What food do silver arowanas usually eat, and how should they be kept?

The silver arowana is a very popular ornamental fish because of its unique appearance, which looks very imposing. However, as a large species of ornamental fish, keeping it requires some effort, and the slightest mistake may cause it to die. Below we take a look together at what food silver arowanas usually eat and how to keep them.

1. What food do silver arowanas usually eat?

What food the silver arowana eats depends on its size. Generally, the eating habits of silver arowanas of 10cm, 15cm and 20cm differ, and you can refer to the table below for details.

Juvenile fish under 12 cm have just started eating live bait. At this time you can feed them freshly molted white breadworms, small shrimp (be sure to remove the head and tail, and preferably peel them into shrimp balls before feeding to avoid the hard shell injuring their digestive tract), bloodworms and other relatively palatable bait. Feed small amounts more often, four times a day.

Small arowanas of around 15 cm can be fed normal breadworms and small shrimp (it is best to remove the rostrum of the small shrimp), and can also be fed 1.5 cm small fish. At this time the arowana grows rapidly and its appetite is astonishing. The feeding frequency and feeding amount can be appropriately increased.

Arowanas over 20 cm can be fed larger bait such as fish, shrimp, loach and pieces of meat. They can also be fed various insects and other live bait; these are all foods arowanas like, but take care not to let this bait become contaminated.

It is worth noting that when keeping silver arowanas you should not feed them internal organs, because excessive fat will cause a series of diseases. You can also go to a professional pet fish market to buy professional bait.

2. How are silver arowanas kept?

1. Prepare the keeping facilities

The silver arowana is a relatively large ornamental fish, so it needs a larger space for keeping; if the space is too small it will affect its growth rate. In addition, silver arowanas also like to jump, so normally a cover should be added to prevent them from jumping out after being startled.

2. Water temperature requirements

The water temperature for keeping silver arowanas is very important. Generally, they can survive between 22 and 29 degrees Celsius; of course, keeping it at around 25 degrees Celsius is more suitable.

3. Water quality requirements

The water quality for keeping silver arowanas should remain slightly acidic to neutral, and nitrite must not be detectable in the water. To keep the water quality stable, we should establish a good nitrification system; once it is stable, the water can be changed once a week. Remember to turn on the oxygenator when changing the water, so that the water quality can be stabilized.

4. Scientific feeding

The foods that silver arowanas eat have already been introduced above. Normally they should be fed at fixed times and in fixed amounts, mainly changing the amount, shape and so on of the food according to the growth stage of the silver arowana.

5. Control environmental factors well

When changing the water, the temperature difference must be less than 3 degrees; for juvenile fish, the temperature difference must be less than 2 degrees, otherwise too large a temperature difference will cause the silver arowana to “catch a cold”; for water quality, the physical and chemical indicators such as the pH, ammonia nitrogen content, oxygen content and hardness of the water must be within the appropriate range, so that the silver arowana can be healthy and suffer fewer illnesses.

6. Light

Silver arowanas also need light, especially red silver arowanas. The light should preferably be maintained for more than four hours; if red light is used, the red silver arowanas raised will be even more beautiful.