassy types, as well as tropical lilies, to help provide some shade from the light. This might make him a little more comfortable.

Also, you can always gut-load crickets with the pellets if you're worried about whether one is more nutritious than the other.
 
Acpape0

Acpape0

Members
Ok so I guess my resolve is not there to accomplish this feat with a new fish.. So far the only thing I have gotten him to eat are freeze dried jumbo krill, crickets, and guppies( don't really like feeding live but needed something else in diet)... He has refused pellets, frozen whole krill(sinks) frozen blood worms( although his tank mates love them so it wasn't a waste of $)meal worms and frozen brine shrimp cubes.....
F$&*ing spoiled fish. Although I am glad I got him out of that 30long tank to give him a little better life, it would have been easier to start with a baby instead of a moody/picky slightly older fish. I swear getting this fish to eat something new is just as hard as getting my 6 year old daughter to try a new food.
Any suggestions?


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