Arowanas are tropical freshwater fish, featuring long bodies. Generally, they consist of African arowana, Asian arowana, South American arowana, and Australian arowana. Arowana fish is fond of slow-moving and acid waters. Also, seeing that they are large and aggressive, they are always kept alone. But do arowanas feel lonely? Or can arowanas be kept with other fish? If you are eager to know more and get ready for it, just read on. You will get a deeper understanding of the best fish for arowana tank mates.
Do Arowanas need tank mates
Arowanas can grow up to 2–3 feet. Consequently, it is better to keep adult arowanas alone. However, “some arowanas will eat much accompanied by tank mates, while some will kill the tank mates,” said an arowana keeper. Then, can you keep arowanas with other fish? Or do arowanas need tank mates?
Definitely, it is feasible to keep arowana with some other fish species. And tank mates are beneficial to arowana tanks. For instance, some tank mates help to remove algae and avoid algae thriving, like Flying fox fish.
Can Oscars and arowana live together?
Keep oscars and arowanas in one tank? Yes or No?
In the case of plenty of space, you can keep oscars with arowana. However, you should be careful. Here are tips for you.
- Commonly, it is better to keep two fish that come in similar sizes in one tank. Because oscars and arowanas are aggressive. If Oscar is larger than the arowana, Oscar would bully or even eat the arowana. And vice versa.
- Provided that you hold juvenile oscars and arowanas together, you should notice their growth rate. Both of the two grow fast. Consequently, facing one much larger than the other, it is necessary to separate them.
Why you can keep oscars and arowanas together?
Oscars and arowanas demand a similar living environment. The table below gives you a brief comparison.
| Oscars | Arowanas | |
| Water temperature | 74-80℉ | 75-86℉ |
| pH level | 6.0-8.0 | 6.0-7.0 |
| Water hardness | 4-10 dKH | 1-8 dKH |
| Ammonia level | 0 ppm | 0 ppm |
| Nitrite level | 0 ppm | 0 ppm |
| Nitrate level | Less than 20 ppm | Less than 40 ppm |
| Diet | Omnivore (available food: shrimps, insects, small fish, fruit, etc.) |
Carnivore (high-protein food, like worms, shrimps, insects, small fish, etc.) |
Plus, both oscars and arowanas are tropical fish. Oscar fish always swim around the middle or bottom of a fish tank, while arowanas prefer exploring on the top of an aquarium. By the way, the best arowanas to be kept with oscars can be silver arowanas. In addition, oscars are compatible with arowanas, and they are smart. Also, keeping oscars and arowanas together makes the aquarium colorful and greatly improves the ornamental value. However, oscars and arowanas require food rich in protein, while they will produce a massive amount of waste. Hence, building a great filtration system is critically crucial. By the way, more about filtration system, you can read:
10 popular and best arowana tank mates
Basic info about arowana fish
Before getting into tank mates for arowana tanks, let’s take a quick look at some basic information about arowana fish.
- Adult size: 2–3 feet
- Temperament: Aggressive
- Diet: Carnivore
- Ideal water temperature: 75-86℉
- Swimming level: Middle-Top
- Minimum tank size: 250 gallons
10 best tank mates for arowana fish
Next, we will list 10 popular and best tank mates for arowana.
| Fish name | Jack Dempsey cichlid | Texas cichlid | Green terror cichlid |
| Adult size | 7–8 inches | 12–20 inches | 6–12 inches |
| Temperament | Aggressive & Territorial | Aggressive | Aggressive |
| Diet | Carnivore | Omnivore | Carnivore |
| Ideal water temp | 72-86℉ | 68-82℉ | 69-75℉ |
| Swimming level | Bottom-Middle | Bottom | Middle |
| Minimum tank size | 55 gallons | 90 gallons | 50 gallons |
| Fish name | Bichir fish | Blood parrot fish | Common pleco |
| Adult size | 15–30 inches | 7–8 inches | 12–24 inches |
| Temperament | Semi-aggressive | Peaceful | Peaceful with semi-aggressive |
| Diet | Carnivore | Omnivore | Omnivore |
| Ideal water temp | 72-82℉ | 72-82℉ | 74-80℉ |
| Swimming level | Bottom | Bottom-Middle | Bottom |
| Minimum tank size | 90 gallons | 30 gallons | 75 gallons |
| Fish name | Oscar fish | Silver dollar fish | Clown loach | Knife fish |
| Adult size | 10–14 inches | About 6 inches | 6–12 inches | 18–20 inches |
| Temperament | Aggressive & Territorial | Peaceful | Peaceful | Semi-aggressive |
| Diet | Omnivore | Vegetarian | Omnivore | Carnivore |
| Ideal water temp | 74-80℉ | 75-82℉ | 77-86℉ | 75-80℉ |
| Swimming level | Bottom-Middle | Middle | Bottom | Bottom-Middle |
| Minimum tank size | 55 gallons | 20 gallons | 55 gallons | 55 gallons |
Take the silver dollar fish as an example, they are peaceful, hardy, and active. Also, they are not difficult to care for. Thus, the silver dollar fish can be an excellent alternative for arowana fish tanks. Plus, featuring silver body color, the silver dollar fish flicker in the tank, making the arowana aquarium more attractive. Besides that, silver dollar fish are middle dwellers and schooling fish. As a result, you should make sure the tank is large enough to accommodate the silver dollar fish and arowana together.
Aside from the 10 best tank mates for arowana aquariums, there are other feasible choices: Flying fox fish, Tiger datnoid, Freshwater stingray, Pacu fish, Iridescent shark, Firemouth cichlid, Snakehead fish, Tinfoil barb, Bala shark, Flowerhorn cichlid, Severum, and Jaguar cichlid. You can also choose your favorite one among them.
Closing thoughts
Pointers about choosing tank mates for arowanas
Considering the size and temperament of arowana fish, the best tank mates should be:
- Similar in size
- Tolerable to aggressive arowanas
- Swimming and exploring different areas of the tank – bottom to middle dwellers
Related topics about arowana fish
For more about arowana fish, you can go to:
That’s all for today. For additional interesting arowana facts, welcome to share them with us in the comment. We are happy to receive your sharing. Finally, thanks for taking the time. And we hope the article will help you a lot.
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I kept a Black Ghost fish with my Arowana. A stayed mostly in top 1/3 of tank and the Ghost was at the bottom. They lived together just fine and the A was 2.5 feet long