Why I Stopped Keeping Arowana Fish... 

The lids are NOT secure. If you can easily lift them with yoyr hands, they can easily smack themselves on them and burst out of your tank. Make sure the lids are either heavy and hard to move, or they have a lock system that prevents them from being opened I know this because I lost 1 silver arowana and I managed to actually see the second one burst through the lid and land on the floor because it saw a butterfly flying above the tank. You'd be surprised at how powerful their jumps are which is both amazing but also frustrating

Put a brick on top. They are not going through the 3 inch space they are popping lid open when they jump Powerful fish that could of been saved by a brick. Better luck next tine.

This problem can be easily solved with placing a mesh net over any openings, my Jardini loves to jump when he see's bubbles at the top of the tank; they are easily spooked as well, heavy walking or quick movement.

Reminds me of my uncle's arowana that met its end by jumping out. There was a cover to the tank but it broke through the cover. Must have seen a lizard on the ceiling that caused it to jump since there are a lot of house geckos from where I am. The death of that arowana was unfortunately what ended his interest in fishkeeping.

Yikes , I’ve heard they can jump with enough strength to actually make the lids go up and they land outside while the lid lands back where it was an you would never know that they pushed the lid up . I’m just bringing that up seeing that your one arowana was too wide to squeeze through that opening . I’m not a big fish person but thought I would share .

Looks like he pushed the canopy up and went through directly up. Not through the smaller openings.

Excellent video. This is as clear a warning on the challenges of keeping an arowana as I've seen on the internet. You've probably saved many others from a great deal of heartache. Thank you,

Silver arowanas are good jumpers as compared to other Arowanas. Arowanas would jump if they are in shock or if they sense a bug at the top of the tank. I have an arowana as well. It jumps at times. However, I was advised to fully cover the top of the tank and put a heavy object eg: a rock or stone above the lid. My personal opinion is that you should continue keeping Arowanas. They are graceful and it’s very relaxing to watch them swimming. 😅

We’ve all made mistakes. You learn and move on. Thanks for sharing and being real about it 🙏🏻

Some fish just don't belong in tanks. These are 100% one of them. To live their best lives, they would need to be in something MUCH bigger with the stimulation that they'll get in the wild. I doubt that anything but maybe a zoo could provide that. I always feel sorry seeing them in tanks.

Lesson well learned. I will definitely think twice now about getting an Arowana. Great video...Thanks for sharing 💪🏼

I have seen arowana freak out in small tanks and its sad. They really need tanks over 1,000g long term but sure they will survive in less depending on tankmates.

That 21" x 2" fish was definitely big enough to jump through any one of those lightweight UNSECURED acrylic hoods.🙄

My silver is about 30 inch and over the years and has survived 8 trips to the floor. I built straps out of hanger like metal bands that strap all the lids to the tank front and back. Hasnt been out in quite a few years since. The size of the tank doesn't matter if there's not a secure lid and no exit points.

Why your arowana keep jumping out - maybe community tank isn't working. Mine keep inside with no other fish except a pleco. 3 years now.

I'll tell you what I think of this video. Your tanks are amazing and your fish are beautiful and healthy. But in relation to the topic, I think you finally worked out what it would take to stop your arowana from jumping out of your tank, and then gave up. Those flimsy acrylic lids wouldn't help any, either. If you want to keep them still and want them to be able to jump as they do in the wild, why don't you build a surround that sits on top of the tank. You could make it 3 or 4 feet higher than the top of your tank, and then allow a bigger gap so that your fish will land back through the hole. You could stain the surround the same colour as your tank stand so that it looks like it's supposed to be part of the setup. If you secured an acrylic lid at the top with screws, he won't be able to push past it. You could make a door that opens from the top and hinges at the bottom so that you can get access to feed the fish. Have it go all the way across. Cut out slots for any hoses or cords. Finally, make it out of plywood so that if you need to remove it for maintenance, it won't be too heavy. Heck, if you did this, you probably wouldn't need any cover at the top of the tank, the one screwed into the top of the surround would be enough, and you would still prevent too much evaporation. I know it's a bit of work just to keep an arowana happy, but if I could afford to keep them and wanted them to be able to jump as they do in the wild, I'd definitely consider making something like this, just so that I could enjoy having these fish.

