Osteoglossum bicirrhosum
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Common Names:
| Silver Arowana |
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Synonyms:
| Ischnosoma bicirrhosum |
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Category:
| Other_Freshwater_Species |
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Distribution:
| America South; Amazon Basin, South America. |
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Main Ecosystem:
| River; River |
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Temperament:
| Predatory; Predatory towards small surface fish. Otherwise relatively peaceful for a large fish.
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Diet:
| Carnivore; Carnivore
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Care:
| Feeds on small fish and insects. If conditioned, the Arowana will eat pellets, but prefer live foods. Nightcrawlers and red worms, are an excellent food source that most arowana will relish. Small specimens will eat mosquito larvae, blood worms, plankton, small feeder fry, brine shrimp, and most anything natural they can fit into their mouths. Dark gravel in a aquarium with a very large surface area is recommended. These fish spook very easily and require lower light conditions and da |
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Potential Size:
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Male: 120cm
(47.2")
Female: 120cm
(47.2")
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Water Region:
| Surface; Surface |
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Activity:
| Diurnal; Diurnal |
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Gender:
| Mature males have longer anal fins than mature females.
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Breeding:
| Breeding is possible, but two adult Arowanas require a massive aquarium. Slightly acidic, peat filtered water is essential. The male will usually keep the eggs in his mouth for up to sixty days.
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Comments:
| Very rare and expensive in Australia. A heavy lid must be used as the Arowana will jump. It is common for arowana species in captivity to suffer a condition known as "drop -eye" , a long term problem where lack of accurate focal distances at or above water level will cause the muscles in the eye to atrophy, eventually excluding the fish to be able to look in any direction other than downwards. This can cause the fish to become depressive and suffer feeding difficulties, and quite possibly some pain.
Bouyant objects and textures at or above water level will give the fish a target to focus on, thus alleiviating the problem. Keepers use coloured and decorated ping pong balls , or drop water levels to allow plants and branches to be hung overhead.This especially important for those keepers who rather ill-advisedly keep their fish in barren and featureless tanks.
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Image Credit:
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