The last week I was talking with the owner of Roe Aquarium in Rock Island IL, he was telling me all about the local zoo having put in a few good sized aquariums and not really having any decent size fish in them. He told me that what they really needed was a decent sized Arowana, like mine, to show off to all the kiddies. I brought my fish to the zoo's attention and they are more than happy to have him. Unlike here, my guy is going to be sharing his tank with only a 15in shovelnose. I'm sure he'll appreciate the space. This Tuesday I'm going to be moving nearly three feet of water monkey, forty miles to it's new home. I'm going to try and drag a friend along to take pics for everyone. Wish me luck.

That will be interesting for you, I wish you luck. Yes, a few pictures for the photo gallery.

Good luck with the move!

I'd love to see pics of that!
Good Luck!

So my Arowana now resides at Niabi Zoo in Coal Valley, IL. It was a pretty rough trip for my guy. I've never seen a fish that stressed out. He actually threw up! If he makes it 48 hours there I'll post you all the pics and give you all the details. If he doesn't make then I'll still post everything. But it will be more of a report on how not to move a huge freakin' fish.

So... a couple weeks ago now I moved my Arowana to Niabi Zoo. Here are a few of the last pics I got of my beast before setting off.

This one's just for prespective. That Oscar is 12 inches long. And yes, I have a big head. I'm a ways in front of the tank too.

http://members.aol.com/devildadeo/arowspec

This is basically my Aro's mugshot. Not too bad looking. We took over a hundred pics of my fish that day. I have very few that are worth showing. I haven't a clue how the pros get such great shots other than having vastly superior equipment.

http://members.aol.com/devildadeo/arowprof

http://members.aol.com/devildadeo/arowface

I sure wouldn't want to be a goldfish seeing that coming at me.

I finally got him netted. This was no easy task and by this point my cameraman and I were soaked. This Koi net is the only thing I had big enough for him and could barely use it in the 125. I like this shot because it shows just how flexible these guys really are. It's not hard to imagine it's ability to coil up and jump into the trees for food. Or in this guy's case, across the room when he's spooked.

http://members.aol.com/devildadeo/arownet

This is how I moved him. He's in a 150 gallon stock tank along with 75 gallons of tank water. I figured the more water I put in there the less likely he would get banged around on the trip. I would have put him in a bag put at home, this fish NEVER stopped moving. Even when I purchased this guy a 5 inches, they sent me home with him in a huge bag and told me to keep it sideways.

http://members.aol.com/devildadeo/arowtub

This is the one salvagable close shot from the zoo. Their lighting certainly flattered this fish.

http://members.aol.com/devildadeo/arowzoo1

And here is a wide shot of his new home. They had a couple of good looking Jaguar Cichlids below him.

http://members.aol.com/devildadeo/arow180

Unfortunately, for whatever reason, my Arowana didn't last long at the zoo. It seemed like he'd gotten his wits bacnk and what acclimating ok by the time I left there. When we first put him in though he looked awful. I called out to the zoo just before close that same evening and they told me that the fish was doing fantastic and that everything was great. But the next day a couple of my family member went out there and didn't see him. They asked what was up and the zookeepers told them that the fish had died an hour after I left. They said that it started swimming funny so they put it on oxygen, then it croaked. I'm not entirely sure how one goes about putting a fish on oxygen, but I've got a feeling that it wasn't pleasant. At this point though, I don't know what to believe.

Anyway, there you have it. Call it a sad tale, or a monster fish horror story, it's really both. I will most certainly be buying another Arowana. Not any time soon though.

I'm sorry for your loss. I would certainly be heartbroken if that was my arow.

I wish i had an arrow. I think I might have to get. Never seen one around here though.