Arowana And Red Tail

[clareandkarl]

This is our female Silver Arowana, don`t think the male is on this shot, and obviously Gabriel our Red Tail has to get in on the video! The arowana is growing at a massive rate and lifts her head out the water for food, so you have to watch your fingers.
One of her eyes is normal, the other is turned down which we find is the case with most large arowanas, despite being given floating food neither arowana will take any notice of it.

The arowana is 3ft and the red tail just under 3ft. Hope you like them.

 

[adamgreen240]

your arowana is great

wot size is the tank then??

 

[MHunt]

Nice fish. Pity about the bit of droop the arrowana's got in it's left eye but otherwise a lovely fish.

Got to be a big tank for those fish?

 

[clareandkarl]

Yes it is a big tank, 20ft long, 5ft front to back, 3ft tall. The arowanas both have a droopy eye, most arowanas we see seem to and it`s even been suggested that it is natural for them, well, whatever the reason they eat well as you can see

 

[Straydum]

i recalled reading somewhere that the droppy is is caused by too much fats in the arowana's diet. something to do with feeding them too much feeder fishes, or something to that meaning. then again, my memory isn't all that fantastic.

 

[clareandkarl]

No feeders go to any of our fish. It is fat behind the eye, you`re right, but it seems to gather there in nature in clearer water, ours get a varied diet of mussels and prawns, cockles, whitebait, mussels, the lot. The theory is that if the waterr is clear and they can see the bottom then the eye turns down like that.
Clare

 

[CFC]

Lots of possible causes for droopy eye but the main two that stand out are position of the tank and allowing the arowana to feed from the bottom of the tank. Arowana that are kept in ponds rarely if every contract the condition.

Tanks that are positioned above head height cause the arowana to have to look down at any movement outside the tank, also tanks in high traffic areas where people and non wet pets walk through all the time cause the arowana to spend more time watching things on the outside world and straining their eyes downwards. I would also consider that having a solid hood on a tank would to contribute to droopy eye as there is nowhere for the arowana to focus above the water line.
Where silver arowana come from the water is too murky to see anything below them and 99% of their prey is above the waters surface so wild fish never have any reason to look down.

Adding large ammounts of food at once cause the arowana to have to feed from the bottom, by adding smaller ammounts of food at a time the arowana will take the food from the upper levels of the water column and will spend more time looking up for the next handfull.


..and before anyone asks i have a 27" silver arowana with no droopy eye. My fish is kept in a tank in a no through traffic room (dedicated fishroom) in a tank where the top of the tank is at my shoulder level so the fish has to look up to watch me. My tanks also all have clear acrylic covers rather than solid hoods so the fish can see out through the top of the tank.

 

[paul_219]

Really gr8 fish. Wonderful