Arowana help ASAP

[Ej_b1996]

So I bought my baby silver arowana 2-3 weeks ago or maybe even longer I don't really remember. He was 6" when I bought him and he might've grown since then, I haven't been able to check yet

But since then I haven't seen him eat
I read that it might take them a couple of days to start eating but he still hasn't started eating :/

I started him off with flakes, then bloodworms then shrimp pellets

With all the food he's opened his mouth to them and had them inside his mouth but he just opens it back up again letting the food float back put and I've only see this happen a couple of times

Right now he's in a 55 gallon tank but I'm planning on moving him out later when I finish building my pond

He doesn't look like he has any parasites or whatever but might be wrong, I hope not

Please reply ASAP I want to know what's or if something is wrong with him and what I can do to help so he doesn't die!!
Thank you!

 

[Scottyhorse]

Have you tried frozen or live foods?

 

[herp_mommy]

Flake food? No no no. He's an arowana. Feed him live feeder fish. He will also need a huge tank when he gets bigger. 55 won't cut it.

 

[tropical-fish]

Flake food? No no no. He's an arowana. Feed him live feeder fish.

Feeder guppys or mealworms is a good start to get it eating. After a while you can introduce floating pellets or food sticks.

 

[Legit Fish]

haha ur funny feeders!!! u wanna kill his poor arowana with those parasite infested feeders, unless u breed ur own feeders!!!! but u can do bloodworms and there is no problem with flakes or pellets !!! they need that when they r small

 

[tropical-fish]

The original poster already tried bloodworms and flakes but the arowana won't eat them.

I understand where you are coming from about feeders and parasites. But if you are trying to get an arow to come off hunger strike then feeders or live insects have a much better chance of success.

 

[Ej_b1996]

I fed frozen bloodworms

And as much as possible I don't want to feed with feeders yet cuz he's still pretty small and don't want to feed feeder until he's at least a foot long

And ya I know 55 is too small, like I've said already he's going into my pond when I'm done building it

 

[herp_mommy]

haha ur funny feeders!!! u wanna kill his poor arowana with those parasite infested feeders, unless u breed ur own feeders!!!! but u can do bloodworms and there is no problem with flakes or pellets !!! they need that when they r small

You must get your feeders from a poor source. Not all feeder animals (fish, insects, rats) are full of parasites. Gut loading feeders and then introducing the feeder to the animal is one of the best ways to get good nutrition into your pet. No fish "needs" flakes. I have not fed flakes in almost a decade.

 

[bettaowner]

I'm pretty sure crickets could work too.

 

[Bageezus]

Look into a garlic additive. I have had a few fish in my past that I have gotten to eat with garlic. Kent Marine makes a good bottle with a dropper. Just another thing to try. I have used feed feeder fish with garlic on them to get a few fish to eat. The garlic will also strengthen your fishes resistance to parasites, fungi, and bacteria. Just a thought.

 

[Ej_b1996]

I'm considering crickets and garlic but my other problem is that I don't want my other fish to eat it before my arowana will
How should I go about that?

 

[Scottyhorse]

Honestly, your easiest option would to house the arow by himself.

 

[Ej_b1996]

I'm thinking about that but my only other spare tank as of now is a 10 gallon and it would be way too small for him
So I'm just waiting for pond to finish building so I can just put him in there

 

[Rexisbeast]

I've fed mine minnows,rats,squirrels,and sometimes frozen shrimp

 

[herp_mommy]

I'm thinking about that but my only other spare tank as of now is a 10 gallon and it would be way too small for him
So I'm just waiting for pond to finish building so I can just put him in there

Please, please don't put him in there. They're not pond fish.

 

[TheCommunityCichlid]

Please, please don't put him in there. They're not pond fish.

An indoor pond sure, defiantly not an outdoor pond.

 

[Ej_b1996]

Why not in an outdoor pond?

Both my parents had a pond full of arowanas outdoor and they did fine
And I've seen it happen on youtube

 

[Chris J]

You could house him in a deepish bathtub with some floating plants and a established canister filter and heater to try and separate the arrow to try and get it to eat. Just don't use the tub faucet for water changes, although the drain would make water changes a little easier. And my 6" arrowanna takes hikari Lg floating ciclid pellets but medium would probably be a better size. Also my arrowanna takes some of my cichlid flake food at times. But crickets are usually a good start because of the movement, and they float, which is naturally where the arrowanna feeds from. Mine doesn't seem to care much at all WHAT the food is as long as its floating, he also will take feeders but I no longer feed him any because I have so many options when I feed him.

 

[cgthebeast]

You could house him in a deepish bathtub with some floating plants and a established canister filter and heater to try and separate the arrow to try and get it to eat. Just don't use the tub faucet for water changes, although the drain would make water changes a little easier. And my 6" arrowanna takes hikari Lg floating ciclid pellets but medium would probably be a better size. Also my arrowanna takes some of my cichlid flake food at times. But crickets are usually a good start because of the movement, and they float, which is naturally where the arrowanna feeds from. Mine doesn't seem to care much at all WHAT the food is as long as its floating, he also will take feeders but I no longer feed him any because I have so many options when I feed him.

I'm sorry but I find the arow in the bath tub hilarious. Can you imanage walking into a bathroom and there's a huge fish swimming in the tub. Lol that would be a sight, what if it jumped at you? Hahaha sorry but i don't think that would work as most arrows are jumpers and need strong lids

 

[ThatPlantedTank]

I'm sorry but I find the arow in the bath tub hilarious. Can you imanage walking into a bathroom and there's a huge fish swimming in the tub. Lol that would be a sight, what if it jumped at you? Hahaha sorry but i don't think that would work as most arrows are jumpers and need strong lids

Lolololololololol