What Do Arowana Eat? A Practical Feeding Guide
Arowanas are large, surface-hunting carnivores that need a varied, protein-heavy diet scaled to their fast growth. This guide covers exactly what to feed, how much, how often at each life stage, and the feeding mistakes that cause the most common health problems in captivity.
What Arowana Eat in the Wild
Arowanas are ambush predators found in the slow rivers and floodplains of South America, Africa, Asia, and Australia, depending on species. In their natural habitat they patrol just under the surface and eat:
- Insects, including those that fall or are knocked from overhanging branches
- Crustaceans such as shrimp
- Small fish
- Occasionally small birds, lizards, or bats snatched off low branches
Their famous jumping ability exists precisely because they hunt this way — arowana can leap a considerable distance out of the water to snatch prey above the surface. That same instinct is important to remember at feeding time in a home aquarium, covered below in the jumping-safety section.
Which Arowana Species You Can Legally Feed in the US
Before planning a diet, it's worth being clear on which arowana US hobbyists can actually own. Asian arowana (Scleropages formosus), often called dragon fish, are prized for their coloration and cultural significance — they carry feng shui and luck symbolism in some Asian markets, and rare color forms command very high prices due to that rarity and demand. However, Asian arowana are listed under the federal Lacey Act and are illegal to own in the United States.
The species legally available to US hobbyists are:
- Silver arowana (Osteoglossum bicirrhosum)
- Black arowana (Osteoglossum ferreirai)
- Jardini/Australian arowana (Scleropages jardinii)
- Various legally bred hybrid varieties
Everything below applies to these legal species. You can browse available specimens in FishyHub's monster fish category.
Core Diet Components
A healthy arowana diet is built from several food types rotated regularly, not one staple fed forever.
Live Foods
Many keepers prefer live food because it triggers natural hunting behavior and keeps an active predator engaged. Good options include:
- Crickets and roaches
- Mealworms and superworms
- Earthworms
- Whole prawns/shrimp
- Occasional feeder frogs, used more for enrichment than as a regular staple
Farm-raised insects are safer than wild-caught ones, which can carry pesticide residue or parasites from an unknown environment.
Frozen and Thawed Foods
Frozen silversides, shrimp, krill, and bloodworms (the latter mainly for juveniles) make a safer staple than live feeder fish, since they carry a lower disease risk. Always fully thaw and rinse frozen food before offering it — cold, un-rinsed food can cause digestive upset.
Pellets
A high-quality sinking or floating carnivore pellet — formulated for large cichlids or specifically for arowana, with 32–40%+ protein — can and should form a base portion of the diet once a fish is trained onto it. Pellets reduce both cost and the disease risk that comes with constant live feeding. FishyHub's food and supplements section and freeze-dried food range are worth browsing when building out a rotation.
A Sample Weekly Rotation
| Day | Food Offered |
|---|---|
| Mon | Carnivore pellets |
| Tue | Whole prawn or shrimp |
| Wed | Crickets or roaches |
| Thu | Frozen, thawed silversides |
| Fri | Carnivore pellets |
| Sat | Earthworms or mealworms |
| Sun | Fast day (adults only) or pellets (juveniles) |
How Much Pellet Is Too Much?
Sources disagree on this point, and it's worth addressing directly. Some hobbyists feed pellets as the near-exclusive diet once a fish accepts them; others warn that pellet-heavy feeding is linked to drop-eye and digestive issues like a protruding anus. A sensible middle ground: pellets can reasonably make up 50–70% of total intake, with the remainder split between live, frozen, and whole-prey protein to round out nutrition and preserve natural feeding behavior.
Feeding Frequency and Portions by Age
Frequency should track growth stage and size rather than a single fixed number, since needs change dramatically as an arowana matures.
| Life Stage | Approx. Size | Feeding Frequency |
|---|---|---|
| Juvenile | Under 8–10 in (20–25 cm) | 2x per day |
| Subadult | Growing toward adult size | 1x per day |
| Adult | 24 in (61 cm) and up | 3–5x per week, or every other day |
Arowana grow fast — a juvenile can reach 12+ inches in its first year alone — so tank size has to scale right along with the feeding schedule. Adults need at minimum a 250–300+ gallon (950–1,135+ liter) tank at least 6 feet (183 cm) long. If you're planning ahead for that footprint, FishyHub's glass tank selection is a place to compare large-format options.
For portions, arowana generally self-regulate: offer only what's consumed within a few minutes, and stop once the fish loses interest. That said, chronic overfeeding — even of food the fish will accept — still leads to obesity and drop-eye over time.
