The black arowana, Osteoglossum ferreirai, is a freshwater

Freshwater

Fresh water is naturally occurring water on the Earth's surface in ice sheets, ice caps, glaciers, bogs, ponds, lakes, rivers and streams, and underground as groundwater in aquifers and underground streams. Fresh water is generally characterized by having low concentrations of dissolved salts and...

 bony fish of the family

Family (biology)

In biological classification, family is* a taxonomic rank. Other well-known ranks are life, domain, kingdom, phylum, class, order, genus, and species, with family fitting between order and genus. As for the other well-known ranks, there is the option of an immediately lower rank, indicated by the...

 Osteoglossidae, commonly kept in aquaria

Aquarium

An aquarium is a vivarium consisting of at least one transparent side in which water-dwelling plants or animals are kept. Fishkeepers use aquaria to keep fish, invertebrates, amphibians, marine mammals, turtles, and aquatic plants...

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Description

Its natural habitat

Habitat (ecology)

A habitat is an ecological or environmental area that is inhabited by a particular species of animal, plant or other type of organism...

 are the still waters of the Negro River basin (Brazil

Brazil

Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...

 and Colombia

Colombia

Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...

) and the upper Essequibo

Essequibo River

The Esequibo River is the largest river in Guyana, and the largest river between the Orinoco and Amazon. Rising in the Acarai Mountains near the Brazil-Guyana border, the Essequibo flows to the north for 1,010 km through forest and savanna into the Atlantic Ocean.-Geography:There are countless...

 River basin (Guyana

Guyana

Guyana , officially the Co-operative Republic of Guyana, previously the colony of British Guiana, is a sovereign state on the northern coast of South America that is culturally part of the Anglophone Caribbean. Guyana was a former colony of the Dutch and of the British...

) in South America

South America

South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...

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It has a long body and a tapered tail and can grow to a maximum size of 90 centimetres (35.4 in). The juveniles are black with yellow markings down the length of the body, head and the tail. Once it reaches about 15 cm, the markings will disappear and it will start to obtain a dark irridecient steel grey to blue coloration, hence its common name. Additionally, there is a bright yellow and a red outlining or the dorsal, caudal and tail fins

The species is also called water monkey or the monkey fish, because it can literally jump out of the water and capture its prey. It usually swims near the water surface awaiting for potential prey. Although it has been known to eat larger prey like small bats and birds and even small monkeys, their main diets consist of shrimps, insects, smaller fishes and other animals that float on the water surface, on which its draw-bridge-like mouth is exclusively adapted for feeding.

Arowana

Arowana

Arowanas are freshwater bony fish of the family Osteoglossidae, also known as bonytongues. In this family of fishes, the head is bony and the elongate body is covered by large, heavy scales, with a mosaic pattern of canals. The dorsal and the anal fins have soft rays and are long based, while the...

 are also called "dragonfish" by aquarists because of their shiny armor-like scales, which are similar to the Asian’s folklore of dragon

Dragon

A dragon is a legendary creature, typically with serpentine or reptilian traits, that feature in the myths of many cultures. There are two distinct cultural traditions of dragons: the European dragon, derived from European folk traditions and ultimately related to Greek and Middle Eastern...

s.

Tank size

It is important to have a large enough tank to keep these large fishes. The minimum tank size for one Arowana for life is a 96"L x 48"Wx 24"H or 480 gallon aquarium. As it grows, a larger tank will be necessary to insure the maximum length and life span of the Arowana. The tank must have a sturdy lid, as these fish are active jumpers and will jump out of the tank to their demise.

Water conditions

Water conditions are important for Arowanas. Some black water additives can help simulate the Arowana’s natural habit.

• Black arowanas can adapt to most water supply and thrive
• Temperature - 24°C to 28°C, but best at 26°C

Also a 25-30% water change is necessary 1-2 times every week to maintain excellent water conditions.

Feeding

Although not tested scientifically, there might be an association between overfeeding and development of drop eye, and therefore it is important that young Arowana are not overfed. Arowanas will eat insects, shrimp, pellets, live fish, beef heart, frogs, etc. The best diet for Arowanas is pellets, live crickets, and shrimps. Small feeder fish are often raised in poor conditions and can carry many diseases transmittable to predatory fishes.

Tank mates

Any fish will do as long as it does not fit in the Arowana’s mouth. Many people like having more than one Arowana in the tank. That is not a problem, but there must be at least 5-6 individuals per tank because Arowanas are very aggressive towards each other.