Arowana Feeding

Arowanas are not like other aquarium fish when it comes to feeding. These are large, powerful predators with specific dietary needs that reflect millions of years of evolution as apex surface hunters. In the wild, arowanas patrol the water surface eating insects, small fish, frogs, and anything else unlucky enough to fall within striking distance. Some species have been documented leaping out of the water to snatch prey from overhanging branches. That predatory instinct does not disappear in captivity, and feeding an arowana properly means working with that biology rather than against it.

Proper nutrition is arguably more critical for arowanas than for most other aquarium species, simply because the consequences of getting it wrong are more severe and harder to fix. A poorly fed arowana develops drop eye, stunted growth, spinal deformities, and dull coloration that may be irreversible once established. These fish can live twenty years or more and grow to two feet or longer depending on the species, so nutritional mistakes made early in their development compound over time into serious problems. Feeding an arowana well from the start is one of the most important commitments you make when you take one on.

One of the biggest misconceptions in arowana keeping is that these fish should be fed exclusively on live feeder fish. This idea persists because it feels natural and arowanas clearly enjoy chasing live prey, but a feeder-fish-only diet is nutritionally incomplete and carries significant disease transmission risks. Feeder fish from pet stores are often kept in poor conditions and can introduce parasites, bacteria, and viruses directly into your arowana's system. The other common mistake is overfeeding - arowanas are enthusiastic eaters that will consume far more than they need if given the opportunity, leading to obesity and organ stress that shortens their lifespan considerably.

This article covers all arowana species commonly kept in aquariums, including silver arowanas, Asian arowanas, black arowanas, and jardini arowanas. While each species has slightly different preferences and some variation in adult size, the core feeding principles apply across the board. Whether you have a juvenile silver arowana in a grow-out tank or a mature Asian arowana in a show setup, the nutritional fundamentals remain the same.

You will learn what arowanas need nutritionally, how to build a feeding routine that supports healthy growth and coloration, which foods to prioritize and which to limit or avoid, and how to recognize feeding-related problems before they become permanent. The goal is an arowana that grows steadily, displays strong coloration, and maintains the athletic body condition these fish are meant to have.

Arowanas are obligate carnivores that require a diet high in animal protein and fat, with minimal plant-based content. A target of 45 to 55 percent crude protein and 8 to 15 percent crude fat reflects what these fish consume in the wild and supports the steady growth and muscle development that keeps them in peak condition. Unlike omnivorous species that can derive nutrition from a wide range of sources, arowanas need their protein and fat to come primarily from animal-based ingredients for efficient digestion and nutrient absorption.

The best protein sources for arowanas include whole prey items and high-quality prepared foods that prioritize animal ingredients. Market shrimp with the shell on provides excellent protein along with chitin fiber and astaxanthin for color enhancement. Crickets and other insects supply protein in a form that closely mimics the arowana's natural diet of surface insects. Earthworms are nutrient-dense and readily accepted by most arowanas. Frozen silversides and smelt provide whole-fish nutrition including omega fatty acids from the flesh and calcium from the bones. Quality arowana pellets can round out the diet as a convenient daily staple, provided they lead with fish meal or shrimp meal rather than grain fillers.

Vitamins are essential for arowana health but are easily overlooked when the focus stays on protein and fat content. Vitamin A supports eye health and immune function, which is particularly relevant given how susceptible arowanas are to drop eye and other ocular issues. Vitamin D aids calcium absorption for proper skeletal development, critical in a species that grows rapidly and can develop spinal deformities if mineral nutrition falls short. B vitamins support energy metabolism and nervous system function in these highly active, fast-reacting predators. Whole prey items like shrimp, insects, and small fish naturally contain these vitamins, which is one reason a varied whole-food diet outperforms processed foods alone.

The quality of fat in the arowana diet matters as much as the quantity. Omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids from fish and crustacean sources support healthy scale development, coloration, and immune function. The fats in feeder goldfish, by contrast, are predominantly saturated and lack the essential fatty acid profile that arowanas need. This is one of the underappreciated reasons why a feeder goldfish diet produces poor results - beyond the disease risk, the fat composition simply does not support optimal arowana health. Shrimp, silversides, and insects provide far better fat profiles.

No single food item provides complete nutrition for an arowana, which is why variety is not optional - it is essential. Rotating through five or six different food types across the week ensures that the nutritional strengths of each food compensate for the gaps in the others. A week's rotation might include pellets as a base, market shrimp twice, crickets or mealworms once, frozen silversides once, and earthworms once. This diversity prevents the nutritional deficiencies that develop on monotonous diets and keeps the arowana interested in feeding rather than becoming fixated on one food and refusing others.

