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Can you tell us what motivated you to keep arowana in a planted tank environment?

Vinz >>>

I was influenced by my father and started keeping fish from young but I gave up the hobby from secondary school up to the first few years of working. It was a few of my ex-colleagues who revived my interest in keeping fish and in particular, a planted tank in the office. My main interest remains in that track till today. I’ve never liked the idea of a bare display tank, so when we (my wife and I) decided to get an arowana, I decided to give it a more “natural” home.

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Vinz >>>

First, there was the problem of the high nitrate (NO3) levels. Initially I depended on dense planting and natural NO3 removing products. Eventually, I gave up on these products when I found that the plants were doing a good enough job. The idea is to make sure the plants have enough light and nutrients (including CO2) for the effective removal of NO3.

Another concern was the tank covers. I choose light diffusers to cover up my tank and it definitely served its function too well. The glass covers that came with my tank trapped the heat from the lights and the trapped heat in turn heated up the water. In addtion, they blocked the cooling fans. The final solution was to replace half the glass covers with stainless steel mesh. I selected a large grid mesh that would minimise light blockage, yet small enough to prevent the arowana from jumping through. This also allowed for ventilation and usage of cooling fans.

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Vinz >>>

50% of the water is changed once every 1 or 2 weeks. I maintain the water conditions for the plants rather then the fish. The reason is that if the plants are healthy, they will keep the water in good condition for the fish. Also, if the water is good enough for growing plants well, it’s good enough for the fish. KH has to be present to buffer the pH drop from CO2 injection. Usually it is maintained at around 4 to 6 dKH. I keep to 4 dKH to maintain a lower pH which is closer to the natural environment of the RTG. Some GH is required as calcium (Ca) and magnesium (Mg) are important nutrients for plants. Usually maintained around 3 to 6 dGH. Some people just simply put in a bag of coral chips to provide a constant supply of both Ca and Mg. Coral chips will also maintain the KH.

NO3 levels need to be kept low for fish health and algae prevention. However, plants need some NO3 as nutrients, so the tank water should not be changed too often. Usually NO3 are kept at about 10ppm for a planted tank, but the levels in my tank are around 20ppm due to the large RTG. This level is still acceptable for fish health

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Vinz >>>

I feed my RTG with market prawns once a day. She will also sometimes take pellets. I avoid live feeder fish and shrimps as they will quickly hide in the plants. I used to write off all live foods, but now I know a few other planted arowana tank hobbyist who successfully feed with live frogs and insects.

Dead food like market prawns should be fed piece by piece, and care must be taken not to allow the food to sink under the plants where the arowana cannot find them. Uneaten or rejected foods should be removed immediately to maintain good water conditions. Pieces of rotting food will introduce higher then usual amounts of ammonia or ammonium into the water and this can encourage algae growth. Small fishes and shrimps in the tank will scavenge the tiny scraps and help to keep it clean.

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Vinz >>>

Research and understand the fundamentals of planted tanks before starting one with an arowana. If possible, start a small experimental non-arowana planted tank first.

There are no short cuts. If you want lush beautiful plants for your arowana, then you have to provide lots of lights and CO2 along with proper fertilisation, and spend slightly more time to maintain the tank. Without these, you cannot make it work. There are in between stages that you can try, but those will not get you lush beautiful plants.

Consider the effect of lights on the arowana. Red arowanas are usually the best choices as bright lights supposedly has a positive effect on their colour development. Also, the green plants provide a good contrast to the red fish. On the other hand, the colour developments of the golds are usually adversely by the bright lights.

AC>>>

Vinz >>>

My RTG has now reached a length of 1.5 feet and is beginning to run out of swimming space with the current layout. So my plans are to rescape the tank in the near future. For the long term, I dream of upgrading her to a 8′x2.5′x2′ planted tank, but that’s way, way, way in the future, if it ever comes true.

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Can you tell us what motivated you to keep arowana in a planted tank environment?

Irwan >>>

It is always nice to see and enjoy arowana in a natural environment. Hence, I decided that it is going to be a planted tank with an arowana for me. Another reason is due to the fact that my interest (before keeping arowana) has all along been in a planted tank so I guess it is now combining both the plants and arowana. It is quite different from just keeping arowana in a simple tank. I have to admit that it is also because of hobbyists like Vinz motivated me to keep arowana in a planted tank.

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What are challenges that you faced in having a planted tank with an arowana? How do you overcome it to the best of your satisfaction?

Irwan >>>

I am still learning to cope with the challenges. Every time it is a new experience for me and each time it is different from the previous one. It is a new learning experience each time.

My biggest problem will have to be the aquarium space. Arowana is a large predatory fish and together with the plants blossoming, I will require a bigger tank…well, it is just a matter of time. The other things that I need to look into will be the treatment method in the event that my arowana is sick. When that happens, using of heater might affect the healthy development of the plants while medications might kill off the plants.

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How often do you perform water change for a planted tank environment with an arowana? What are the crucial water parameters that need to be addressed?

Irwan >>>

For me it will be a 10% weekly water change. I do not have a tub/container big enough to age the water hence it is direct tap water into the main tank for every water change. Of course, proper water conditioners will have to be added accordingly. My pH has always been at 7.0 (will keep it at that pH value). The other parameters that I will keep a close watch on will be NO2, NO3 and CO2.

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What are the type of food and the frequency of feeding you usually feed to your arowana in a planted tank environment? How do you ensure that a balanced diet for a healthy growth for your arowana?

Irwan >>>

My red loves superworms and crickets that it refused any other food. Meal time for my red will be in the morning and I only feed it once a day. The superworms and crickets are housed in a plastic containers and fed with fresh slice carrots and pellets on daily basis. Once in a while, I will give a quarantine baby tomans to my red arowana for “snacks”.

To enhance the plants as well as the general well being of my arowana, I have been using Dennerle S7 on weekly basis. With the multivitamins and minerals found in Dennerle S7, it will mean a healthy arowana and plants in my tank.

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What advise you do have for arowana hobbyist who aspires to set up a planted tank with an arowana? What are the crucial points?

Irwan >>>

Arowana in planted tank is very different. If you are hardworking it will result in beautiful and healthy plants. This indirectly also means that you will have a better water parameters. Hence your arowana and other fishes in the tank will be able to benefit from a healthy”environment”. A good planted tank will mean that hobbyists should and must focus in setting it up the plants first. Let the plants grow and thrive for a minimum of three months (sometime a few months depending).

Next will be the types of plants. It is best if you can adopt a simple strategy where it is good to choose plants that comes from the same region (Asian) or that which has similarities in its original environment (pH, temp etc). Once your plants have settled down and everything is running smoothly, you will now have to resource for a good juvenile arowana. It is always good to start off with a juvenile arowana for it will be able to adapt quickly and have less temperament as compared to adult arowana.

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Vinz >>>

I will definitely want to change to a bigger tank measuring 6′x2.5′x3 (lenght, width and height respectively). With that, I might want to try a community tank of arowanas with just 1 type of base plants - glosso.