shoaling fish

@fishcrazy thats the fish i originally had in mind,just wasnt sure how the'd get along with an aro

 

Arowana will eat those... easily. Why not just give the arowana as much space as possible, leave out the tankmates and appreciate the arowana by itself?

 

lol probably.its all just daydreamin at the moment.these are just ideas im banging around.

 

Sorry buddy,forget about the aro.....

 

to late

 

Clown loaches shoal beautifully, but they're Asian and don't grow quickly enough to really survive an Arowana

 

Actually those could be a good idea. Arowana like to hang around the surface, while clown loaches tend to stay towards the middle and bottom of the tank (unless they learn to eat from the surface, as some do). Regardless, if they're "bulky" enough, the arowana won't really bother them at all.

 

Well in that case, you'll have two show fish in one tank. The Arowana and the group of Clowns

 

dont clowns prefer higher temps?

 

Arowana can take the higher temps too - up to 30C at least. So keeping your tank between the 27 and 30 C range will suit the two.

 

i read that higher temperatures induce an aged look in arowanas.

 

In a sense this is true - higher temperatures increase their metabolism. This means they grow faster, but I cannot think of any reason that this would give them an aged look...

Just do some reading up: Arowana come from a good range across the Amazon. Natural water temperatures there range from 23 to 30C and sometimes quite a bit higher. Fishbase says that, on average, they're found in waters from 24 to 30C. It's not unnatural for them to live in water of this temperature.

 

going OT here i think we are but while we can was just thinking the only big aros i see all look like old fish now i dont know if they really are old or is there something to what iv read

 

Sadly, the majority of the older arowanas that I have seen have had stunted growth and have been put in tanks with absolutely incorrect tankmates. This may overall give the appearance of an aged fish, due to it's bent shape (stunting) and ragged fins (from their tankmates). However, there are some exceptional specimens I have seen that look like they're in their prime - the majority of these fish were from overseas, though.