How to Raise Small Arowana? Detailed Guide to Feeding Methods and Tips

Arowana generally refers to Scleropages formosus, also known as the green arowana, yellow-tailed golden arowana, or Asian dragon fish. It is one of the most valuable ornamental fish. So how do you raise a small arowana?

How to raise a small arowana?

1. Rearing Environment

The aquarium for raising arowana should be equipped with a filter, an oxygenator, and lighting. Arowana needs slightly acidic to neutral water quality and soft water in terms of hardness. The pH value should be between 6.5-7.5, and the DH value 3-12. The water temperature can be anywhere from 24-28°C.

2. Feeding

Juvenile fish under 12 cm have just started eating live bait. At this point you can feed them freshly molted white mealworms, small shrimp (be sure to remove the heads and tails; it is best to peel them into shrimp balls before feeding to prevent the hard shells from injuring their digestive tract), bloodworms, and other relatively palatable bait. Feed small meals more often, four times a day.

Small arowana around 15 cm can be fed normal mealworms and small shrimp (it is best to remove the shrimp rostrum from small shrimp), and can also be fed 1.5 cm small fish. At this stage the arowana grows rapidly and has an astonishing appetite. The number of feedings and the amount fed can be appropriately increased. In addition, there is one thing we must pay attention to when feeding small arowana: each feeding should be about 70% full, and attention should be paid to the variety of food, otherwise it can easily lead to picky eating or loss of appetite in small arowana.

3. Density

If raising arowana with a body length of 20 cm, a 5 sq m aquarium can hold 15 fish, 15 sq m can hold 30 fish, 40 sq m can hold 40 fish, and 200 sq m can hold 120 fish. It can be seen that the density should be reduced as much as possible.

4. Water Changes

Change at least 20%-30% of the water every week, and the ammonia content should not exceed 0.1 parts per million (mg/l). Do not let the temperature or pH value change suddenly.

If you want the arowana to grow well, it must have more than 4-8 hours of light, preferably daytime sunlight, so that the arowana's coloration will be better.