Silver Arowana

 

fish description – Silver Arowana Care Guide ($Osteoglossum\ bicirrhosum$)

Category	Detail
Scientific Name	$Osteoglossum\ bicirrhosum$
Common Name	Silver Arowana, Dragon Fish, Monkey Fish
Origin	Amazon and Orinoco River Basins (South America)
Adult Size	3–4 feet (90–120 cm) in home aquariums
Temperament	Highly aggressive, solitary, powerful surface predator
Lifespan	10–20+ years
Care Level	Advanced (due to size, aggression, and equipment needs)

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Appearance and Sexual Differences

 

• Short Description: A long, sleek, flat-bodied fish covered in large, pearly silver scales that give it a metallic sheen. It has a distinctive, large, upturned mouth and two prominent sensory barbels, adapted perfectly for hunting prey at the water surface.
• Coloration: Metallic silver, sometimes with subtle blue or pink iridescence. Juveniles may have yellowish tints that fade with growth.
• Fins: Long dorsal and anal fins run almost the entire length of the body, meeting the caudal fin. The upturned mouth is lined with teeth on the jaw, palate, and tongue (bony-tongued fish).
• Behavior: An extremely active, top-dwelling fish. It is famous for its jumping ability in the wild (to catch insects/birds from overhanging branches) and is intensely territorial. It is a mouthbrooder, with the male carrying the eggs and fry for weeks.

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Tank Requirements and Water Parameters

 

• Minimum Tank Size: 300 gallons (1135 liters) or larger is the minimum for a single adult. The tank must be long and wide (prioritize horizontal space). The lid must be extremely heavy and secured to prevent the fish from jumping out (a common cause of death).
• Schooling: Must be kept solitary. Group keeping is only possible with juveniles in a very large space; adults are highly aggressive toward their own kind.
• Temperature: Tropical range: $75^\circ$–$85^\circ\text{F}\ (24^\circ$–$29^\circ\text{C})$.
• pH Level: Soft, slightly acidic water: 6.0 to 7.5 (ideal $6.5$–$7.0$). They are sensitive to nitrates and require heavy-duty filtration (oversized canister filters/sumps) and large, frequent water changes (25–40% weekly) to maintain pristine water quality.
• Aquascape: Minimal décor is best to maximize swimming space, with smooth driftwood and rocks placed carefully to avoid injury when the fish charges food. The focus should be on an open top-water area. Substrate is optional; sand or fine gravel is fine.

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Diet and Feeding

 

The Silver Arowana is a carnivore and an opportunistic surface predator.

• Staple Diet: Should be fed a high-quality, floating carnivore pellet as the staple diet. They rarely accept sinking foods.
• Supplementation: Must receive a high-protein, varied diet of meaty foods: Frozen/Thawed Shrimp (krill, prawns), whole fish (feeder fish should be quarantined), large insects (crickets, mealworms), and pieces of fish fillet.
• Schedule: Juveniles (under 10 inches) should be fed 2–3 times daily. Adults require feeding only once daily or every other day. A varied, floating diet is key to preventing “Droop Eye.”

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Compatibility

 

• Caution: Will eat any tank mate that can fit in its mouth (including large Tetras, smaller Cichlids, etc.). Avoid fin-nippers. Prone to Droop Eye (eyeball tilting down) from constantly looking down at sinking food or reflections; feed floating foods and use bright lighting/floating objects to encourage it to look up.
• Good Tank Mates: Only suitable with large, robust, semi-aggressive fish that occupy the middle/bottom columns and are too big to be swallowed. Examples include large Oscars, large Plecos (e.g., Panaque or Pterygoplichthys), Datnoids, and Bichirs (African Dragon Fish).