I have received many many emails from very anxious hobbyists asking for advise as their arowanas are not eating no matter what they do. So I thought this is the best time to advise you on this because …. my 3 arowanas has been doing the same thing for the past 3 weeks until yesterday!!! Has this happened to me before. YES and believe you me… it’s really no big deal if you take the necessary steps to fix the problem 
SO? What’s the first thing to do…… DON’T PANIC!!!!! This usually happens because the water quality is probably not so good. People ask me whether I check for nitrates levels, etc but I’ll be frank with you, I don’t at all. If you think you have high nitrate problems, well… change the water! I always do that! First thing I do when I see my arowana losing appetite or staying at the bottom of the tank often or it’s swimming patterns seem lethargic, etc, CHANGE THE WATER…
I have said this many times, this should always be your first course of action. It has never failed me until today. No point worrying about what to do first… AGAIN 1st STEP IS… YOU SHOULD CHANGE THE WATER. (Sorry for being naggy but I hope you get it by now.)
So below are the steps I took…
1) 3 weeks back, I change the water like usual during the weekends. 20 – 25% water change as usual. I also always add salt to it. Salt is like, lack of a better word, a tonic to it. I do not add anti-chlorine or any medication to it. No need for all these ok.
I usually do no feed it on the day of water change. I tried to feed it the next day but all it did was bite on the chopped prawn pieces and spat it out. I did not think much of it as it’s done this before. It did the same thing practically throughout the week but I thought they were just not hungry.
2) 2 weeks back, during the weekend, I change the water and added some salt in again as usual… It again decided not to eat for the whole week.
3) Last Sunday, I again change the water, added salt BUT this time, also added blackwater. I sometimes add blackwater as they do like this but it’s really not always necessary. It’s up to you. But the good thing is, it started to eat again yesterday. Was blackwater the ‘cure’, I really don’t think so but as I said, it does not hurt to add them if you have it.
So what is the moral behind this story?
When your arowana don’t eat, DON’T PANIC. Continue to change the water as I did.
I know there is a quote that says “Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again but expecting different results.” Well, this quote does not stand for arowanas ok! In fact, you should change the water over and over again until they do eat. Think about it logically… there must be something in the water that is causing the problem right UNLESS of course, your arowana has inherent health problems that cannot be detected visually. In these cases, it is just bad luck as no one could have predicted that the arowana you bought has health issues.
Hope this will clear up some of your anxieties. Cheers and have a great day!
Tags: Adult arowanas, asian arowana, water quality, necessary steps, good thing
i had a problem with my arowana swimming aggressively and not eating before..as i read your previous posts, took your advise and i did changed 1/4 of the water.. Added some salt and blackwater, IT WORKED!! =D i think after the 2nd water change..he started to swim calmly and eating well = ) now hes sharing the tank with Pacus & Bichir and they’re getting along very well, been living together for a month now..all i wanna say is thank you for all your tips, you’re a savior .. peace~
Hello,
This is a great information you shared to us.I find out your website with most efforts.this is confidential information about panic of this artical.I usually do no feed it on the day of water and change lot of black water…Thanks a lot dear.
Azswan,
Glad I could help. Cheers!
Steven
Thanks for the timely advice about non eating Arowanas. Out of my five arowanas one is not eating for the last 3 weeks. Hope this advice came as a new year gift.
why you not use anti-chlorine???
my arowana wont eat at all alll iyt does is stays at the top of the tank and opens and close his mouth.. ive been changing wtaer frequenytly and adding salt.. i hv no access to black water.. wat happened yesterday was shocking., i put in a baaby goldfish for him to eat after a few mins the gold fish started nibbling on my arowana tht almost knocked me over.. plz help i dont wana loose him…
i will change the water and i hope to have a good luck thank you
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my arowna is not eating food from 2 days i changed the watr also untill it is not eating food my arowna size is 6-8 inches please help me
Hii, Please help me, my arowana is not eating from last 3 weeks, I m changing water since last week and adding salt. I have done it two times. The fact is that 3 weeks before I have washed my tank and during wash i had removed my arowana from the tank and kept in a bucket and when removing by net he gave a lot of trouble and in that he had some wound around his tail and after wash i left him again in the tank from bucket. And from then onwards he is not eating and after every 15 minutes he is removing his nose out of water and swimming upside down and after that again swimming normally. I have tried “RID ALL”, “MAGNESIUM SULPHATE POWDER”, “TERRAMYCIN TABLET POWDER” but doesnt work. Please suggest something. My tank is of size 2ft x 1ft x 1ft and my arowana size is 1feet. I think he has has some itching on his body around his tail. Please suggest as soon as possible. Thank You!
My arowana is named as “Maya” (I just guess is a she, not sure how to see the gender). he was queit happy and active from the day I bought her since last year august, when she was still baby or small at that time (measure of a middle finger). Since then, i use to feet her with black worm and she was eating well. Maya is now less than a feet in length. But recently, her mode suddently change, as she is not eating well and notice that she like to swim around the tank with her head being jack out of the water, really not sure why. Also, to change her appetiate I left a few baby “Kaloi” for her to eat on advise by a acquirium shop owner, but i notice she is still not grabing/eating them, instead letting it to swim close to her. Please help, really confuse. Thanks bro..
Hi sterday i cleaned my aquarium and my arowana fish s not eating anything wat shud i do for that
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Could you pls explain what is black water
Tks
Abdussamad
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