Silver arowana

Care at a glance

Overview

This is a big-tank commitment: adults reach around 90 to 100 cm and need a footprint of at least 1500 litres with a wide, well-covered top, since they routinely jump. Keep them at 24 to 28 C and pH 6.0 to 7.5 with strong filtration for the heavy waste load. They will eat any tankmate that fits in the mouth, so pair only with large, calm species, and feed a varied diet of pellets, prawns, insects and fish. A tight, weighted lid is essential.

In the wild

Silver arowanas are surface predators built like a long silver blade, with a steeply upturned mouth and two barbels for detecting prey. In the wild they cruise the top few inches of flooded forest and take insects, fish and anything that falls onto the water. They are powerful, nervous fish that will crash into the glass or leap clean out of an open tank when startled.

Good to know

Osteoglossum bicirrhosum belongs to the bony-tongue family Osteoglossidae, an ancient lineage sometimes called living fossils. Males are mouthbrooders that carry the large eggs and fry inside the mouth for weeks. Young are sold as button juveniles while they still carry a visible yolk sac.

Did you know

Silver arowanas are known as monkey fish for their ability to leap over a metre out of the water to snatch insects and even spiders from overhanging branches.

Related species

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  Black arowana

  Osteoglossum ferreirai

  35.4 in (90 cm)396 gal (1,500 L)79–86°F (26–30°C)

• 

  Asian arowana

  Scleropages formosus

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• 

  Gulf saratoga

  Scleropages jardinii

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• 

  Black Pacu

  Colossoma macropomum

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• 

  Channel catfish

  Ictalurus punctatus

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• 

  Fire eel

  Mastacembelus erythrotaenia

  39.4 in (100 cm)132 gal (500 L)75–82°F (24–28°C)