How to prepare an old oil palm plantation for fish breeding? 12/4/10
Dear Sir,
>Hello<
I am breeding some fish in Malaysia. I currently bought an Oil Palm Plantation which already non productive.
<Ahh, have seen the proliferation of such "mega plantations" on Saba>
By removing the palm tree, and clearing the location, now I start to dig a pond size of 30 x 60 feet.
The problem is that, the fish do not breed after 1 year, which my old pond having no problem.
So I started to use water to clean the base and find awfully smell coming up.
<Mmm, trouble>
I need your advice, what should I do, as I believe the previous oil palm chemical still there, and that cause the fish not breeding after so long.
Oxygen and PH is good.
--
Best Regards,
Kelvin Lau
<What species of fish/es are you trying to breed Kelvin? Have you tried digging further down to find "fresh" soil? Are you familiar w/ clays that can be applied, dished-in to make the basin inert? Bob Fenner>
Re: How to prepare an old oil palm plantation for fish breeding?   12/6/10
Dear Bob,
<Kelvin>
I am breeding Arowana Fish.
<... Scleropages formosus I take it... Are you maintaining females and males separately? Using hormone injection? What are you feeding? What is your method for reproducing?>
We tried to dig by washing away the smell and oil and taking out the roots of oil palm which bury quite deep. But need more solution, meaning after "washing", is there anything we can spray on, or any chemical needed to neutralize the soil.
I not familiar with using Clay.
<This... either "just" clean soil or a sealing kind. Read here re clays for pond sealing:
http://www.abcponds.com/ponds-information/bentonite-clay-pond-sealant.htm
BobF>

Scleropages jardinei, repro. info./input  -- 06/18/07 Mr. Fenner, <Well, it's Neale.> I have owned a jardinei for two years now. <Very good.> I would like to know if there is a definitive way to sex my fish. <No. Hobbyists sometimes refer to "longer fins" and "brighter colours" but there's no evidence at all that this is valid. Australian fish scientists simply maintain these fish have no reliable sex differences.> I learned the female of the species carries the fertilized eggs unlike the other types of Arowanas where the male is the one that does so. <Didn't know that. Thanks for sharing.> If this is the case, is the female jardinei the one with a more protruding lower jaw (is that a valid way of sexing)? <Apparently not.> Your assistance is appreciated. <It's a bit academic really, because these are by far the most territorial Arowanas, and you'd need a gigantic (i.e., public) aquarium to keep more than one specimen. Nice fish though.> Thank you, Adrian Espiritu <Cheers, Neale>

Greetings Halo Mr. Fenner Robert, <Greetings> I would like to introduce myself, my name is Dendi Sjafriadi, I live in Jakarta Indonesia. <Ah, I have been to many parts of your country and am visiting there (the Gilis, Lombok) this May...> I've been keeping animal mostly fish for about 15 years. I do this for hobby. After I seen your writing here I would like to know more about Asiatic Arowana ( Scleropages formosus ). At the moment I have 3 Asiatic Arowana which in Indonesia we called it Arowana. The colour is still dark gold ( maybe if it is older it will become red ). <How nice!> I raise it hoping I can breed them. <A worthy goal> But until know I don't have a writings which tell the different sex. <A bit hard to judge in Scleropages... but the "dissimilar jaws" measure still holds... go look at some mature individuals with an expert to help you.> In your writing above I don't get it clear. And for the picture you put above is the Silver Arowana. <I will check this, thank you> Thank you for the attention. Regards, Dendi <Bob Fenner>

Asian Arowana mouthbrooding I found a webpage that said that male Arowanas mouthbrood. I was not aware of this.  <This is so.> Would it be possible for you to send me a couple of references that describe the parental habits of Arowanas (scientific journals if possible)? Thank You S. Daly <Hmm, all I have on Bony Tongue fishes is cited (mainly "pet-fish") on the section of that name on the Freshwater part of the site: www.WetWebMedia.com... But there are also works on the site that detail how to "do" computer searches for bibliographic work (like Fishbase.org, BIOSIS, The Zoological Record...). Do read these over and seek help with a Reference Librarian in the Life Science section of a college library. Bob Fenner>

Arowana fish Hullo Robert, Yep, this is Ingrid ! Hoping you are well. George, my son, has a question for you. How can you tell the difference between the male and the female Arowana? <Ahh, the males jaws don't meet up evenly... it is the mouthbrooder of the two> By the way. His Arowana - doing flourishing. Many Thanks Best Wishes. Ingrid HAVE A LOVELY DAY! <Ah, good. Will endeavor, allow. Bob Fenner>