Silver Arawana

About

The silver arawana (Osteoglossum bicirrhosum) is a fish that has remained largely unchanged since the Jurassic Period, and it carries that prehistoric quality in every detail. The long, sinuous body covered in large reflective scales, the upturned mouth built for hunting at the surface, and the sheer size it eventually reaches. Native to the Amazon basin and a handful of other South American river systems, it spends much of its life patrolling the upper water column, using that distinctive upward-angled jaw to snatch fish, large insects, and reportedly even small animals from overhanging branches. Documented leaps of nearly two meters out of the water are not exaggerations, which means a very secure, heavy lid is non-negotiable. Despite being listed as beginner-level in terms of water chemistry tolerance, it handles a wide range of conditions and can cope with low oxygen environments, the honest reality is that this species is a poor fit for the vast majority of home aquariums. Juveniles are widely sold in the trade, but the scarcity of privately-kept adults tells the real story. With adults routinely reaching two to three feet, it needs a truly enormous setup. It can coexist peacefully with fish too large to eat, but it is territorial with its own kind and incompatible with smaller or more delicate tankmates. This is a fish for dedicated keepers with serious space.