All fish / Arapaimidae

African Arowana

Heterotis niloticus

Also known as african bonytongue, heterotis, nile arowana, african arawana, african arowana heterotis, slapjack, อะโรวาน่าแอฟริกา, ヘテロティス, ナイルアロワナ, arwana afrika, 非洲龙鱼, 非洲黑龙

A long, heavy bodied bonytongue with dark brown to grey colouring, small eyes and long dorsal and anal fins set far back near a rounded tail. Unlike Asian and South American arowanas it feeds largely by sifting food from the substrate and water, using a special gill organ. Keepers of big public or monster fish tanks value it as an unusual, fairly hardy oddball.

Care at a glance

Care level

Hard

Temperament

Semi

Adult size

60 cm

Temperature

24 to 30 °C

pH

6 to 7.5

Smallest tank

2000 litres

Keep as

Singly, or as a group in very large systems

Diet

Omnivore: sinking pellets, insects, worms, shrimp and plant matter; filters plankton and detritus in the wild

Swims

Middle of the tank

Lifespan

10 to 15 years

Water

Freshwater

Wild range

West and Central Africa: Nile, Niger, Volta, Senegal, Gambia and Lake Chad basins

Breeding

In the wild pairs build a large circular nest in flooded marshland vegetation and guard the eggs and young. Breeding in home aquariums is essentially unknown, though it is bred in ponds for aquaculture in Africa.

Good to know

Grows to around 1 m in the wild and is a powerful jumper, so it needs an enormous, tightly covered tank or indoor pond. It has been introduced outside its range for food farming and should never be released.