How much to feed an arowana depends heavily on its age and size, and the consequences of getting it wrong run in both directions. Juveniles under eight inches should eat daily in amounts that produce a slightly rounded belly without visible distension - typically two or three appropriately sized food items per feeding. Sub-adults between eight and fourteen inches can be fed once daily or every other day depending on growth rate. Mature adults over fourteen inches do well with feeding every two to three days, which may seem infrequent but reflects the natural feeding rhythm of a large predator that eats substantial meals separated by periods of digestion.

Feeding frequency is one of the most common areas where arowana keepers make mistakes, almost always in the direction of feeding too often. A juvenile arowana will eat every time you offer food because that predatory instinct drives them to consume whenever prey is available. But just because they will eat does not mean they should. Overfeeding juveniles can cause abnormally rapid growth that outpaces skeletal development, and overfeeding adults leads to obesity and fatty deposits around internal organs. The discipline to maintain a feeding schedule rather than responding to your fish's apparent hunger is one of the more challenging aspects of arowana keeping.

Feeding technique for arowanas should account for their surface-feeding instinct. These fish naturally hunt at or just below the water surface, and offering food at the surface or just beneath it encourages natural feeding posture. Floating pellets, insects dropped onto the water surface, and shrimp or fish held with feeding tongs near the surface all align with how arowanas prefer to eat. Consistently feeding food that sinks to the bottom forces the arowana into unnatural downward-looking posture that some keepers believe contributes to drop eye development over time, though this connection remains debated.

Timing feedings around your arowana's activity pattern produces better results than feeding on a rigid schedule that ignores the fish's behavior. Most arowanas are most active and alert during the first half of the photoperiod and again in the evening, making these good windows for feeding. Avoid feeding during tank maintenance, after water changes, or during any period when the fish seems stressed or skittish, as arowanas that feel threatened will often refuse food or eat reluctantly. A calm, predictable feeding routine helps reduce the overall stress level for a species that can be surprisingly sensitive despite its intimidating size.

Juvenile arowanas grow rapidly and their feeding needs change noticeably over the first year. A fish that started eating small crickets and bloodworms at three inches will graduate to market shrimp, silversides, and larger insects within months. Adjust food sizes as your arowana grows - prey items should be small enough to swallow comfortably but large enough to provide meaningful nutrition. As growth slows in maturity, gradually reduce feeding frequency and watch body condition to find the maintenance level that keeps your arowana lean and muscular rather than rounded and sluggish.

Different arowana species have somewhat different temperaments around food, though their core nutritional needs are similar. Silver arowanas tend to be the most aggressive feeders and the least picky about what they eat, which makes them forgiving for beginners but also the easiest to overfeed. Asian arowanas can be more particular and may refuse certain foods, especially during acclimation periods or if they become fixated on a preferred food type. Jardini arowanas are notoriously aggressive feeders that will attempt to eat virtually anything that enters the tank, including your fingers if you are not careful during hand-feeding.

In tanks with other large fish, feeding dynamics require management to ensure the arowana gets its share without monopolizing all the food or being outcompeted by faster feeders. Arowanas cohabitate most commonly with other large cichlids, large catfish, and stingrays, all of which have different feeding zones and methods. Feeding the arowana at the surface while simultaneously dropping sinking foods for bottom dwellers allows each species to eat in its preferred zone without direct competition. If your arowana shares space with similarly sized, equally aggressive feeders, using feeding tongs to deliver food directly to each fish ensures equitable distribution.

The omnivorous or herbivorous tankmates that might share space with an arowana in a very large system generally need different food entirely, which simplifies the logistics somewhat. A large pleco in an arowana tank needs its own algae wafers and vegetables, and the arowana will typically ignore these foods completely. The concern runs the other direction - making sure the arowana does not eat food intended for tankmates. Sinking pellets and wafers usually reach the bottom before the arowana intercepts them, but meat-based foods intended for catfish may need to be delivered directly to avoid the arowana grabbing them.

Bottom-dwelling tankmates like large plecos, bichirs, and stingrays occupy a different feeding zone than the surface-oriented arowana, which generally prevents food competition. The main consideration is timing - feeding the arowana first and allowing it to finish before adding sinking foods for bottom dwellers reduces the likelihood of the arowana diving to the bottom and competing. In large systems with multiple feeding zones, establishing a routine where each species knows where and when to expect food creates the most peaceful and efficient feeding dynamic.

Juvenile arowanas have a particularly important feeding consideration - they need frequent meals to support their rapid growth rate, but they are also more vulnerable to digestive problems from inappropriate food sizes or types. Start with small, soft foods like bloodworms and small crickets, and gradually introduce larger items as the fish grows. Avoid the temptation to feed feeder fish to juvenile arowanas, as the disease risk is highest for younger fish with less developed immune systems. Building a varied diet from the start also prevents the food fixation that develops when juveniles are raised on a single food type, which becomes increasingly difficult to break as the fish matures.

