Is Black Water safe for your arowana?
As the title indicates, this post is about black water.. If you don't know what it is, please read my post here which I have published sometime back.. All about black water
A) Below here is the feedback I got from a reader.
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I recently purchased your online book which was very informative.
I was interested in keeping arowana and wanted to be prepared the best I could.
I followed everything your book mentioned down to the slightest detail and purchesed an Austrailian arowana.
This was no common Australian arowana,he must have been a hybrid between a pearl and a spotted because he had beautiful red spots along with green scaling.
(I have attached a photo which dose him no justice).
He was a very beautiful (and expensive for me) fish.
The shop keeper had raised him since he was 1-2 inches and was going to keep him but sold him to me at 4 inches.(I have been buying other fish from this gentalman for 2 years and have established a good relationship with him,I own a 210 gallon tank).
The hospital tank's previous inhabitant was a Datnoid (which is a relatively delicate fish when young but fared just fine for the 3 months I kept him there) so the tank was well established, well planted (plastic) and well aireted.
The PH was 7.0,Temp 80 F.
So, I floated the arowana for twenty minutes, then acclimated him further by dripping water from an airline tube into his bag for another 20 min and then finally put him in the tank.
He was doing just great!
That night I fed him frozen krill and he ate vigorously and did so the following 2 days.
On that day while going over your book again I noticed had I failed to pick up the "black water extract". So I purchased this, read the instructions,and added to the tank.(This is my first time using this product but I wanted to follow all your instructions).
The following day I woke up to feed the arowana, He wouldn't eat and was darting around the tank. It was obvious he was stressed.
Everything was fine except the PH.
It had gone from a steady 7.0 to below 6.0 (my PH test kit ranges from 6.0-9.0)
I immediately did a 25% water change, waited an hour, then tested the water, and repeated this in total 3 times till the PH went back up to 7.0
He did not eat that day and the next morning I found him dead.
I felt that the black water was to blame and I believe this stuff is very powerful.
So, my suggestion to you would be if at all possible to edit your book a bit by adding that "the adding of Black Water should be done cautiously and added to the tank prior to adding fish to ensure proper PH being that this product has the ability to drop PH levels drastically." Or something along those lines.
I thank you for your time in reading this and hope you can pass this information along so that other arowana keepers don't make the same mistake that I have made.
This is my answer …
John Doe
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B) The following is my reply to him.
Thanks for your very concise email. However, your case is the first one that I have heard about black water extract being the culprit. I personally do not think that this is the problem as I have used it extensively in my years of arowana care. In fact, my farm and many hobbyists we know also uses it extensively without problems. In fact I always put more of the black water into my tank when I change water as it help to calm my arowanas. As you know I have 5 xback golden arowanas which cost me quite a bit of money and I would not use something that I have not tested before myself. But I thank you again for sharing your story with me.
Because you have been so concise, I am able to offer some possibilities on why your arowana could have lost it's appetite and later died. Again I must emphasize that this are only my observations based on what you have said below.. (but for why it died, I am pretty certain of my point 3 unless I interpreted your wordings wrongly)
1) If your datnoid (or tiger fish ) is larger than your arowana, they will attack arowanas smaller than them. In fact I had one Siamese tiger which was very aggressive. They stalk their preys and will usually not hunt when we're around. It could have attacked your arowana over the few days which made it become agitated eventually.
2) Arowanas will not eat when they are full. In fact I know of some that will lay off food for a few days because they over ate.. So if you arowana is not eating for a day or two, it is ok. If you see it behaving strangely, (out of the norm) the first thing to do is to change the water.
3) If I interpreted your process of changing your water correctly, this is the most probably cause of death of your fish. (In fact I'm 99% sure) You cannot change so much water in one day. You changed it 3 times over a period of a few hours I believe. ( Eventhough it is 25% each time but this is almost like changing 75% of the water at a go) You should have changed only once and wait for the next day before changing another time.
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So now… to answer my own question about whether black water is safe to use…? Well… I will have to say yes for now as I've yet to personally encounter any issues with it. I never had problems with it before and it does help to de-stress my arowanas after a water change. If any of you have differing opinions about this topic, feel free to add your comments below. To me, there is truly no right or wrong answers….
