How to Tell Male and Female Silver Arowana Apart

1 Sexing and Breeding Silver Arowana

1. How to sex silver arowana

Body size. At the same age males are larger than females, usually visibly so.

Pelvic fins. Males have longer, more pointed pelvic fins; females’ are shorter.

Belly. Mature females carrying eggs have a swollen belly a clear sign.

Head shape. After spawning the male holds the eggs in his mouth, so males tend to have larger heads.

Gills. Females show a clear ‘A’ on the gill; males also show an ‘A’ but it is irregular and the arrow part is longer.

These traits are clearest in the breeding season, when females’ bellies swell before ovulation and a fish holding eggs in its mouth is male.

2. Silver arowana breeding habits

They grow and mature slowly; females start breeding at about 6 years. Adults spawn 1-3 times a quarter, 200-300 eggs each time; the male mouthbroods the eggs, then guards the fry until they feed themselves. If there are too many eggs to hold, the female eats the extras.

Eggs hatch in about 40-50 days; newly hatched fry carry a yolk sac and live on it for about a week, needing no feeding until they grow into free-swimming young.

They choose their own mates; if you plan to breed, raise a pair together from a young age for free pairing.

After maturity, a paired male follows the female’s tail normal courtship and they swim side by side while spawning. If they fight in the breeding season, the pair failed and must be separated at once.

During breeding keep the temperature at 27-28 C in soft, weakly acidic, oxygen-rich water, and keep the setting quiet to avoid failure.