Overfeeding is the most common dietary problem in arowana keeping, and its signs include visible belly distension after meals that persists for more than a few hours, reduced activity and lethargy between feedings, and eventually a noticeable thickening of the body that gives the fish a heavy, rounded appearance rather than the sleek, torpedo-like profile of a healthy arowana. Chronically overfed arowanas often develop fatty deposits that can affect organ function over time. If your arowana's belly is still visibly bulging twenty-four hours after feeding, you are feeding too much per session, too frequently, or both.

Underfeeding shows up as a lean, almost gaunt appearance with the head looking proportionally large compared to the body. The area behind the skull may appear pinched or hollowed out, and the fish's overall activity level may decline as it conserves energy. In juvenile arowanas, underfeeding stunts growth rates and can lead to permanent size limitations even if feeding is later corrected. Color intensity also drops in underfed arowanas as the body prioritizes survival over the energy-expensive process of maintaining pigmentation.

Nutritional deficiencies in arowanas produce specific and sometimes dramatic symptoms. Drop eye, where one or both eyes rotate permanently downward, has been linked to various factors including diet, though the exact mechanism remains debated. Spinal curvatures and deformities can result from calcium or vitamin D deficiency during the rapid growth phase. Scale discoloration, pitting, or roughened texture may indicate mineral or vitamin A deficiency. Gill curling, where the gill plate edges fold outward, has been associated with water quality issues but may be worsened by nutritional inadequacy. Many of these conditions are difficult or impossible to reverse once established, which underscores the importance of getting nutrition right from the beginning.

Digestive problems in arowanas often present as food refusal, regurgitation, or abdominal swelling that does not resolve within a day of fasting. Constipation can occur in fish fed primarily on dry pellets without enough moisture-rich foods like shrimp or earthworms. Regurgitation shortly after eating sometimes indicates the food item was too large or that the fish ate too aggressively. Prolonged appetite loss lasting more than a week in a fish that was previously eating well warrants a closer look at water quality, temperature, and whether any environmental stressors might be suppressing the feeding response.

Adjusting your feeding approach should start with the simplest changes and escalate only if needed. If you suspect overfeeding, skip two or three meals and then resume at reduced portions. If underfeeding seems likely, increase slightly and monitor body condition over two weeks rather than dramatically increasing food all at once. For nutritional deficiency concerns, diversifying the diet is the most effective first step - adding food types that were previously absent from the rotation addresses most gaps naturally. Water quality should always be checked alongside feeding adjustments, since poor water conditions suppress appetite and impair nutrient absorption regardless of how good the diet is.

Gut-loading insects before feeding them to your arowana dramatically improves their nutritional value. Crickets and mealworms that have been fed nutrient-rich foods like leafy greens, carrots, and fish flakes for twenty-four to forty-eight hours before being offered as prey carry those nutrients in their digestive tracts, effectively turning them into vitamin-and-mineral delivery systems. This technique is standard practice in reptile keeping and translates perfectly to arowana feeding, providing a meaningful nutritional boost with minimal extra effort.

Market shrimp from the grocery store is one of the best and most cost-effective foods you can offer an arowana. Buy raw, shell-on shrimp and cut them to appropriate sizes for your fish. The shell provides chitin and astaxanthin for color enhancement, while the flesh delivers high-quality protein and healthy fats. Buying in bulk when shrimp is on sale and portioning it into individual feeding amounts in the freezer keeps cost per feeding low. This approach provides far better nutrition than feeder fish at a fraction of the disease risk.

Storage practices directly impact food quality for arowana keepers who often maintain several different food types in rotation. Frozen foods should be kept at a consistent freezing temperature and not subjected to repeated thaw-freeze cycles, which degrades nutritional content and texture. Pellets and dry foods lose vitamin potency once opened, so buying quantities you can use within three months makes more nutritional sense than stockpiling. Live insects should be kept in appropriate housing with food and water - healthy feeder insects produce better nutrition than starving ones sitting in an empty container.

Managing arowana feeding costs is mainly about avoiding expensive mistakes rather than finding the cheapest options. The biggest cost trap is feeder fish, which are overpriced for their nutritional value and create veterinary expenses when they transmit disease. Market shrimp, earthworms from bait shops, and crickets from pet supply stores provide superior nutrition at lower cost per feeding. Quality arowana pellets are worth the investment as a daily staple because they provide consistent baseline nutrition and keep the feeding routine simple on days when preparing whole foods is not practical.