My peacock bass is attacking my arowana. How can I separate them?

Thanks for reaching out about your arowana. These are tough fish to co-habitat in an aquarium as they tend to eat other fish and can be territorial. Introduced fish must be large enough to not appear as prey and not too timid, or will hide and not compete for food. This readily depend on how large your arowana is at present. Good luck.

That would depend on the size of your tank and the size of the oscars. Arowanas need a lot of space usually. I have seen them successfully being kept with arowanas before, but the oscars must be at least the same size of their mouth, not smaller. Unfortunately there are not fixed ruled and the only way would be to try them out together. Hope this answer was helpful, but please do not hesitate to contact us again on the forum or by requesting a consultation if you have any more questions or to discuss it any further.

Arowanas need large tanks due to their size. They also require powerful filtration to maintain water quality. Water changes will also be critical to water quality since they produce a lot of wastes. Use only conditioned water that is temperature matched to prevent stress or shock. A home test kit should also be used to monitor water chemistry. Minimum tank size should be between 130 and 150 gallons. Adults will need larger tanks. Keep a cover in place as they are accomplished jumpers. They should be kept in "soft" water and, being tropical fish, maintain temps between 75 F and 86 F. Feed a varied and balanced diet including krill, shrimp, mealworms, nightcrawlers and feeder fish. Food can be fresh, frozen (thaw it first) or freeze dried. Lastly, these are aggressive fish, so tank mates must be chosen carefully, if at all.

Thanks for reaching out about your aquarium. Parrot fish do possess teeth-like apparatus on the upper and lower jaw, capable of chewing invertebrates and coral. Using tongs to reach in for plants and other "furniture". Adding a male flower horn could interrupt the dynamics of the group, but also they could get around well. Human bite wounds from fish can possibly lead to infections from the water column, so cleaning your hands with soap and water anytime you enter your hands into the tank is recommended. When adding new fish, especially if concerned about aggression, providing plenty of hiding spots is important and monitoring the fish for aggression is mandatory. Be prepared to remove fish if aggression occurs. Good luck.

It needs to be separated into a hospital tank by itself so it can be treated and heal. If you leave it in the main tank, the others will continue to pick and nip until it dies. Maintain pristine water quality and chemistry during treatment. You can use a broad spectrum antibiotic for 10-14 days to treat infection. You can find one, such as Maracyn 1 or 2, Kanaplex or Furan, in the aquarium section of the local Petco. Follow label directions carefully and remove the carbon filter insert during treatment if indicated.

Cichlids in general are quite aggressive. If you have two males, this may compound the aggression. Tou can add some more plants and cover to provide hiding spots. If that doesn't work, a larger tank may be indicated. If a larger tank doesn't work, you may need to keep the aggressor separate.

Unfortunately, aggression between species of fish is not uncommon. I am not sure if this is a new finding, or if anything has changed in the dynamic in your school of fish (any new introductions or any deaths of fish), but this often can then change how the rest of the fish interact with one another. You can try to give the platy places to hide and escape from the guppy, or you can end up dividing the tank. If you do not want to add dividers, you can also separate the guppy into another tank as well. I hope that gives you a place to start, and good luck!