Most times, the simplest solution will cure your arowana…

Hi everyone,
Here is another story from readers that I’d like to share with you. This was actually a very long correspondence which ended very positively. But to cut to the chase, the below was the original message from him.

****************************************
Dear Steven,

I have two 32 inch silver arowanas in a 350 gallon aquarium. One has not eaten in 7 weeks the other 3 weeks. They exhibited courtship behavior until recently one almost killed the other and had to be separated. No spawning occurred. Is this unusual to go this long without eating? Any ideas on how to stimulate an appetite?

Anonymous – John Doe
****************************************

I ask John many questions and as far as I could tell, he did everything right.. He changed water, check for nitrates, ammonia, pH, etc .. and monitored the temperature closely. When they fought, (or rather when one tried to kill the other) he administered Metronidazole, Methylene Blue to prevent infection and help them recover. I was extremely impressed with his very detailed plans to help his arowanas recover.
John also mentioned that his silver arowana was now sitting at the bottom of the tank 90% of the time now..

This was my reply to him..
****************************************
John,
I used to have a red arowana who sat at the bottom of the tank quite often as well. With water changes, it helped it get better over time.
I am not sure abt using reverse osmosis water but my water change is just tap water with some salt and black water added. I hardly use any medicine because to be frank, it is not good for your fish. I usually stay away from medicine unless I know it is needed. (like fin rot, ich, etc) I have cured many of my fish problems with just salt alone! I’ll be frank here, I really do not know what the problem here is with your fish but I would like to suggest a simple process for you to follow for the next week or so.

1) Change 20% of your water every other day for the next week or so. Use tap water. (I’ve never used reverse osmosis water before BUT I have used water from the popular diamond energy water system before.)

2) Just add salt … about 1 teaspoon per gallon of water.

3) If you can get blackwater, add in some too.

****************************************

I basically asked John to just do two things different here. Add salt and blackwater if he had any. Guess what, this worked like a charm! His arowana’s appetite started to return in no time.

This are my final thoughts for this particular case…
1) When you have problems with your arowana, think simple… I am not joking as I have never used medication before to cure any of my arowana’s problems. Sometimes, medication can make your fish lethargic, lifeless, etc.. Once I used to add one of those ‘disease away’ formulas but have not used that for a long time as well. This, in the long run, reduces the resistance in the fish! It’s like giving medication to a healthy fish! BUT having said this, if you see visible signs of lice, finrot, etc.. then ofcourse you have to administer medication ok. But what I’m saying here is, I ACT WHEN IT IS STILL EARLY. What to do first? CHANGE WATER! CHANGE WATER! CHANGE WATER! ( Sound like your mother… well I hope you remember this always )

2) After changing water, I ALWAYS add a little salt and blackwater.. Blackwater will help calm your arowana but to me, salt is a must! Salt somehow manages to keep many diseases away from my arowana. John was reluctant initially to add salt because an aquarium shop owner told him that it’s not good for the fish! I’m not sure what that statement was based on BUT for me, it has worked for years! BUT BUT having said that, please don’t start to add salt to your water IF you’re not changing water. Only do it when you change water ok!

Cheers!