curbing aggression generally with natually aggressive fish

king of the aquarium: The somewhat humble arowana. I could almost attest to this fish being the king of the jungle.

The species of the silver arowana is Osteoglossum bicirrhosum.

These fish can jump a meter high, they are considered prehistoric ( and have that appearance also).

These fish are only recommended for advanced fish keepers, as their size once mature is quite overwhelming. I am guessing they become 2-4 feet.

They are highly predatory, In a massive tank or aquarium environment (300+ gallons) specimens of smaller size can be housed with success!

Remember this article is about curbing aggression. Thus,keeping these fish heavily fed will help bigtime with the curbing of aggression,not only that, but by feeding heavy, you are raising your probability that the smaller of the bunch that are kept together, can also get their share of morsels.

Arowanas thrive it seems on eating live and whole fish. Some children and some adults of course would have a hard time 'stomaching' this reality,but it is a fact of life. Arowanas do not bring with them remorse when it comes to table manners ,or for that matter, what is on their menu. Basically anything remotely close to fitting in their mouth will be arowana food.

I think i have kept large oscar fish before with medium sized arowanas with little problem. Oscar was probaly not too happy, as they in themself like to be territorial.

Summary: curbing aggression is done in 3 key ways.

1. Allow as much room and space as can be possibly afforded ( invest in a larger fish aquarium) ,if you will be expecting to keep aggressive fish.

2.Feeding frenzy: The more frequently you feed your fish,the more likely they are to ignore and so not harass other tank mates( 95% of well fed fish's bellies will bloat slightly,, taking on a pregnant appearance) Again if a fish is eating heavily , it will more often than not show in his tummy.

3.Temperature. Many tropical fish who prefer( room temperature 24c to the higher end-30c)well, for the fish who do better in 28-30 ( oscar and angelfish are examples, also african cichlids) my general rule is .. the higher the water temp, the higher the fish's metabolism and thus , the hotter the water, the more aggressive fish will be and want to eat.With this in mind, if you are having problems with aggression,think about reducing your water temperature, but only down to room temperature.

Note: Goldfish are not aggressive so we won't get into below room temperature.

4. Once in a blue moon ..or once in a bad gene pool. fishes of varying species can be prone to becoming what is called a 'rogue' fish . Often they are the isolated one of the bunch, and might tend to pick on other fish out of spite. This is just a theory, i have no hard proof of what i am suggesting.

5. This ties into 1. but if money is a limiting factor or even time, meaning you cannot afford or take the time to get your fish a larger aquarium than , having shelter in the aquarium can help aggressive fish claim something as their territory , giving the smaller runt fish a better livelihood, just note that, by adding shelter ,in my opinion you are shrinking your overall tank size, by how ever much shelter you decide to use.

If you're a highly skilled fish keeper, choosing live plants for shelter would be the way to go (in certain applications , plants can help aid in filtering and cleaning your water, while at the same time,being something for hungry fish to graze microorganisms off of.

Driftwood is a good addition if you have Pleco fish. The natural tannins given off , will tint your water, a yellowy-orange, although they are harmless, they could in theory lower the PH( this is just my theory and i could be terribly wrong with the PH drop). Plecos will gnaw the driftwood.Plecos are barely ever aggressive. During nighttime there have been rumours about plecos eating fry or offspring of other fish, under more random circumstances though, rather than because they are being aggressive. Final note with plecos: heavy filtration is needed as when plecos of any species are heavily fed, it seems their waste and nitrogen levels they give off from excretion tends to be high( you know what im talking about if you've seen it too)

Ok,Thank you for reading. This would conclude my only partial article( covering the basics) for curbing aggression.

If anyone wants to share opinions or ask questions on this hub article or any other questions,,more about myself perhaps.. please shoot me a note over to my 2002 hotmail account "richard_fish_master@hotmail.com"