i have two arowanas. one silver around 20 inch and the other a jardini around 3 inches. my silver has drop eye and im not too worried about that but iv seen a bumch of austrialian arowanas and they dont have drop eye. do AUSTRIALIAN AROWANS get this problem at all?? because i dont want it to happen to it

jjjunior wrote:


I've seen an aussie aro at LFS with one dropeye.

Apparently if you put a ping pong ball floating in the tank it can prevent it cause they focus on it.

I was told this, havent hand any experience with aro's.

theres an aussie aro in my lfs for $200AUD. its about 6-7" long. I want him so bad but cant have him unless they keep it for 2 months

From what I have learnt about drop eye is any of the arowana can get it. that includes aus arow's. as far as the experts know is this

BULGING EYE - In the natural environment, the eyes are focused above water-level to search for live food. However, when the fish is reared in a fish tank which is transparent all round, the eyes tend to focus downwards due to distractions around and as food is readily found around and at the bottom of the tank. It does not exercise enough, so fat is accumulated to bulge or protrude within the socket of the eyes causing the eyes to protrude or droop. The hobbyist need not be unduly worried about the fish’s health although the value of the fish is affected by this phenomenon. This is only a natural adaptation to its environment. It is also thought to be caused by feeding the Arowana too much fatty food such as goldfish or beef heart and even its own reflection at the bottom of the tank. However, most bulging eyeballs have no observable cause, and the Arowana can swim and live healthily with entirely uneven eyes. If this is not treated in time, it can worsen until the eyeball falls out. Sometimes a fatty deposit causes the protrusion, it is hard to treat and should just be left alone. According to some Arowana farm owners simply putting the fish back into the pond for a few months will correct this deformity naturally but few of us have that luxury. Since there is no easily available cure for bulging eyes, prevention is better. Provide a large tank for exercise with gravel at the bottom to eliminate reflections. Watch the diet fat content and provide foods that stay near the surface.

thanks for the info its very helpful marcus. hope u can get that aussie u want jonhology. Also the austrialian aro are known for thier mean streak so putting them with tank mates when they are young makes them less agressive

jjjunior wrote:


He was sold the other day , LFS said they shouldnt have issues ordering me one in though (im in AUS) but first i got to cough up the $2500 and wait for them to build my 8x2.5x2.5 cant wait.

because of the cost i'm paying for the cabinet, tank and hood separately, im on apprentice wages now it sucks. the tank alone is like $1000 lol. gona put 2 fx5's on it.. wont be too long though im saving $400 a week.