Cheers!
Steven
Filed under Arowana Stories - BY YOU! by on Sep 17th, 2008. Comment. 
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Comments on Is Black Water safe for your arowana?
Yup..PH shock…from 7.0 up to 8.0 and then drop him down again in such a short period of time…No good
Sometimes we look too closly and panic for our aros…
Aro will toleraate alot, just go slowly…
Hi John Doe,
Australian aros dun need blackwater bcos their natural environment is not exactly soft and acidic like those in southeast asia (dragon fish) and Amazon river (Silvers and Blacks). Our tapwater does fine for them. However the addition of blackwater shouldn't have such a drastic effect on them either. It could be other reasons:
1. Like what steven said, the datnoid attack it.
2. The rigorous feeding of the krill pollutes the water hence pushing down the pH and produces ammonia (NH3), stressing the fish. However, the low pH maintains NH3 in its harmless form NH4+. When the water change is carried out (75%?!), the sudden increase in pH and the release of NH3 from it's non-toxic form NH4+ kills the alr stressed fish instantly. Something like a new tank syndrome. It has happened to my other fishes before.
I'm sorry to hear about what has happened to your auzzie aro. There's nothing much i can do either, except to help to diagnose the problem so that future incidents like this wouldn't happen to you or anyone else in the future.
regards,
ahhian
first of all,sorry bro about the demise of your aro.i strongly agree with steven that the incessant water change could be the culprit.in 3 hours the water chemistry must have fluctuated 3 times over,bro.just my 2 cents.don't give up,bro.we all make mistakes but make sure we learn something from it.take care and come back stronger,bro.
This is the first time, I heard black water is the culprit!
Changing water 3 times over a period of time, even you added anti-chlorine, aro will not able to take it!
I do wc only 25% weekly and added salts, black water, anti-chlorine and vitamin.
Bo, don't give up the hobby!
I have finally com my aro with discus, they are living peacefully !!!
Regards
Kelvin
Hi John,
I'm sorry to hear of your lost but I personally do not think it is due to the black water unless there is something wrong with the particular black water you use. I too use black water extensively for my two aros whenever I do water change and so far have not encountered any problem.
Hope you don't get discouraged by this setback and continue to enjoy this hobby of aro keeping.
Best Regards…….Stephen
Firstly I am ptrtty sure that the black water did not cause the unpleasant incident that happen to your fish.I have been using black for at least 5 yrs.In normal circumstances we do not feed a newly bought fish on the same day after introducing it to its new home.They are very stress on the day of transportation.Please let it settle down for about 3 days,and observe its behavior and how it breath and swim around you will know whether it is ok.When you see the fish swimming calmly and breathing swiftly without opennig its mouth to wide fins fully stretch eyes very attentive means your fish is adapted it self to its new home.You can now feed yoyr fish.
Regards
RT
I also use black water for the last 7yrs. It helps my red aro to stay calm and beautiful, enhanced its color too. Changing too much water at a time makes the fish stress and it decreases the temp of the water too. Sudden temp changes (decreases) also will stress the fish. Wat I norm do is, try to change water min once a week, maintain temp bet 27-29c, add some salt and anti-chlorine will do the job real fine. As for me after a water change, I wont feed my fish till the next day, clean out food waste and try to make the water as clear n fresh for my aro.
Chin Hian,
You have a good point there… The environment that aussie arowanas live in are different from the rest. Good point to note here… Will put this in my book for next revision…
Steven
Kelvin & James,
FYI. I don't put anti-chlorine in my water when I change it. If you are only changing about 20%+, try not to use it. These are chemicals that should be avoided if possible.
Steven
Hi Guys,
I know what I am going to ask is out of this subject, but I have been struggling with this decision for some time already.
My Red Aro is about 18 inches now and is currently on live food like fish, superworm and sometime crickets. I understand that feeding red aro with prawns (market prawn) would help enhance its coloration. Would appreciate some advice on how I could cross over or should I do it at all. To make matter more difficult, this aro of mine is not a very big eater, so I expect that it will rather starve than eat the market prawn.