Prey Size and Choking Prevention
Any live or whole food should be no larger than the width of the arowana's mouth. Oversized prey is a common cause of regurgitation or, worse, choking. When in doubt, size food down rather than up, especially for juveniles that are still growing into their gape.
Fasting Tolerance
A healthy adult arowana can go 2–3 weeks without food with no lasting harm. This is useful to know if you're traveling, but it isn't a feeding strategy — routine skipped meals for a growing or subadult fish will slow growth and increase stress-related aggression.
Feeder Fish: Use With Caution
Feeder goldfish and minnows are still recommended by some older hobbyist sources, but more current, welfare-conscious guidance discourages using them as a regular staple. The concerns are real: feeder goldfish are high in fat, carry thiaminase (which breaks down thiamine), and are a common disease vector, especially from unknown or wild-caught sources.
If you do use feeder fish:
- Quarantine them for at least 2 weeks before offering them
- Use them sparingly, not as a daily staple
- Never feed wild-caught fish from unknown water
Supplements and Color Enhancement
Because a mono-diet — even an accidental one — creates nutritional gaps, an occasional vitamin or mineral soak (vitamin C or a general multivitamin applied to feeder foods) helps fill in what a narrow rotation might miss.
Some keepers also feed centipede-type foods or certain crustaceans in the belief that they enhance red or gold coloration through carotenoids like astaxanthin. The anecdotal evidence for this is mixed at best — genetics and overall diet quality matter far more than any single "color food," so treat these as a minor supplement rather than a color guarantee.
Predatory Fish Keeping Fundamentals
Arowana are a classic "monster fish," and their care assumes an owner who's comfortable with a few realities:
- Live and whole-prey feeding is part of normal care, not an occasional novelty.
- Secure lids are non-negotiable. Arowana are powerful jumpers and will leap at food from the surface, or lunge when startled — an uncovered tank is a leading cause of preventable arowana deaths.
- Tankmate selection matters. Avoid anything small enough to be swallowed, and avoid fin- or barbel-nippers, since arowana barbels and scales are sensitive and slow to heal.
Transitioning to Prepared Foods
Newly imported or wild-caught arowana are often reluctant to accept prepared food at first. Patience is key: introduce pellets or frozen food alongside familiar live food, reduce the live portion gradually over several weeks, and expect some food-shyness after transport or a tank move. Don't switch foods abruptly — a sudden diet change is itself a common cause of temporary refusal to eat.
Common Feeding Mistakes
- Feeding only pellets or only one live food type long-term, causing nutritional deficiencies and dull color
- Overfeeding fatty feeders like goldfish, leading to obesity, fatty liver, and drop-eye
- Offering oversized prey, causing regurgitation or choking
- Skipping quarantine on feeder fish or insects, introducing parasites or bacteria
- Underfeeding juveniles, which slows growth and can increase aggression
- Leaving the tank uncovered, resulting in fatal jumps
- Switching diets abruptly, triggering food refusal
Frequently Asked Questions
Can arowana eat only pellets?
Yes, with training an arowana can be maintained largely on pellets. That said, a varied diet that still includes some live or frozen protein is healthier long-term and helps avoid the digestive issues linked to pellet-only feeding.
How often should I feed my arowana?
Juveniles do best on two feedings a day to fuel rapid growth, subadults on one feeding daily, and full-grown adults on roughly three to five feedings a week, or every other day, since their metabolism slows once growth levels off.
Are feeder goldfish safe?
Only as an occasional, quarantined treat. Feeder goldfish are high in fat and carry thiaminase and disease risk, so they're not recommended as a regular staple.
Why is my arowana's eye drooping?
Drop-eye is usually caused by the fish spending too much time looking downward, often from feeding at the surface repeatedly or from an excess of fatty or pellet-heavy food. Adjusting feeding position, diet composition, and sometimes tank depth can help.
How big do arowana get, and how does that affect feeding?
Many legal species reach 24–36+ inches, so both portion sizes and tank volume need to scale with growth. Check the specific size range for your species before committing to long-term feeding and housing plans.
Can I keep an Asian arowana in the US?
No. Asian arowana (Scleropages formosus) are banned under the federal Lacey Act. Only non-Asian species — silver, black, jardini/Australian, and legally bred hybrids — are available to US hobbyists.
What live foods boost arowana color?
Certain crustaceans and centipede-type foods are popular anecdotally for enhancing red or gold tones, but the evidence is mixed. Genetics and overall diet quality have a much bigger impact on coloration than any single food.
How long can an arowana go without eating?
A healthy adult can typically go two to three weeks without food with no harm. This is useful context for travel, but it shouldn't be treated as a routine feeding practice.
Ready to plan a feeding setup for your own fish? Browse legal arowana varieties and feeding supplies in FishyHub's monster fish category.