I see your recommended videos. Hillsong.. Great to have a Christian brother in the hobby

You just have to get better lids mate. Your lids should be heavy enough so they can`t smash them. Your lids are way too light, think your aro pushed through them and jumped out, not through the gap. Just get heavier lids that you can`t lift easily and you should be good to go.

lol, who never lose a dried silver/asian aro , a tight and heavy lid .... your mistake is using acrylic lid which is light , man you need to think like a arowana ...

Honestly, this has to be the best aquarium channel on RU-vid - professionally edited, amazing multifaceted stock and setups, and a great, down-to-earth perspective from a seasoned and passionate hobbyist. I just didn't realize you were so young - being fresh out of highschool in 2013! Makes it all the more impressive - and those lost Arowanas weren't your fault; that's some escape-from-Alcatraz shit they're pulling.

They are not a fish that should be on the hobby for those reasons you mentioned. Unless you have a pool for them to swim in, you are going to have problems. A beautiful fish though. ♥️

I bought a Arowana and 2 days after I found my arowana dead. I dont know what happened. It sad because its very expensive to buy one.

Can't leave any openings even how small. I had many bichirs and I've lost a few from very tiny openings. They jump more than arowanas imo.

Can't blame you for not wanting to keep them again lol. Good story

Its not your luck its the fact you dont keep your tank closed properly. dont say you have expierence when you let the kind of fish you love die 3 times to it jumping out of the tank. The fact you left the fish in the wall and didnt care is also stupid af. dont blame it on the fish and luck, blame it on the level of knowledge you have. The fact you did all that research after the 3rd fish died when you can watch 1 10min video on youtube that states this is even more stupid. Put a rock on the lid and dont leave any openings. I get it may be above you level of knowledge but thats what it takes lmao.

I keep a silver arowana in my 12 foot plywood tank . I had him jump once u was home so saved him . N now his lids are screwed down . There really hard to keep in .

My jardini jump last month It was weird because I was asleep and idk but something made me get up when I found him his skin was already dried up and coved with debri off the floor. I reacted quickly grab and held in inside the tank close to power head that i attached a airpump to blast him with air bubbles I'm lucky his still with me. I learned my lesson I quickly replaced my lid with a steal one.

I'm sorry to say but you need to have every part of the lid LATCHED SHUT WITH A LOCK. They are extremely intelligent and strong.

Arowana fish it's a coward fish 🤢🤢🤢🤢🤢🤮🤮🤮🤮🤮🤮🤮🤮🤮🤮🤮🤮🤮🤮🤮🤮

Back in the early 1970's my cousin had a large silver arowana. He was big and beautiful and my cousins favorite fish. My cousin got him when the arowana was very small. My cousin knew that the arowana was a jumper and would find the smallest opening to jump out of. So the tank had a solid covering with only the necessary openings for filters and heater etc. But those openings also had stuffing around the small openings. So my cousin felt that his arowana was safe but he came home one day and the arowana was laying in the floor. The fish had hit the top closure so hard that it moved it over a few inches and the fish jumped out. So you can never be careful enough when it comes to arowana fish. My cousin was devastated, he loved that fish. Years later he still had the fish frozen in his freezer.

Hey bro you what's feeding for arowana?

but Love the aquariems I just got me 1 and Im loving it thinking about starting a youtube

Bro. Screw those Arowanas bro. Get yourself a snakehead. Trust me you won’t regret it. I love my golden cobra snakehead.

They look more like an eel. SERIOUSLY tho?!? It managed to get thru that small opening?!? It’s super clear that these fish are too smart for aquarium hobbyists. You don’t have bad luck w these fish, it happens more often than not w every person I’ve heard about. They’re a serious problem fish that don’t want to live in an aquarium. It’s hitting the lid of the tank tho & once it hits the lid it’s also managing to fling its body through the opening of the lid being hit.

Awesome video braddah D transparent I love it.... I’m kind of joansing so a Jardini 🤙🏽🐠🤙🏽

Use subtitles and Everything about this video is about marijuana

Natives of the Amazon river call them water monkeys because of there ability to jump up into trees and branches to grab insects spiders and small birds

Your flag tail is huge, I have one in a 125 with frontosa and others but its only about 6 inches

For future reference: you must put heavy weights on the lids of the tank. Arowana can easily jump out of a tank even with lids. Weights are vital! I would put a decent weight on each corner of the lid and in the middle. Besides not having weights, your 2nd Arowana setup was perfect! Your other fish look amazing and massive respect for being able to say Arowana aren't right for you at this point. Being able to admit that shows that you aren't in it for ego but genuinely for the love of fish. Subbed!