Hi all, hw r u doing….? Steven thank you for the mail you have sent to me all the while. They do help me improving many things for my silver. Thanks again for those ideas that you have shared.
Anyway, i just wanna share some info's with you steven and with other fellow friends.
Talking about changing water….i did change many times at 70% to 80% but not now. For now i only change 25%. For 6 months i was changing water for 70% to 80% till i read an artical from Steven saying we should change atleast 25% of water. I was lucky and so was my silver tho. Same goes to my bichir and the cray fish.
Whenever i change water my silver's body will go like a sinking boat but after 10 to 15 minutes he will swim as normal and eat as normal too. About black water, i do practise. One's in a week i will atleast i cap full. Steven and my fellow friends can you please advise me if this practise is ok.
Many thanks.
You guys take care.
Oh i forgor to ask…. a friend of mine and the shop keeper said Arowanas also eat parrot fish but in my case my silver is not eating it. Aldy 3 weeks. My silver not even go near to sniff. Can i have an advise here please.
Many thanks.
Great day to all.
Steven,
Glad that my info helps! Btw adding water conditioner (not anti-chlorine anymore bcos gd water conditioners are also anti-chloramine and anti-ammonia)during each and every water change is a must! 25% may seems small but in the long run chloramine may accumulate and harm your fish and nitrification bacteria. Water conditioner, when not overdosed, does more gd than harm in the long run. thats what i strongly believe in and so far has done me well. =)
chin hian
Takeshi,
why are u trying to feed your aro with parrot fish?!! are u toking about blood parrots? they aren't cheap btw lol…yah continue with the weekly 25% water change it does wonders, but NOT MORE THAN THAT.
chin hian
i do agree with steven
soory, for the lose of arowana
Hi All, and Steven, thanks for all your emails. I have 2 aros, a Red and a RTC. The Red is with me since 03/08/2006 (2yrs 2mths) and the RTG since 16/04/2006(2.5yrs) Very seldom do I add black water to my Red and not at all for my RTG. Black water is added only when I clean up the entire filter elements and when thorough washing to remove the algea at the Tank's bottom which sometimes more than half the tank water is removed. I seriously do not think Black Water is the cause for John's aro to pass on. My Red aro from my observant is more relaxed when I add Black Water.
Takeshi75,
Wow! Parrot fish? lol expensive feed my man! Just feed it feeder fish is good enough!
Steven
Stephen,
You have to be patient. It will eventually eat when it gets hungry… Do not give up!
Steven
Hello everyone!
just to inform you guys, hands down to you all, you guys look like you know what your talking about. anyways, im new in this and i researched as much as i can. i just purchased my Ausee and i dont want to be victim number 2. my aro is still in the shop but paid for, due to me still getting my 120 gal tank together, its almost finished but i need advice. my next step is to add water tom. i have black water in my hands, and a sump put together. for the MBC mechanical, bio and chemical. so once i add water and add black water. i should let it flow for 2 to 3 days first then put the aro right? then feed it the day after?
sorry for the hassle.. its just that i wanted to here some info from you guys. steven, chin hian anybody?. you could also reply through my email or here. its donpastor_18@yahoo.com
thanks GUYS!
newbie
DON
Don,
I think there is too much to advise here. You might want to consider getting the arowana care book at http://www.arowana-care.com/arocare as it goes into quite a bit of detail.
Steven
Thanks Steven! will do. my ausie is in the tank now. he looks ok, he snaps his jaw alot, wonder why.
Don
Don,
That is normal.. They are only stretching their jaw..
Steven
My friends…a good day to u all and hope all of u are doing well. Anyway, in my earlier comments i've told bout my water change xperience 70% to 80% and the same time bout my silver dun wanna eat the parrot fish. Oh that's correct…it's a blood red parrot fish.
Hey come on ya sometimes we humans wanna taste xpensive food too. So wat the hack. Once in a while ok wat. ha ha ha. Yup he did not eat them for almost 2 months tho but wat a surprise he did wallup 3 of them in one go last week. hahaha
I want him to them but the moment he did not i started to feed him very less quantity of food and start giving him pallets and dry prawns (hey not the cooking one ah ). I knw he don't want it but he dun want get starv so he did eat them.
