1 kinds · tap one for a closer look
Keep it alone or with huge calm fish; it eats anything that fits in the mouth.
This one is best kept on its own, or with its own kind.
Keep it alone or with huge calm fish; it eats anything that fits in the mouth. Needs a very secure lid.
Check your local laws. Queensland angling rules (as reported by Native Fish Australia): minimum size 50 cm and a combined possession limit of one fish for saratoga and gulf saratoga. Indonesia lists it as protected, although it does not occur there (probably a misidentification of S. jardinii). IUCN: Near Threatened. Check the rules where you live before you buy one, and never release it into the wild.
Pellets, crickets, prawns, earthworms.
Tap a food to see what it is.
Females are slightly deeper-bodied; brooding females show a conspicuous white chin. Otherwise hard to sex.
Common problems. Tap one to see the signs. This is a guide, not a diagnosis.
Mouthbrooder (female) ·
A maternal mouthbrooder that pairs after a long courtship, mainly September to early November when surface water exceeds 20-23 °C. The female broods the eggs and later releases and recalls the fry. Bred on some Australian fish farms in outdoor earth ponds; rarely in aquaria.
Raise a group; pair forms naturally.
A big heated pond with a cover.
Longer day length and warm temperatures.
Clutches of about 30-180 (Native Fish Australia: 70-200) large eggs, about 10 mm across, brooded by the female. They hatch in 10-14 days and the young stay in her mouth another 4-5 weeks, becoming independent at 3.5-4 cm.
Fry grow on live foods then pellets.
A bonytongue endemic to the Fitzroy River system of Queensland. It is brown to olive with a silvery sheen and one or two orange to pink spots on most scales. It feeds mostly on insects taken at the surface and is a prized, hard-jumping angling fish. Rare and expensive in the hobby.
Albert Günther described this arowana in 1864 and named it after explorer Ludwig Leichhardt. It occurs naturally only in the Fitzroy River system of Queensland. Females brood eggs in their mouths.
First described by Albert Günther in 1864. Named for Named after explorer Ludwig Leichhardt.
17 facts checked with sources
Also spelled leichhardti in some literature; leichardti is correct. FishBase notes doubt about the type material (probably from within S. jardinii's range) and says a revision of the Australian species is needed (Pusey et al. 2016).
FishBase: Scleropages leichardti summary · Fishes of Australia (Museums Victoria): Southern Saratoga, Scleropages leichardtiLegacy has no family.
FishBase: Scleropages leichardti summaryFishes of Australia 100 cm TL; FishBase 100 cm SL; Seriously Fish 90 cm SL. Larger figure used; commonly 50-60 cm.
Fishes of Australia (Museums Victoria): Southern Saratoga, Scleropages leichardti · FishBase: Scleropages leichardti summary · Seriously Fish: Scleropages leichardti (spotted Australian arowana) · Native Fish Australia: SaratogaFishBase gives a wild range of 24-40 °C.
Seriously Fish: Scleropages leichardti (spotted Australian arowana)Legacy has no hardness.
Seriously Fish: Scleropages leichardti (spotted Australian arowana)180 x 60 x 60 cm = 648 L absolute minimum per Seriously Fish.
Seriously Fish: Scleropages leichardti (spotted Australian arowana)Seriously Fish rates it moderate; Native Fish Australia says it is harder to keep than S. jardinii.
Seriously Fish: Scleropages leichardti (spotted Australian arowana) · Native Fish Australia: SaratogaLegacy has no range field.
Fishes of Australia (Museums Victoria): Southern Saratoga, Scleropages leichardti · Seriously Fish: Scleropages leichardti (spotted Australian arowana)Legacy "deeper-bodied female" supported; "longer jaw in males" not found.
Fishes of Australia (Museums Victoria): Southern Saratoga, Scleropages leichardti · FishBase: Scleropages leichardti summaryLegacy type says "mouthbrooder (male)"; the female broods.
Fishes of Australia (Museums Victoria): Southern Saratoga, Scleropages leichardti · Seriously Fish: Scleropages leichardti (spotted Australian arowana)Legacy egg count too low and wrong sex.
Fishes of Australia (Museums Victoria): Southern Saratoga, Scleropages leichardti · Native Fish Australia: Saratoga"Covered in red dots" corrected to orange/pink spots on a brown-olive, silver-sheened body. Leaping to catch insects is not stated as such in the sources (surface feeding and jumping when hooked are). IUCN Near Threatened (FishBase, 2019).
Fishes of Australia (Museums Victoria): Southern Saratoga, Scleropages leichardti · Native Fish Australia: Saratoga · Seriously Fish: Scleropages leichardti (spotted Australian arowana)The Queensland limits come from Native Fish Australia (undated page) and were not checked against current Queensland fisheries regulations. Australian live-export permit rules were not checked, so the legacy statement is not confirmed.
Native Fish Australia: Saratoga · FishBase: Scleropages leichardti summary