I had been keeping Golden Arowana Fish for the past 50 years and I had NONE jumping out of the tanks. I am sorry you had bad luck with the Arowana, this is really sorrowful for a hobbyist like you.

I plan on getting a 100-130gal tank with oscars, silver dollars and couple other biggies and would love to get an arowana but after researching them I dont think a 100+ gal would be enough

There's probably a lot of bugs that are attracted to your lights. My arowana jumps alot to try and catch bugs

The way I see it they should only be kept in riparium style setups where jumping is encouraged. Jumping for prey is a natural behavior they have evolved to perfect over thousands if not millions of years, Why should we deprive them of this? take corydoras for example, with cories we reccomend a minimum group size of 6 since they are a schooling species and that they are to be kept on a sand substrate since they take in mouthfuls of sand and sift through it for microorganisms to eat. these reccomendations are based on their natural behaviors that the fsh have evolved to have and allowing them to exhibit them. Why should arowana be any different? when people reccomend a tight fitting lid for them all thats doing is preventing a natural behavior and causing them harm if they try to do so. There are many stories of arowanas hitting lids when attempting to jump and getting injured or worse killing themselves because of it. a riparium style habitat with overhangig branches and plants with regular live feedings of insects onto branches and plants would be ideal, with either very tall walls or mesh/netting stopping them from jumping out to the side but not resticting their jumps. an additional consideration should be the footprint of the tank itself. realistically under proper conditions a silver arowana for example should be exceeding 3ft in length. this is an active fish that rarely stops swimming how many times the length of the adult fish should we provide it? looking at the general recomendations for smaller species such as say cardinal tetras for example which reach about 2 inches area generally reccomended a tank length of about 24 inches making a tank of about 12x length ideal. scaling that up a 3ft silver arowana would be wanting a tank of 36 feet. now obiously thats a far bigger tank than anyone can provide (which does make you think should they be kept at all). a more common rule that is used for larger species is the 6x rule (or sometimes 5x for less active species). this would still lead to a 3ft arowana being in an 15-18ft tank which is still enormous and realistically can only be achieved by a public aquarium or a massive tropical pond (or some super rich guy really into arowana). a similar thought process could be given to all "monster fish" and also makes you look at how these monster fish often fall short size wise compared to the wild relatives depsite being free of predators, an endless supply of food and acess to medications for if they fall ill. realistically there is no reason as to why these fish in captivity shouldn't exceed the sizes of their wild cousins. yet they fall short far too often, which makes you wonder is it really ethical if their growth is being restricted by the environment that we are giving them just something to think about (this turned out longer than I expected it to), I also have a feeling this might be controversial in the eyes of some...

I really enjoyed the style of this video with the moments where the screen goes black and you post the words you are saying in rapid style. I don’t know the name of the style but it was cool and different. On the fish keeping side, I’ve never kept arrowana but I’ve felt this same frustration with the killifish I’ve been dabbling in for the last 2 years. I keep the lid 100% secure but sometimes they can squeeze through just that tiny little gap where the airline just lifts the lid a fraction of an inch. I gave up on Golden wonder killis altogether because I couldn’t keep them in the aquarium

I’ve had a lot of luck with lowering the water level to about half and keeping the arowana all by itself.

I just picked up an 18” jardini, I have light diffusers on top with a brick on top, hopefully that works

Alternative (accurate) title: "How I never learn from my mistakes"

I was going to get One but they be jumping out of tanks

I think they escaped through the lids(too lite) not the small openings

The fish are beautiful but it's too much stress. Glad I don't have that itch 😂👍

Yes they jumped like crazy don't have more than two covers all the top with very heavy objects they grow fast in 3 years they can be 26 inches to 36 inches easily I feed them pallets I don't want to feed them live goldfish because it seems like I was killing another fish

Never have an arowana but always keep wild caught dwarf snakeheads, I'd say they're just as good an escape artist. They'll find that small openings and are good jumpers. One time I left a 1'6" gap between the top and water level but still my 7" channa gachua sp. managed to jump out:(

after my first one died i was 14 at the time i learned my lesson. there are no gaps on any of my tanks only A small hole to lift the lid, arowana are a lot different from other fish ive had to shove mine back in almost every water change i really know the struggle.

My buddies jumped out as well... It was 12 inches. It killed the hobby for him... Thankfully his lil bro still keeps fish

Great video. This will help other fishkeep keepers think long and hard before purchasing one of these amazing fish on impulse. As always happy fishkeeping to you sir.