His stomach aldy thin and he can't aford to look c look c those parrot fish so wat the hack…he wallup them lo.ha ha ha.
Thanx mate. U all take care and hav a good day.
Peace.
C u soon
Just like to join you guy to have some fun after a few days of depression as my 16 months young "SHELOOKRED" just rest in peace on 28 November 2008…from 6" to 16" well, had get over it…I have done my best but still couldn't safe it.
I had being keeping arowana with "red parrot" fish and "fei fong' for many years, and my "fei fong" which is 12 years old now is still surviving and swiming happily in my six feet tank..my daughter always say that "it live to tell the tales of my many unsucessful arowanas..so..red parrot fish is a real good companion than using it for food…
Actually struggling wheather to carry on with the hobby or not,but relatively sad when staring at the thanks like something really big missing…
Though of setting a new criteria for my new aro
Red, small and most important will only feed on pallet, due to fact that I have to travel alot..and you cannot put worms or frogs in the feeder…any comment with arowana just on dry food..no way to ask my wife to feed it with frog, as she will chase the frog like the arowana,but with less success rate…
Wish all of you having fun keeping the great fish…my excuse to people when ask about my dragon fish was " I had trained them from Dragon fish to dragon and it just had to go to where it belong !!" have fun!!
ST,
It will be hard to trained them to eat pellets from young. My advise is to only trained them when they are about 1 year old … I myself think that feeding them purely on pellets is not healthy. Should be a mixture of pellets, frozen and live food….
Steven
Just finished cycling my tank for a week with fishes from my brother in law. Am thinking of having a Green Aro and still shopping for it. Heard so much of the pros on black water extract so am going to get one too. Should I add it in a day before adding in aro to tank or cycle first for a week or two?
Thanks
Just bought the Arowana-care eBook! Great one! Will read it 'seriously' tomorrow as it's kinda late now and am sleepy already…
Brandon,
Cycle your tank first for 2-3 weeks. You don't need to add black water during the cycle period. You only add black water when you arowana is in the tank. Cheers!
Steven
PS. Hope you enjoy the book!
I got a 6 x 2 x 2 ft tank. some ppl told me that the overhead lighting should be brighter than the surrounding light so that aro will swim in a balance manner than slanting left and right because it try to see lights from front or side, is it true? what do you think is the best lighting for my tank? it's placed outside my house, no direct sunlight but quite bright in daytime.
thanks.
I just bought my first arowana yesterday and after putting it into the tank, I added in black water and it really help it calming down! Can see it swim and enjoying the new surrounding.
I use a glass partition to seperate other fishes and this morning somehow my arowana gets into the other side and I saw the bloody parrot fish try to suck it! Quickly I try to rescue it by trying to open the partition and let it swim back to the other side.
After a while I saw two scales fallen on each side of the body, sigh feel sorry but later found out it go pass the gaps between the tank and partitions.
Anyway, separate those bloody parrots from the tank and hopefully the other fishes won't hurt it further when it slipped thru again.
painting the background with black spray paint now… as i can't get matching wallpaper at LFS.
i dont think black water needed n usefull for aro, thrust me.i never put black water extract to my 7 pcs super red tank since they are young till today, i just prefer using the correct lighting, correct foods, n maintain the ph at 6.3 , gh at 3-5 to optimizing they potential.and remember guys genetic is the 1st factor influence best or not aro when it adult
Brandon,
I only have lights on the top… This should be enough.. No side lights..
Steven
I have a golden aro(6"), in a tank. It eats round about 10 guppies a day, mostly eats at night. So how do i feed him market fish? What about prawns, do i have to buy it every day? Should I feed the prawns as a hole or should i remove the scales? Can i store the prawns in a freezer before feeding him?? If so then how to store? Please reply soon. Reply for anyone will be appreciated.
Avisek,
If you are feeding market prawns,u can take out the whole shell or just cut out the head and tail. (as this can puncture the arowana's stomach if it is sharp.) Yes you can put it in the freezer and just take out and thaw the portions that you want to feed for the day.
Steven