Reptile Forum, Reptile Classifieds - CaptiveBred

[Stuart]

Yep certainly strange... He is not feeding and gaping alot..added some salt today and done another water change..water is perfect...I put the slight rise in nitrates down to some mussells I found trapped at the back of the tank..the clown knife sometimes grabs them bites a bit off and leaves the rest.. I'm a member on arofanatics so will post it up on there tomorrow..forgot about that forum...haven't been on for a while.
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[davo]

I'd just post it on the aromedics board, and see what they come up with. Long as your clear about the tank not being too small and mention your water parameters so more focus is spent on identifying a real cause or reason and a solution to it, and not useless babble that is sometimes thrown at you. How long after it went for its flying lesson did you notice the gills like that?

Also a temporary spike in nitrates won't (as long as its not too high) won't have caused too much damage. Problems develop over long subjection to high nitrates. Hope it all turns out fine, its a damn good looking silver.

[Stuart]

Cheers mate noticed the gills a couple of days ago..he jumped out on boxing day...
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[reeve105a]

Gill Curl
Gill Curl is said to be caused by poor water quality and inadequate sized tank. When gill curl is first detected in the aro it can be easiy cured as the tissues are still soft, through regular water changes and possibly a bigger sized tank. However when the gill curl has hardened the only way to get rid of it is surgically when the fish is anaethesised for a few minutes and the curled gills cut away with sterile scissors

www.arowanas.co.uk/4.html

Accomodation
Should be kept singly or in a community of at least 6 fish as they are territorial and will not tolerate other fish with few exceptions

Tank should be at least 4x2 for one arowana, but size matters

Temperature between 27-30C is ideal

Clean filtered water with an active nitrogen cycle iis necessary

Can be housed in a planted tank or bare tank for ease of cleaning

Water of about ph7 is ideal but they are not fussy

Weekly partial water changes are beneficial to growth and health of fish

Avoid strong currents

A well fitting cover on the tank will prevent the fish from jumping out-

Most hobbyists lose their fish this way

It is a good idea to encase heaters in a heater protector as aros are powerful fish and can easily break one with disastrous consequences

Avoid sharp objects in the tank and bogwood should be pre-soaked before introduction to the tanks

Live foods are ideal although pellets have been used successfully

Crickets, mealworms, small feeder fish, centipedes, frogs Mussels, prawns. beefheart

Should be fed twice daily when they are small and once daily when they reach 14" plus to maximise growth and colour

Aim to feed the fish 80% of what they normally eat - This is important for overall shape and good colours

Try to drop food in the tank gradually, a little at the time so that the fish can grab it before it sinks to the bottom (to prevent drop eye syndrome
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[Stuart]

Thanks mate but its not water quality or tank size seeing as he is just under 18 inches in a 5x2x2 tank..also with gill curl the gills curl out not in...that is why this seems strange..
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[Stuart]

Quick update..hoping he is on the mend as he has eaten today and yesterday..time will tell I'm sure..
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