You seriously should have stoped aruwanas are endangered species 🙃

I have my rtg arowana kept securely using strong lid which is the only option to keep arowana safe. Keeping arowana is enterily different experience and I love it

I owned an aro that was in a very securely lidded aquarium. One day he jumped and the force of him hitting his head on the lid caused his back to break. The lid was still secure but he severed too much damage. Aros r tough too secure of a lid or too weak of a lid and bad things happen

I lost 4 arowanas 😣

I just lost my 18in this morning. I came down to my garage and the arow was like 8 feet from the tank dead. Ughhhh

My first one jumped out. After that bought another one and I tape down all the glass cover and tape down any opening. Now my aro is over a foot long. Hope it grows more and stay alive

Brother they jump It’s their natural habitat I bought my first Arowana back in 2013 it was 6in silver for like 7-8 dollars in kolkata india…. I fed him small roaches and guppies Within 3 day it jumped out and died 😢😢 bought another one nxt week kept it for a year it went 15-18 in in a year then gave it to a friend because I didn’t had a big thank that time.. Today i got a pearl, high back and silver together with a bunch of clown loaches siamese detnoids, and oscars…

Sometimes you just feel cursed keeping certain fish. I had a 13” male *Red Terror* jump out the tank the day before it was going to shipped to me. (Haven’t seen one that size for sale since.) I had a 9” male die due to Fed Ex negligence. And I’ve loss them growing them out for various reasons. I think a lot of us just have bad luck with certain fish. For me it’s Festae.

They are suicidal. Only huge tanks keep them for many years. I gave up long ago on: Arowana,Discus,Neon/Cardinals,Ropefish- suicidal to the exrteme,Tiger Barbs,Red Devils,large Catfish..any catfish not Corydoras or Ancistrus. Why good pay money for fish you never see?..no,feeding time is not enough for me. Best buys?..lol, Clown Loaches- live forever...Rainbowfish..easy to keep but not long lived as cichlids is the only drawback to them. After that..its as the situation dictates. Arowana are just made to break hearts.

Are those real rocks or fake in your big tank? They look great 👌

Silvers jump more than blacks .. how's your electric bill bro.??? Anyways I had 2 arowana one 3.5ft and one 2.5ft silver neither jumped out I always left floating logs all around ...works for me .. imo blacks are better to keep they don't get too big and much more expensive than the others

Put on cctv in your rooms

Powerful water circulation is the solution for any monster fish tank. This keeps the fish active, hungry and healthy. For Arowana's, the circulation should be on the top level. A wavemaker or a powerhead does the job.

Im planning to buy But After i watched your video, i thnk i chnge my mind to buy. I'll go for red paco now. Haahha thanks for your advice.

why not try an albino one since their eye sight is not as great might be less prone to jump

The reason you're arowana's jumped is cuzz you lid is see Tru. In the wild they hunt for insects in the trees. So whenever something flies over your aquarium they can see it and they will make a jump for it. It's instinct.

fish don't belong in a tank. I used to keep aquariums until I realized that this is actually cruel. fish belong in the rivers and lakes they come from. don't even get me started on saltwater...

Or cuz they saw something crawling there insect or whatever it was so they went for it! Btw I once heard people say about if you give your first one away or sell it that you would have bad luck! And there’s also another similar story to that where this lady started either a store or a company but her business wasn’t successful till one day someone talked her into buying an arowana and ever since she got that arowana her business was bringing in mad money then one day she gave it away cuz she got tired of taking care of it and along goes her money and business. And either she tried to buy it back or buy another one (forgot how the story went) but her luck/business/money went along with the fish! So I guess moral to the story is if you’re blessed with that first one keep it till the end! Heard of that expression beginner’s luck? So if you’re blessed with whatever keep it till the end cuz you may not get it again for a long time till that cycle comes back!

Oh so sad, I hate losing any fish. I get attached. 😕🐟🌿👍

You gave the fish 2 inches too many though... Literally just cover the whole tank and put mini felted weights on the lids.

Keep a arowana alone oscars and red devil bite them everytime and that should be the reson for his jumping ( i have 20inch albino arowana 5years old)

What is the size of tank at 11:07 . Real Monsters .

