Im thinking of getting a little guy since I never had one before. Need to know what is its growth rate,acceptable foods,tank mates, etc. Please no links and reply if youve had personal experience with this fish. Thank you to who reply.

Get a really really big tank. They grow really fast. From a 4" lil' baby to a 20"+ big baby within 1 year. They grow to 6+ feet in captivity and even bigger in the wild and also a true tank buster. I used to keep 3 of them back in the Philippines. I keep them in a 20x20 feet and 5 feet deep outdoor pond. I also have a gator gar and some large catfish in there. I feed them with 2 feet long kois and some 12" live tilapia and walking catfish. You also need tp spend a lot of money keeping this giant. I would recommend not getting one as you will regret getting it. Although arapaima looks cool but they are not suppose to be keep in aquarium that is too small for them. Just get an arowana it's best for you.

I had a friend who owned one before and he said that they gorw fast and when they are big the need a least a 10 meter by 10meters x 10 meters to house 3 to 6

stingraymaster is well aware of eventual sizes I'm sure But it is good information on growth rate, diet, and the sizes of the enclosures you have kept them in King-eL.

Ya I want one but it grows to fast from what Im hearing. I was just gonna keep one till it got about 18in or so.Sounds like they grow as fast as oscars or even faster.

my mate had one too, (sorry i know you said personal experiounce only) but here goes...

yeh he had it for about 2 years in a 6x2x2 tank, from baby, i cant tell you teh exact size. But it was big and if it got scared it would created enough movement in the tank to slide the tank a bit (it was on wooden floors)
also it weighed 16 kilos when he sold it. (he was trying to sell it for ages but couldnt find a buyer for a while, felt sorry for the dude it needed way more space) Im sure its happy now.