sometimes my arowana darts from one end of the fish tank to the other at night. what is it doing?

Question

Sometimes I'll come out at night to smoke a cigarettes and ill see and hear my arowana darting back and forth in the tank. What is it doing? Is it normal?

Answer 1

Darting is a sign of stress in the environment, specially if its during rest time. Treatment will include large water change, adjusting temperature and pH level, and adding stresscoat.

Arowana is not a jumpy fish or a fish belonging to "gets scared" category. The above should help you to decide the best possible remedy for your fish.

Smarty Pants (very suitable name) remarked about my answer stating his doubts about me ever having a arowana in my life, and arowana's "being" jumpy fish. Probably in his excitement to contradict me, he forgot that I am not speaking of a arowana able to "jumpy" in the sense that it is able to jump out and catch insects. With 6 arowana's under his belt !! he now needs some english grammer lessons.

If he is such a "expert" in fishes with only 3 answers in his YA listing since Sept 2006, his input too, really carries the weight of a manure truck compared to what I am at-least trying to do by helping out as well.

Answer 2

It's been several years since I kept arowana, but I can say all of my experience with them (had several together for over 7 years for breeding), all of my reading from significant and reliable sources and all of my conversations with others that have or do keep arowana support the fact that they are really jumpy fish and what you are seeing is typical arowana behavior. Well expect the cigarette, mine prefered a pipe lol. Seriously though, yes they are very jumpy and have been known to break glass tank tops and even glass tanks in the attempt to jump or dart around. Google it, you will find that at least 90% of the links you get support this. Smarty pants is dead on target.

They are certainly a large fish with few water borne predators, but they do have natural enemies and do respond to movements by large items in their environment (anything they can see) and especially at night. Light from a passing car casting shadows on the wall is an example of something that will set them off.

MM

Answer 3

Arowanas are kind of nocturnal and tend to display bursts of energy at night. Ive seen this behaviour even with my arowana. hes probably looking for food

Answer 4

considering its at night hes probably a high chance of a hunting instinct most likely

Answer 5

As you have seen now you have some very inconsistant information here. The fact of the matter is the despite the top contributer here posting Arowana's are not jumpy or jittery fish, I doubt he's every had one in his life to know that they actually are very jumpy fish, that it is in there nature to leap for insects and birds (small ones) in the wild. They are very sensative to light and to sudden movements. As the light dissapates the vison of the fish begins to become shorter in range. This tends to make them slightly more nervous at movement in the water that thier superior vison can't identify.

Arowana's are predator fish but they have instincts as well. You're arowana is probably very young I'd imagine and as they become adults they tend to become more stable. I know this as a fact unlike the poster above because I have had both the South American as well as the Asian, (non Jardini) Arowana's.

On a side note, vary thier diet this helps reduce the chances of bad food. Give crickets from time to time, as well as mealworms and blood worms. They like all foods near the top of the water so try to get thier attention before dropping in the tank to have success with worms.

ADDITION: Ok I removed the inflammitory material and I apologize to Mantra for the language on that. In all seriousness however, I strongly feel, learning or not that you are not providing the asker the best advice here. Just giving a link with little to no working knowledge is not going to help this asker out. I honestly can provide you with any data needed with clips of my own fish if you feel I am in error. I'm sorry it all came to this, but I do notice a trend with your answers that alarms me, and no offence, but your answer is wrong. I am sure you gave great advice on others, but this is honestly off the mark. I have nothing to gain by lying, but I care about that Arowana. Please check the water chemistry first.

Answer 6

I agree with mantra, he is trying to give an answer and not sluring the other answers. Smarty Pants really suits his name well. Good reply Mantra, keep it up pal.