open and closing mouth..

aro7

New Member
i just noticed while my arowana was swimming its mouth kept opening and closing...almost as if hes gasping for air...

is this a sign of any possible sickness?
 

carcrazy

New Member
It may just be a little stressed from its tankmates or a recent water change. You could always add an air stone, a little more o2 wouldn't hurt. If he isn't going to the surface for a gulp of air, then you probably have enough o2. But for peace of mind, I'd add the air stone.
 

aro7

New Member
i have two airstones already. i just hope hes ok, i know he suffered from a lot of stress when i was bringing him home the first day, and its been a week and he still hasnt eaten.

i know they can go for weeks without eating, but hopefully he wont starve himself...

any advice on how i can slowly introduce him to eating again or how will i know when? I also read that if hes stressed and doesnt want to eat the last thing you want to do is force him to eat and cause more stress on it.
 

carcrazy

New Member
What is your temp at? The higher the temp, the less dissolved o2 will be in the water. My tanks are around 82F (have rays with aros). And what are his tankmates? Maybe he is being bothered by one of them. Or maybe he needs dithers? My RTG when I first got him was kind of stressed out before I got some silver dollars. He then seemed to settle in better and eat more (before he died). Don't get pbass, they freaked my RTG out too much and he knocked himself out somehow and died.:(
 

Marowana420

New Member
hey i thought you had a cheapy fish in there with him? what happened? maybe try to feed it a goldfish or guppy. good luck
 

aro7

New Member
ya i do have one cheapy fish in there...forgot about him...dun even knw what its called...

but so far he hasnt been eaten n the aro hasnt attempted to eat him...
 

aro7

New Member
WHOOOOOOOOOOOHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOo....i was thinking my aro may still be a little shy so i put a 2-3 sw in the tank last night n turned off all the lights, went to check on it half hour later n they were gone! so he's starting to eat again! he went a week and a day without eating since i brought him home, so its good to see he's getting better everyday.


thanks guys.
 

chen88

Super Moderator
I think it was just getting use to the new enviornment. My new Red that I brought home last Wednesday only started eating SW on Sunday night. I try feeding it SW/MP/Worms/Crickets....no go until Sunday when it ate a few SW's. Everytime I throw in a SW or a few...stupid parrots eats them...lol....and when they get to the bottom, rays takes them! lol....he's not the quickest in the "Block" but he is eating so....good to hear your aro is finally eating!......
 

DaiDee

New Member
Leave my cheapy fish alone! lol
He's a siamese algae eater.
I'm picking him up soon...he was just for testing the water.
 

aro7

New Member
he's not the quickest in the "Block" but he is eating

ya chen88 mines not very quick either...good thing right now he doesn't have any tank mates to compete for food. he kinda just watches it for a few minutes, swims by as if hes shy...but eventually he'll eat it. im guessing once they start to feel more comfortable they'll get their hunting instincts back n start darting for the food again.

ok as for my main concern of open close mouth? should i be worried...im sure i have enough aeration in the tank....could this be a possible warning of anything to come??
 

chen88

Super Moderator
mine continues to eat 1 -2 SW's per day..not much at all for a 15" Red...he's not yet taken to MP's.....but hopefully soon.
 

h.l_nathan

New Member
stress coat

ok as for my main concern of open close mouth? should i be worried...im sure i have enough aeration in the tank....could this be a possible warning of anything to come??

My aro did the same thing when i was still using stress coat. I think just dump that stuff down the drain and use just salt and prime.
 

danfong88

New Member
My aro did the same thing when i was still using stress coat. I think just dump that stuff down the drain and use just salt and prime.


your fish is stress.... check you water quality... just agree with h.l nathan... just increase the temp and add salt... and lots of salt. Water changes will help by 15% to 25% a week.
 
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