Arowanas Breaking Tanks

[nathanFoudray]

Im very interested in getting an arowana. but ive heard they break tanks. is this true? anything else experts would like to tell me?

 

[kelly528]

I'm no expert but it seems quite likely if the tank is too small. Heck, I have heard of bala sharks running into the sides of undersized tanks. You'll want to make sure your tank has lots of extra space. At LEAST 150g, but the experts here would probably recommend far more.

 

[draconis]

Mine is 14" long and on occasion (at feeding time) will smash HARD against the glass tops, but they are not broken so far. I once put him in 40G plastic container, while doing a water change, and saw him jump a couple of feet in the air. Had to grab him from the floor. They are strong fish, and I could imagine they could impact glass and crack it after they reach a certain size.

 

[Davo86]

Im very interested in getting an arowana. but ive heard they break tanks. is this true? anything else experts would like to tell me?

If you stick to the right size tank setups you shouldn't have a problem

180USG, 6x2x2 minimum for an asian aro, (or jardini if kept alone)
and much much bigger for south american aros (I'd personally say 8x3x2 minimum)

 

[River Dog]

I agree 8ft minimum for an Arowana. They are very powerful animals and could and have broken tanks. Also remember that a 2ft fish will need a much wider than normal tank, for it to be able to turn more easily.