A Detailed Guide to Arapaima Farming Methods and Key Technical Points

AbstractFish tank requirements: Arapaima grows quickly, so a fish tank with a length of 4.5 m, a width of 1.5 m and a height of 1.5 m should be chosen, and the top must be secured against escape. Water quality requirements: It prefers weakly acidic water, and the suitable water temperature is around 24°C-29°C. Feed requirements: For animal feed, live small fish are best, along with shrimp feed to ensure balanced nutrition; animal offal must not be fed. Feeding method: At the juvenile stage it can be kept together with ornamental fish, but after it grows up it must be kept separately.

I. Arapaima Farming Methods

1. Fish tank selection

(1) Arapaima grows relatively quickly, so the fish tank for keeping arapaima needs to be large in area; the suitable length is 4.5 m, width 1.5 m and height 1.5 m, while a common 1.5 m fish tank can only keep an arapaima until it grows to about 1 m.

(2) When arapaima is stocked into the fish tank, a wide range of activity must be ensured; if the water level in the tank is low, protective measures must be taken at the top to prevent the arapaima from jumping out and causing unnecessary losses.

2. Water quality requirements

Arapaima is a tropical fish and likes to live in weakly acidic water, so its requirements for water quality are not very high; the suitable growth water temperature is between 24°C-29°C, and during this period the stability of the water temperature must be controlled well, with no drastic changes.

3. Feed requirements

(1) Arapaima is a carnivorous fish, and from the juvenile stage to the adult stage it needs to be fed animal bait; generally live small fish are best, while animal offal easily causes indigestion and therefore must not be fed.

(2) For the artificial compound feed to be fed, shrimp feed can be chosen; fish, like people, need various nutrients supplemented, so a single bait must not be fed; bait rich in nutrients needs to be prepared to ensure balanced nutrition.

4. Feeding method

(1) When feeding arapaima, fish or meat pieces must not be held in the hand for a long time, otherwise the arapaima will jump toward the feeder's arm, causing unnecessary danger.

(2) At the fry stage, arapaima can be kept together with ornamental fish of the same body size, but after it grows up it will treat other fish as prey, so they need to be kept separately.

II. Living Habits of Arapaima

1. Arapaima generally lives in primeval tropical jungle waters and mainly eats small fish, and occasionally also preys on turtles, snakes, frogs, insects, small crocodiles, etc. In hot weather, the river flow becomes relatively slow, causing the oxygen content to drop, and the arapaima often surfaces to breathe fresh air.

2. In the dry season, it also burrows into mud and sand to protect itself; the arapaima has great brute strength and can use its tail as a weapon, easily knocking down an adult man and causing fractures or internal injuries.

III. Breeding Habits of Arapaima

1. Like salmon, arapaima likes to spawn in shallow shoals; in August they gather in groups in lakes and river channels with lower water levels, and the breeding period ends in December-March; each spawning produces about 160,000 eggs, generally laid in several batches; the eggs hatch in 3-5 days, at which time the female generally leaves alone, while the male stays to protect the young.

2. The tail of the male turns red, thereby protecting the eggs and caring for the newly hatched young; the heads of both the young and the male are black; the young often stay around the male and are unwilling to leave; the male cares for the young for about 3 months, and as the flood begins to recede, the adults and subadults then begin to separate and migrate to rivers or lakes to live; arapaima reaches sexual maturity at 4-5 years of age, and the lifespan of farmed arapaima is generally 15-20 years.