Everyone says silver arowanas are easy to keep, so why do they still end up dying?

How to keep silver arowanas well: keeping silver arowanas is very simple, and on top of that, silver arowanas are quite cheap, so many people love keeping them. But loving to keep them does not mean knowing how to keep them. Many people have no idea how to keep silver arowanas, and often the fish die before long.

Silver arowanas are simple and convenient to keep, and they are quite cheap, so people often use them as practice fish. Even so, the shimmering silver scales of the silver arowana and the elegant, flowing dorsal, anal and caudal fins as it swims undoubtedly add a uniquely distinctive flair to the arowana world, earning people's affection. Below, the editor introduces a few key points about keeping silver arowanas:

1. Suitable aquarium size for silver arowanas

How big can a silver arowana grow? Under normal circumstances, a silver arowana can grow to 60cm in one year, reaching the standard of a mature arowana. The size of its living space determines how well a silver arowana grows, so keeping silver arowanas first requires choosing a suitable aquarium size. Strictly speaking, an aquarium suitable for silver arowana growth should be no less than 1.5 m long, with width and height both no less than 0.6 m. Keeping a silver arowana in an aquarium 1.2 m long and 0.5 m wide will lead to conditions such as body deformation and nervous stress.

2. Suitable water quality environment for silver arowanas

In terms of water quality, silver arowanas can adapt to weakly acidic soft water. Silver arowanas can grow normally at a pH between 5.8-8.0, while a pH range of 6.5-7.5 is more helpful for their growth and development, and a hardness maintained at 3-12 is fine. When keeping silver arowanas, right after setting up the tank the water must go through aging to bring the nitrite content in the water down to 0 and establish a complete nitrification system in the aquarium, maintaining good water quality.

3. Water temperature requirements for silver arowanas

The climate changes unpredictably throughout the four seasons, and the air temperature changes with the seasons, which in turn affects the water temperature in the aquarium. In autumn, winter and summer, appropriate insulation or cooling measures should be taken to keep the water temperature in the aquarium balanced. No matter how the seasons change, keeping silver arowanas should always keep the water temperature at 25-28 degrees.

4. Water changes for silver arowanas

Water changes cause changes in the pH and temperature of the water in the aquarium, making silver arowanas unable to adapt to the water quality changes, which leads to phenomena such as the fish not eating, lying at the bottom of the tank, or even death. Therefore, keeping silver arowanas requires attention to changing the water in appropriate amounts. Before a water change, tap water must be left to sit for 2-3 days to remove the chlorine from the water. Changing 20%-30% of the water each week is more suitable for silver arowanas.

5. Feeding silver arowanas

What do silver arowanas eat? Small fish and small shrimp are naturally the best first choice. Insects such as loaches, crickets and grasshoppers can be fed as supplementary food for silver arowanas, but remember not to feed too much, which would cause the silver arowana not to eat; extra caution is especially needed with barley worms. Some people wonder what silver arowanas eat, and some even have the bizarre idea of whether silver arowanas can be eaten, which is baffling. Back to the point: the common silver arowana condition of droopy eyes caused by improper feeding should be prevented from an early age, and droopy eyes are a very common phenomenon in the process of keeping silver arowanas.

6. Lighting for silver arowanas

Just like people, silver arowanas have a daily routine. During the day they should fully enjoy the light, and at night they should rest well. Keeping silver arowanas should provide 8-10 hours of light each day.