Black Arowana
Osteoglossum ferreirai
Parameter dashboard
24-30 °C
—
90 cm
20 years
Care guide
Almost nobody should buy this fish. FishBase gives Osteoglossum ferreirai a total length of 90 centimetres, and the IUCN account summarised on Wikipedia mentions individuals to 1.2 metres.
The black arowana belongs to the Rio Negro basin, including the Branco, in blackwater that FishBase records at 24-30 °C. Populations found in the Orinoco in the 1970s are still argued over as natural or introduced. Juveniles are easy to identify, black with yellow bars along the body and fins, and they lose the pattern at around 15 centimetres as the dark steel adult colour comes in.
It hunts at the surface with an upturned, drawbridge mouth, taking shrimp, insects and smaller fish, and it jumps at prey, so a heavy gap-free cover is not optional. Males mouthbrood as many as 210 eggs and release the fry at about seven centimetres.
A fish of this length needs a purpose-built tank rather than anything sold in a shop. Keep it alone.
Sources
- fishbase.us — https://www.fishbase.us/summary/Osteoglossum-ferreirai.html
- en.wikipedia.org — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_arowana
Further reading on identification and aquarium care.
Tankmate compatibility (sample)
Pairwise screening against other species in the database (prioritizing the same family when data is available).
Review first (11)
Caution or avoid from automated rules — confirm before mixing.
| Species | Assessment | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Arawana Osteoglossum bicirrhosum Caution | Caution | close relatives, and one of them is territorial, so both claim the same kind of space Open pair in Compare → |
| Black phantom tetra Hyphessobrycon megalopterus Caution | Caution | Fish 2x+ larger may eat smaller tankmates Open pair in Compare → |
| Desert goby Chlamydogobius eremius Caution | Caution | Fish 2x+ larger may eat smaller tankmates Open pair in Compare → |
| Nannoptopoma Nannoptopoma sternoptychum Caution | Caution | Fish 2x+ larger may eat smaller tankmates Open pair in Compare → |
| Oxyropsis Oxyropsis carinata Caution | Caution | Fish 2x+ larger may eat smaller tankmates Open pair in Compare → |
| Panda Uaru Uaru fernandezyepezi Caution | Caution | Fish 2x+ larger may eat smaller tankmates Open pair in Compare → |
| Red Cherry Rasbora Rasbora lacrimula Caution | Caution | Fish 2x+ larger may eat smaller tankmates · the two share only a narrow band of temperature, so one of them sits at the edge of its range Open pair in Compare → |
| Red phantom tetra Hyphessobrycon sweglesi Caution | Caution | Fish 2x+ larger may eat smaller tankmates Open pair in Compare → |
| Sailfin molly Poecilia latipinna Caution | Caution | Fish 2x+ larger may eat smaller tankmates Open pair in Compare → |
| Siamese flying fox Crossocheilus oblongus Caution | Caution | Fish 2x+ larger may eat smaller tankmates Open pair in Compare → |
| Blue-eye panaque Panaque suttonorum Avoid | Avoid | Fish 2x+ larger may eat smaller tankmates · Species with non-overlapping temperature ranges cannot coexist · the two share only a narrow band of temperature, so one of them sits at the edge of its range Open pair in Compare → |
1 species with compatible assessment in this sampleCollapse to hide the list; use “Open pair in Compare” for the full matrix.
| Species | Assessment | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Black ghost knifefish Apteronotus albifrons Compatible | Compatible | No rule-based conflicts detected for this pair. Open pair in Compare → |
Same rule engine as Compare. Not a substitute for observation, tank size, or acclimation.
Related species
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