I noticed that you also have a flowerhorn in the tank, arowanas are very sensitive fish and can be easily stress. The most common cause for arowana to jump out of the tank is stress. Flowerhorns are a super aggressive fish, so you won't know if your arowana are being bullied and causing great stress making them jumped! Flowerhorns are also not recommended to be tank mates for any kind of fish, even in ponds. In my country it's illegal to abandon Flowerhorns into any pond or reservoir because they will cause great stress to any other fishes. In the end the pond or reservoir will have fewer fishes.

That fish jumped out of the lid. 100% guaranteed. People have had them jump through plate glass and end up on the floor leaving broken glass in the tank.

I feel you champ as bad as I want one I’ve seen too many of you guys lose them to jumping so I haven’t purchased one for THAT REASON

Yes true

Dude your big arowana jump out from that flimsy lid you got (Around 5.20 in video). Put sone heavy weights on those lid openings next time. Also on back openings, get some thick styrofoam and shove it in the back so tight and use the same foam on any small openings in back!

Good video, I just recently got a silver, now my brain is already working for his forever home tank lid, he's only about 6 inches but they grow fast..

my arowana used to jump more when he was younger. Only during feeding times. I've always had a secure lid, no issues there. One time he was so excited to eat as soon as I opened the lid he jumped straight up in front of me so I caught him with my hands and put him right back in the tank. He doesn't jump as often now. I think he learned the risks involved after that.

I just start grow arowana, this fish jump twice. First one while i was cleaning aquarium, they fin tear but luckily manage to save on time. Second one while feeding lizard, the fish jump out aquarium. Luckily i was there to save it. Yes even when feeding need to be careful, it need close hood aquarium.

As Jorge Carlin would say... what a wasted opportunity. Guys, your Arowana fish is an Olympian grade jumper. I don’t have the money required to own the kind of tank you have but why not build an obstacle course that would serve as a feeding/entertainment center for yourself and your friends that would amaze everyone. You can even make a video out of the project for others to play around with. Build some kind of plastic cylinder or box with a cover or net on top with holes big enough for you to send insects or food attached to a stick or surgical hose for the acrobatic arowana to feed itself. Do it so that you can see just how high it can jump. Just thinking out loud that if I had the money, time and space for a jumping arowana… that is what I would do.

Great video and yes I did i haven't gotten Another one yet

That's a lot of arowana before you noticed there jumpers.. At least put some sand bags on the lids

Bro it is all because of u the lids can’t have any uncovered space u r blaming the arowana when the blame must be on u. Ps: I own 3 Asian Arowana and a albino silver arowana. Also mine arowana now or in the past have never jump out of the tank

Thank you so much for the advice I really appreciate it. I will be sure re-secure my tanks soon thank you for teaching us a lesson that we do not have to experience ourselves👊 ❤

I agree with your decision not to keep an Arowana. I feel they should not be kept in aquaria as they naturally like to jump. Even with secure lids they will still jump and bump there heads.

Maybe they saw a little bug near the gap (someone probably said this already) RIP to your beautiful fishes. Nice aquarium thou👌🏻

You're saying your tanks have "nice hoods" but there not. There flimsy and light hood that a small fish could probably jump through. An arowana can move a glass lid with a brick on it. The top of the tank needs to be seriously secure not just a plastic lid on it.

For Asian the arowana jump out cause they want to die . Does it a joke ? No !!! If you think back to the day that you find out your arowana jump out from tank ,are you nearly accident or problem if you got something like that your arowana will sacrifice the soul for you. Think it back .

So first one jumped out so it was ur fault that tank wasn’t safe. Secound one u were a fault for not having a big enough tank ? 3rd one u made ur tank safe yet forgot to box in ur pipe work ? So ur first 3 are completely ur fault and just lack of common sense ?

My friends arowana jumped out from the tank cause she saw mosquito flying over the tank 😑 😂 But its alive cause my also watching at the same time this thing happned 😂

If your located in California bro you should take 2 of my healthy silver there around 12-14 inch Im letting it go for 150$ for 2 don’t give up on it brotha

People insist I keep Arowanas I'd prefer much difficult fish like discus or puffers since they don't try anything funny and the fact that my area has beetles, moths etch. which invokes arowana jumping a lot of times is a big risk I will never take

So after your arowana squeezes out of a small hole, you didn't expect your next arowana to squeeze out of a small hole? You can keep it successfully, you are giving it better care than most people, just make sure there aren't any holes in the top. Not even a tiny hole

Can’t agree more. Some species are just not meant for long term captivity (in most situations). The arowana is one of those. Awesome fish room, BTW 👍