Skittish Aro

[G_sharky]

Hey guys...I just bought and took home my first RTG and this morning when the lights are one he was swimming all over the tank and I tried to feed him..he took a couple of hikari sticks but would chew them and spit out and eventually lost interest on the food, then the aro for some reason became so skittish that it only stays most of the time in the top back corner of the tank, looks like it's trying to hide....check the water and it was good no ammonia or nitrites, nitrate is below 40 ppm, Ph is at 7.5....Is this natural or is there something wrong with it....I currently turned the lights off...should I try to feed him again tonight or should i just leave the lights off till tommorow?? I don't think the tankmates are bothering him the clown loaches can sometimes be very hyper, but most of the time the small frontosa's and clown loaches stays at the bottom....This is making me nervous...lol...Is this normal????

 

[Gwai.jai]

What size tank?
Feeding is not the answer....he is already full from the feeding at the store!
You might want to divide the tank into smaller area for him, make him feel secure...remember he was in a tank with a bunch of other aros, now lonely!
Leave the lights off for couple days, not much movement in front of tank, and give him couple days to settle in....

 

[G_sharky]

thanks...the aro is in a 75 gallon tank 4ft x 1.5ft.....the lights are off and i'm trying to tell my family not to go close to the tank....what's a good sign if the fish is ready to start feeding again???..thanks for the advice...

 

[homebrewed]

I agree with the lights being left off for awhile

The fish has just been thrown into a completely new senario. New water chemistry, new tank size, tank mates etc. Best to let him settle for a few days and get used to his new surroundings

 

[Gwai.jai]

Just let him settle in...don't worry, they are tuff fish.....
When they smaller, they are quite skittish at times....make sure tank is full covered, you might even want to drop the water level down a bit...so he don't hurt himselft on the lids/bracing of the tank, or even worse jump out!

 

[Arodynamic]

Arowanas are very skittish fish when young- one has to approach the tank slowly, get him used to you feeding him so that he will be more confident- it takes time and you can't rush it. I find that if you appraoch the tank suddenly they will jump and knock themselves silly and traumatise themselves and go on a hunger strike for several days after. Onece he gets used to you he will associate you with food and approach you when you go near the tank and even jump at the sight of food.

 

[G_sharky]

I think that's what happened cause when I was feeding him I was right there starring at the tank and making sudden movements...I saw him try to jump out once didn't really jump too high just made a splash on the surface then he started hanging out on the top corner of the tank.......BTW my maintenance schedule of my tanks are once a week, so I'll be changing water this friday, should I skip his tank...how should I change the water without causing my skittish aro to be even more afraid???? I'll be doing a 25% WC

 

[protoxeno]

Hmm I read its a good idea to not feed the fish for at least a day or 2 returning home. So give it some time and don't feed it anymore. Just let it settle and get used to enviornment. Was your fished fed at the store before bagging? I heard it was a good idea to leave it empty stomach the day it goes home so to promote feeding after a day or 2. Anyways its normal its a bit skiddish. Some black water may help it settle down and reduce some stress.

 

[Kenta]

All good advice,

Being a new fish it will need a couple days to become comfortable with its surroundings and you. Once it associates you with food it will come to the front and beg for food. Don't worry, just give it time to settle!

 

[Aqua Fanatics]

I had the same problems as well. It took about 2 week for my guy to settle in. I had mine guy for almost 1 month, every time I fed him 4 to 5 pellets, anymore than that he would just chew it and spit back out. Correct me if I am wrong, but I think its a sign that he is full already, so I know when to stop feeding him.

 

[G_sharky]

when I bought the fish I went to the store in the afternoon and the owner fed all his stock including mine and he powerfeed his stock...I took it home after 5 hours cause I just chilled in the store to talk to the owner and learn more about how to take care of it and how to look for good traits...I was treated really well on that LFS and I wasn't pressured to buy at all....BTW I'm doing a WC this friday and my tank has gravel, should I vacuum it??? is it okay to do algae scraping at this time or should I just take some water out??? Would this fish get even more skittish and scared if I do maintenance this soon??? thanks for all the great advices....good to hear that people have experience the same thing...gives me a little bit of confidence..lol...

 

[Kenta]

To minimize stress on the new fish i would not algae scrape, maybe a light gravel vac though... you don't want to be too intrusive as new fish often try to escape when threatened, and the last thing you want is a fish on the floor

 

[lo sai]

give it a few days, if its skittish make sure theres minimal "things" in the tank that can hurt itself, ie large rocks or wood
has anyone tried using those almond leaves? or some kind of leaves, i forget what they were..

 

[senthus]

How is your arowana now? is it still skittish?

 

[Ariesborn]

Arowana for sale

Anyone interested?