Australian Bonytongue

About

The Australian Bonytongue (Scleropages jardinii) is a large, predatory arowana native to the still backwaters, swamps, and vegetated shorelines of northern Australia and central-southern New Guinea. In those habitats it cruises near the surface, hunting a broad range of prey including insects, frogs, small fish, and crustaceans. A feeding strategy it carries directly into aquarium life. Compared to its Asian relatives, it has noticeably smaller scales, a higher lateral scale count, a more sloping head profile, downward-angled barbels, and a warm bronze base color rather than silver. The patterning is more subdued than the Asian arowanas, and it generally commands less of a premium, but it is every bit as impressive in terms of size and presence. What sets this species apart in a hobbyist context is its temperament. It is widely regarded as the most combative arowana kept in aquariums, highly territorial and often intolerant of any tankmates at all. Mixing it with other fish requires careful selection of robust, similarly sized species like large catfish or cichlids, and keeping it with others of its own kind is only practical with very large groups in genuinely enormous systems. For most keepers, a single specimen is the realistic approach. It is a mouthbrooder, with the female carrying and guarding the brood. An unusual arrangement within the arowana family.