1 kinds · tap one for a closer look
A big jumper that eats small fish, so keep it with larger, calm companions such as large cichlids or catfish.
This one is best kept on its own, or with its own kind.
A big jumper that eats small fish, so keep it with larger, calm companions such as large cichlids or catfish. Needs a very tight lid.
Pellets, insects, shrimp and earthworms; live fish are not needed.
Tap a food to see what it is.
From subadult size (about 40-50 cm) males show a thick, fleshy lower lip that juts over the upper lip; females may grow larger.
Common problems. Tap one to see the signs. This is a guide, not a diagnosis.
Mouthbrooder (male) ·
Paternal mouthbrooder: females spawn in the high-water season and the male broods the eggs and then the young. Captive breeding is done in large outdoor ponds and is less common than for the silver arowana.
Raise a group of juveniles and wait for a natural pair.
Very large tank or pond, soft blackwater, a secure lid.
Seasonal changes in water.
Up to about 210 large eggs per season (pond spawns of 15-30 cherry-sized eggs reported); the male holds the eggs about 4 weeks and the larvae another 3-4 weeks, releasing young at about 7 cm.
Fry hatch big and are fed live foods and chopped worms.
A close relative of the silver arowana from the blackwater Rio Negro basin. Juveniles are black with yellow markings along the body, head and tail; from about 15 cm these fade and adults turn dark steel-grey to blue with yellow and red fin edges, looking much like silver arowanas.
Robert Kanazawa described this arowana in 1966. Juveniles are black with a yellow stripe, while adults are grey-silver. It is a surface hunter.
First described by Robert H. Kanazawa in 1966.
16 facts checked with sources
Adults closely resemble the silver arowana (O. bicirrhosum) and are separated by meristics; juveniles are distinctive.
FishBase: Osteoglossum ferreirai summaryLegacy has no family.
FishBase: Osteoglossum ferreirai summaryTL. No Seriously Fish profile. size-pick: 90 cm TL (FishBase) kept; the 1.2 m figure is only "reports" cited by Wikipedia from Olivares et al. 2013. Fishipedia claims aquarium fish easily exceed 1 m, unsourced.
FishBase: Osteoglossum ferreirai summary · Wikipedia: Black arowana (cites FishBase, IUCN and Olivares et al. 2013, Conserv. Genet. 14:695-703)Hobby reference only (no Seriously Fish profile). Soft, acidic blackwater species.
Fishipedia: Osteoglossum ferreirai (arowana noir)Legacy has no hardness. Hobby reference only.
Fishipedia: Osteoglossum ferreirai (arowana noir)Fishipedia (hobby reference) recommends at least 4,500 L with a 5 m front. No Seriously Fish footprint available.
Fishipedia: Osteoglossum ferreirai (arowana noir)Fishipedia: fairly calm, only "slightly aggressive", but a predator of anything that fits in its mouth; males can fight each other.
Fishipedia: Osteoglossum ferreirai (arowana noir)Legacy has no range field (story mentions the Rio Negro).
FishBase: Osteoglossum ferreirai summary · Wikipedia: Black arowana (cites FishBase, IUCN and Olivares et al. 2013, Conserv. Genet. 14:695-703)Hobby reference only. Consistent with legacy "longer lower jaw" but sexing is possible by eye in subadults.
Fishipedia: Osteoglossum ferreirai (arowana noir)"Not commonly bred outside Brazil" not supported; no source says where farmed fish come from. Trade fish are often from Colombia (not confirmed here).
Wikipedia: Black arowana (cites FishBase, IUCN and Olivares et al. 2013, Conserv. Genet. 14:695-703) · FishBase: Osteoglossum ferreirai summary · Fishipedia: Osteoglossum ferreirai (arowana noir)Brooding time of about 7-8 weeks agrees with legacy 6-8 weeks. Egg count per spawn is from a hobby reference.
Wikipedia: Black arowana (cites FishBase, IUCN and Olivares et al. 2013, Conserv. Genet. 14:695-703) · Fishipedia: Osteoglossum ferreirai (arowana noir)Confirmed. IUCN Least Concern (2023 assessment per Wikipedia). No CITES listing (FishBase: Not Evaluated); legacy export note not sourced, so no traits.legal.
Wikipedia: Black arowana (cites FishBase, IUCN and Olivares et al. 2013, Conserv. Genet. 14:695-703) · FishBase: Osteoglossum ferreirai summary