How long to adjust?

[joraejay]

Hello,

Just wondering how long will my austrailian arowana adjusts to my tank? He swims around with the lights turned off but when I'm around or when the lights are turned on, he hides behind the driftwood and doesn't come out.

I only had him for about a week and they only thing he eats are frozen blood worms and he only eats about 2-3 pieces of worms and he's really slow too and sometimes misses the blood worms in his mouth. My parrot fish eats the rest. I tried frozen kill and silversides but he doesn't go near them at all, seems like he's scared... LOL...

Should I try to put in live food? Like crickets or a molly?

Arowana:
Purchased 05/10/2010
Size: 7-8 inches

Tank mates:
3 blood parrots about 3-4 inces in size
2 blue crawdads

Tank info:
100 Gallon (temp until he's big enough to move to a bigger tank)
Fluval 405 no carbon but running purigen

Water Parameters are:
PH: 8.2
Amonnia: 0
Nitrite: 0
Nitrate: 0
Tested today 05/18/2010.

[VoidParadigm]

Just give him some time. When predatory fish are introduced to a new territory they need to make sure that YOU'RE not a bigger fish coming to stake out an area.

Sit nearby the tank, at his eye level or below, a couple minutes everyday. This will help the process go very slightly quicker, by the Aro realizing you're not a threat.

It may take days, it may take weeks, it may take months -> but eventually, one way or another he'll learn to accept he's safe in the new territory.

He likely is scared at the moment, in any case. New surroundings, new tankmates, new water - all extremely important things to fish, all suddenly changed.

All he needs is time... and to get a bit faster than those parrots. lol.

However! You should have some nitrates at this point. Very simply put; why don't you?

[joraejay]

Thanks for the reply, I guess I'm just a little impatient. LOL...

Yes, I had Nitrates a few weeks back but I put in the purigen packet and bi-weekly water changes that seemed to help zero everything out.

[Northernguy]

Some nitrates are actually good!
I try to keep them below 20ppm.I never have any issues.
When they get high a simple water change is all you need to do.