Hello Everybody! first post here, i stumbled on the this web site while looking for information on arowanas and it looks great. i have always wanted an arowana since i found out about them 7 years ago and now i am going to finally set up a tank!!!!!

one thing is i really have not been able to find that much information on the jardini on the web in terms of care. there is an awsome deal going on at a LFS in chinatown for a 180 gal for 168 bucks!

so the tank i am going to be setting up in one week is 60"x25"30"tall 180gal with a fx5 filter and a 30gal DIY wet/dry sump.

i have always wanted a silver arowana but i know that once it starts to get over 30in i will have to up grade the tank. i have heard that the jardini will only grow to about 25in, is that true? will this tank work for the jardini its whole life? how long will it take a silver arowana to reach 30 in/how long to reach its full size and what would that be?

how long will it take the jardini to reach its full lengh and what is that?

how old are 5in silver and jardini arownas? that is how large they are in the LFS that i go to.

what should i read to get more info on the silver and the jardini? i want to know all there is to know!

thanks everybody!

well i went and talked to the guys at the LFS with the aussie arowanas and as it turns out they are leichardti! so if you could answer all of my qustions but in terms of the leichardti instead of the jardini i would really apperciate it!

Sclerpoages leichardti is not as easily found in most LFS's. Although, the Scleropages jardini is also a species coming from Australia, it is relatively more expensive. If you can get the leichardti, I say go for it.

Back to your question about whether you should get silver or jardini is concerned; that depends on how many you wish to keep. From my personal experience, you cannot keep Australians together.

Good luck and keep us posted.

I would definitely go for the lechardti is at all possible. They are bewteen Jardini and silver when it comes to body shape. Lechardtis are more slender compare to Jardini (closer to silver/black) and the fins are the same as Jardini. They are also not as mean as the Jardini when it comes to tankmates. My 16" jardini harasses everyone in the tank. Oh did I mention there is a pink spot on every scale on a Lechardti comparing to Jardini. As far as I know most of the Lechardti are wild caught. I haven't heard much about captive breeding for lechardti.

I think that it basically come down to what you want. If you are after a tank with only one fish in there then a Jardini/Leichardti if the way to go. If on the other hand you may want a Dat or two in there, maybe a nice big colorful Pleco in there like a sunshine or leopard cactus then Silver is the way to go. The major downside with Silvers is that it is very common, I would almost say inevitable that at some point they are going to develop drop eye. This is sad when it happens and hard to correct unless you have a tropical pond at your disposal or want to cover all the sides of your tank for a few months. Even then there are no guarantees. Silvers will generally not get over three feet in the home aquarium as they would in the wild. Jardinis/Leichardtis usually top out around 26 inches and that takes about five years with them reaching the 23 inch or so size by about two years of age. I've had them both, and they are both pretty cool and if I had to chose between them I would probably go with the Jardini/Leichardti. Beware though they are true predators and rarely tolerate any other fish in their tank from about when they reach 12 inches onward. Here are some pics of mine that I think I posted before but here they are again. Good luck choose wisely.

I would persoanlly go with the silver. They are MUCH cheaper. A 180g could hold one for a long time. They have very flexible bodies, so even at 36" they would still be alright in a 180g.. not optimal, but alright.. Especially since it seems you will have pretty adequete filtration. I would go with the silver if I were you. Either way make sure that 180g has tight lids!!

A lot of people dont like the silvers because they are more common, get drop eye, etc. but I they are still really cool fish. I agree that they jars are better looking, but somewhere along the lines most of us want something else in the tank with the aros. I have one of each, the silver is in a 180 with a bunch of SA cichilds, and the jar is in with some severums. The silver could care less about the other fish, but the jar is constantly picking on the severums, and he is only about 3" long.

You should look into getting a black grows much slower than a silver and no drop eye .You can also have tank mates with the jar or leich its risky. blacks are pricey but well worth it.

I'm from Australia and have kept all three personally the Jardini is ten times better looking than the lei a chunkier shorter fish with a nicer almost spoon head, but it really comes down to personal taste.

On the topic of Jar or Silver I'd go with Silver. The Silver is much more expensive over here but even if they were the same price i'd go Silver cause you can keep them with other fish, the Jar on the other hand will become more and more territorial as it gets older and kill everything in the tank with it eventually.

I would go with silver too. Jardini bit more pricey and a little aggressive. Eventhough silver grow bit bigger they look way kewl.