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!

1. Warped Scales
Also known as cone scales, warped scales affect young arowanas more easily than adults. This condition is caused by immediate temperature change in the aquarium water and poor quality of water. This disease will start with just few scales warping with congested roots. If this is not attended immediately, the scales tend to bend and swell. When the scales raise, this will minimize the capability of the fish to protect itself from pathogen invasions. The scales will drop off and expose a certain area of its body increasing the susceptibility of bacterial attack. Then this will lead to ulceration and eventually causes death.

To stop the condition from getting worse, add in one kilo of salt to every 100 liter of aquarium water. Maintain the temperature at 32 to 34 degrees. Every three days or so, change about 20% of the water. Before you add in new water, make sure to heat up the water. It also makes sense to add antibiotic to the water if the affected area seems huge enough, to prevent infections.

2. Water Mycosis
The fungus stays in the wound of your arowana. It is light gray in color. Water mycosis is caused by fungal hyphae that cover the wound. This causes instability to the movement of the fish as it swims and rubs its body against parts of the tank to try and stop the itch. If this condition continues, it could be fatal to your arowana as it tends to lose it’s appetite as well as get secondary infections caused by bacteria in the water.

To treat water mycosis, you need to add in salt to the aquarium water with one percent consistency. Put disinfectant to the wound or you can add methyl red (4-5 drops) in every 100 liters of water at 5 percent consistency. For about 3 minutes, add in potassium chromatic solution of 1/30000 unit to the water.

3. Ascites
Young arowanas are the ones who are usually affected by this disease. This is usually caused by either decaying food which has been left in the water for too long or if the fish had accidentally swallowed something sharp (like a fish bones or prawn head pincer) which could have hurt its internal organs. This would lead to vibrion infection and ascites. This infection will cause stomach flatulence and swollen anal region. The arowana will tend to have problems balancing itself with its head pointing down most of the time.

Treating ascites includes administration of sulphonamide or antibiotic. The water also needs to be changed and temperature raised by 2-3 degrees to give it a chance to recover. But I have to say, the chances of recovery is slim when this condition hits.

Symptoms of Upturned Gills

The first symptom noted with an Arowana experiencing curling of gills is the gills inability to open and close well with every breath of the fish. This causes the gill cover to give up, curl outwards and expose the gills. As the gills are exposed, the fish is put at risk to infections. Naturally the fish will have difficulty breathing and is manifested by fast breathing. This encourages the fish to put its head above water just to breathe. The Arowana suffers from lack of appetite. The gills begin to function abnormally as a result of infection.

Care and Treatment for Arowanas With Upturned Gills

Once you have observed your Arowana not breathing well, the first thing you should do is to change the water in your fish tank. Around 20% of tank water is ideally changed once every two to three days. You can also use an air pump to provide more oxygen for your fish. You can also try moving your fish out into a bigger tank. If the gill covers of your fish has not hardened yet you can use a wave maker so when your fish swims against the current it makes, the upturned gill covers will naturally go back to normal. In worse cases however, as your Arowana’s gill covers have already curled up and hardened, an operation would be the most appropriate option to save your fish. This operation has to be done by an expert with properly sterilized instruments. In this procedure, the infected part of the gill cover, as well as tissues growing under it will have to be removed. The fish will have to undergo anesthesia before it is taken out from the tank. To prevent further infection, antiseptics or antibiotics may be given. Once the trimmed parts have grown, your fish is considered healed.

Anyway I would like to share a story with you from one of my readers. (It is reproduced verbatim below)
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Hi Steven

I brought 3 Arowanas in my fish tank about 2 weeks back. 2 of them did not eat the food except the live fish, whenever given. One arowana was okay with having feed as well as live fish.
but for past 2-3 days, the arowanas were not acting normal. they reduced their movements, rather like to stay idle. I thought that they might be hungry so I brought live fish for them. Probably all of them had eaten them.
But yesterday, one of them firstly started swimming down the water, subsequently remained with its head down. and others too were not active, one of them was getting its tail downwards, and both remained inactive while staying idle on the corners of the tank on the top.
i gave medicine (tetracyclin and another anti-biotic for gastric disorder) and increased the temperature to 28 degrees, and about 2 hours later of medication, I changed over 25% of water maintaining the same temperature. thereafter i increased the water temperature to 30 degrees.
in the meanwhile, i could see a change in other 2 arowanas but the one with head dipping downwards had a little improvement.
but today morning the arowana with head dipping downwards, dies. alas!
on inspection, i could find that the surviving arowanas, although they are better in their movements, but they have lost their color and texture and the fins are also broken. and one of them is still having tail tilting downwards.
I am really attached with arowanas, last year also i lost 2 of my arowanas.
please suggest me the remedy
regards

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Some observations here that will help you manage your beloved arowanas better.

1) Everytime, when you sense that something is not right with your arowanas, the first thing you do is change the water! Don’t have to think ok about what to do…. just change the water. Again change a maximum of 20-25% maximum each time. Also do not change everyday but every other day if needed. (I’m assuming that you are using tap water.) You do not need anti-chlorine as it is only 20% change in water. I have never used anti-chlorine in any of my water changes.
The problem I see is that many hobbyist procrastinate in changing water and hoping for the best. Do not wait for another day but change the water ASAP once you detect some anomaly in the behaviour of your arowana.

2) Medication should be used ‘sparingly’ and should NEVER be your first action plan. I have never used medication at all for my 5 cross-backs in my tank. (3 years now) I make it a point to change water every 2 weeks or so with additions of salt and black water everytime I change it.

3) When your arowanas have problems, I also see many hobbyist feeding them more food thinking that they are hungry. This is more often than not, the wrong deduction and definite the wrong thing to do. Your arowana being sick is 99% caused by the condition of the water. When you add more live food into it, you are increasing the waste in the water (your live food also produces waste) which makes the water more polluted than before. If you have sick fishes, avoid feeding them for a few days until you have done the necessary.

Hope the information above has given you a better insight into what actions to take when you see problems. Cheers!

BUT that changed about 2 weeks back…They just stopped EATING!! I have not changed much in what I do every week. I change water, add blackwater and a bit of salt about once or twice a week. No big drama… same old boring thing! They are still swimming around as usual but the only thing is… they refuse to eat!

So I tried to find out what else has changed in the environment… As I go to work in the morning, I can’t really tell but 2 things different was happening in my housing estate. They were repainting the block I am staying in and my direct neighbour upstairs was renovating their home. I deduce that it is the renovation upstairs that has probably upset my babies! I came home during lunch one day last week and they were hacking the floors upstairs and it was such a ruckus! The vibrations were extremely bad and I could feel it in my bones! They are still renovating now but all the hacking is completed now! Thanks God!

Anyway, my arowanas are still not eating much now… just a little.. they are more likely than not to just bite the prawns and spit them out. I might buy some feeder fish for them today to try and bring back their appetite.

So do check your environment if you encounter these kind of situation. Hope you learn something here.

Cheers!
Steven