Breeding Arowanas in tanks-Is it a tough task?

Arowana seem immensely romantic by human standards! They court for weeks and sometimes months before the female lays eggs on slow streambed. The male then fertilizes them and carries them around till they hatch in about two weeks.

Even after that the fry will leave the father’s mouth only for short durations and will immediately return on being signaled by father about the approaching danger. Only when they learn to survive on their own, will the fry leave the father.

In captivity it is difficult to breed arowana. Between the earth pond and tank, the pond yields more success. In a pond environment, a balanced population of male and female is left to make natural pairs. Each pair is possessive and will chase the others away and start laying eggs. It is advised to separate the pairs from other fish right from the beginning and once the fry start swimming freely, they too should be separated.

Romance in tanks
In young arowanas it is difficult to spot the sexes. Generally males are larger and have deeper jaws to hold the eggs and fry. Females have a more rounded body. Arowana mature according to the care they are given, the better the conditions, the earlier they mature. On an average, a male arowana matures in 4-5 years and female 2-3 years.

Arowanas are territorial by nature but larger the number, the less aggressively they behave. To get a pair in your tank you will have to keep 5-6 arowanas together and allow the fish to make their own pairs.

The other way is to choose two fishes that you think are male and female and pair them and hope that they like each other! The ideal way however, if to take six arowanas and grow them together and then hope the pairs will form. However, when a pair is formed, the male will be territorial and chase the other fish away. It will be best if you separate the pair from the others.

Observe for these steps:

1. The pair will court for a few weeks or months. They swim together and might even injure each other when they bite. It is believed that the male bites the female to stimulate hormone secretion in the female.
2. The appetite of the fish will drop, especially the female.
3. Female will start looking swelled up as her abdomen fills up with eggs.
4. The pair will choose a secluded spot in the tank and lay eggs. The area will be less disturbed with weak current. Be careful not to scare the fish when they are spawning. It is advisable to lower the lights and keep the tank covered during the duration. Spawning usually happens in the afternoon.
5. The female will release 50-80 eggs and the male will fertilize them immediately and scoop up as many as he can. The female usually eats up the rest.
6. During hatching the female may chase the male to drive him away from the area and accidentally will harm the eggs. It’s a good idea to separate them at this stage.
7. The fry will hatch in two weeks.

The fry will leave the father’s mouth once they are independent and you can feed them bloodworms. It is also good to separate the fry from the main tank at this stage.

Breeding arowanas is not simple. Ensure that the water conditions are consistent when you separate the fishes and encourage them to first pair and then, the fry to develop, away from parents. If you succeed, the results are extremely rewarding.