How Do I Bond With My Arowana?

[FishRfine]

I think it would be so cool to be able to pet my silver arowana, or at least handfeed him. He is still very young and small, only 6 inches. I think he recognizes me. Any suggestions?

 

[invader]

I think it would be so cool to be able to pet my silver arowana, or at least handfeed him. He is still very young and small, only 6 inches. I think he recognizes me. Any suggestions?

Well, when you feed him, why don't you try holding a cube of frozen food or something and see if he will come up to you. The more you do it, the more he will be accustomed to having you hold his food and he will slowly lose his fear.

 

[cabbie]

be careful, they have teeth and they tend to snatch and turn very quickly, its instinct to kill live prey, and it works, i had one and it took a liking to a 12 inch plec, it was all over in a second. i had two six inch pieces of dead plec

 

[FishRfine]

well, in response to the 1st post, he already comes up to me, and tying in with the second one, I am trying to find a food that is long enough to keep me away from those teeth. Any long foods?

 

[mikster]

worms? i think maybe stuff like millipedes and centepedes as well? as long as they arent poisonous to you anything.

 

[PRW1988]

Easiest way I've bonded with my Arowana was to be around his tank as much as possible, spend the time (like an hour a day) just sitting there, watching the fish swim... Also, try a variety in the arowanas diet, things like crickets and mealworms are loved my arowana... Mealworms I find are easy to hand feed, hold it by the end with the mealworms head in the water, then wait for the arowana to "strike", once he begins the strike let go of the mealworm, they float so it won't be a problem, but it seems to make the arowana believe that the food has come from you... Of course, you also have other fish, they may take the food before the arowana has a chance...

 

[FishRfine]

sounds gr8 prw! I COME 2 SCHOOL EARLY TO SEE HIM ANYWAY! This will be easy! Tyvm

even better! part of little bob's diet is mealworms!

 

[DeepSeaFishin]

Keeping in mind if you "pet" your arowana, it will rub off the slime on his scales.

 

[FishRfine]

woah! ok then, handfeeding is cooler anyway! thanks 4 stopping me from bieng an idiot!

 

[prankster705]

be careful, they have teeth and they tend to snatch and turn very quickly, its instinct to kill live prey, and it works, i had one and it took a liking to a 12 inch plec, it was all over in a second. i had two six inch pieces of dead plec

Well info like that is just wrong...

The reason why their bite hurts so bad is not in teeth, in fact arrowana have very little teeth (If they even have any?). The reason is in their tongue, they belong to a group of fish called bony tongues. They use their bone like sharb tongue to pierce and kill the victim. It's almost impossible for arrowana to go through a prey item. It is far more likely that it would be ripping chunks out of it... Also in the wild silver aros feed with insects on top of the water and on low branches (their amazing jumping ability comes from it) and by eating smaller fish, not by trying to rip appart other similar size fish (although some might be just evil lol)... The fish that usually "slice through" other fish are snakeheads... Redline snakehead springs to my mind...

 

[FishRfine]

I knew that, but thanks for telling everyone else! the family [size=-1]Osteoglossidae means "bony tounge".[/size]

 

[BelleAmour]

deleted to keep the peace

 

[PRW1988]

Okay... let's not bring this up again, this'll iritate fishrfine beyond belief...

 

[BelleAmour]

Interesting... but ok. No problems.

 

[FishRfine]

thank you for not making me blow up again! I was banned for 3 days lol