Arowana Information

Background

The Asian Arowana (scleropages formosus) is a fascinating primitive fish found in the Far East (Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand). Unlike its cousins the silver and the Australian Arowana, the Asian Arowana is an endangered species and is now protected by CITES. The fish was declared a Class 1 Endangered Species by CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species) in 1975. This is the same level of protection afforded to the African Rhino and the Asian Tiger. CITES reclassified the Asian Arowana in the 1980's, allowing for the commercial breeding of the fish in Indonesia. The hope was that local people would conserve wild fish stocks and breed the fish if there was an economic incentive. The program proved a success and commercial breeding later expanded to Singapore and Malaysia. All Asian Arowana legally for sale in the aquarium trade today are at least F2 offspring and are tagged with coded microchips called Passive Integrated Transponders (PIT). These microchips can be read with hand held scanners and allow the fish to be identified as farm bred animals. Along with the microchip, fish are also sold with a birth certificate that includes its microchip number and the name of the CITES registered fish farm where it was raised.The Asian Arowana is now widely bred in the Far East and can be legally traded subject to CITES regulations, one of which is that the fish must be microchipped to differentiate between a wild caught and a captive bred specimen.

Varieties

The Asian Arowana comes in different colour variations: green, red and gold although further variants have been produced through cross breeding to satisfy the ornamental fish trade.Currently Asian Arowana can be categorised in the following varieties:

Green Arowana
Banjar Red (Red Grade 2, Red Grade 1.5, Yellow Tail Green)
Red Tail Golden Arowana
Golden Crossback Arowana
Tong Yang
Red Grade 1 Arowana (Super Red, Chilli Red, Blood Red)

The combination of Chinese Feng Shui beliefs, its rarity and its protected status not to mention its majestic and powerful beauty has made this the most desirable fish to own and subsequently the most expensive as well, with prices ranging from several hundreds of pounds to in-excess of £200,000. Fortunately hobbyists can start with the more affordable green variety and progress to a more attractive variety when they are in a position to do so.

Care & Maintainance

Should be kept singly or in a community of at least 6 fish as they are territorial and will not tolerate other fish with few exceptions, but due to differences to personalities of Arowana it has been kept in smaller communities. Recommended minimun tank size for single Arowana is 5x2x2, but the bigger the better.Temperature between 27-30C is ideal. Clean filtered water with an active nitrogen cycle is essential. Weekly partial water changes are Important to growth and health of fish. Even though Arowana is a hardy fish, they are not tolerant of sudden changes in enviroments. When performing weekly water change which is always important, always match parameters of fresh water with that of aquarium water, i.e. water temps and PH. Water changes should be changed in small and frequent intervals rather than less frequent big changes as the sudden change can result in shock or even death to the Arowana. They can be housed in a planted tank or bare tank for ease of cleaning. Water of about PH6.4 - 6.8 is ideal but they can tolorate conditions ranging from a PH4 to PH8 but we always recommend as close to PH 7 as possible. A well fitting cover on the tank is always advisable as most Arowana loses happen from Arowana jumping out. It is a good idea to encase heaters in a heater protector as Arowana are powerful fish and can easily break one with disastrous consequences. Avoid sharp objects in the tank and bogwood should be pre-soaked before introduction to the tanks.

Feeding

Live foods are ideal although pellets have been used successfully, Crickets, mealworms, centipedes, frogs, Mussels, prawns, river shrimps, beefheart are all ideal for a varied diet. Live feeder fish could be used, but if you decide on feeder fish always quarantine to make sure as diseases could harm or even kill the Arowana. Fresh fish and shrimps from the local market can be cut into cubes to feed the Arowana but it may take several attempt of even starving them for several weeks before they will adapt to it. They should be fed twice daily when they are small and once daily when they reach 14" plus to maximise growth and colour, Fully Grown Arowana can even move on to alternate days of feeding. Aim to feed the fish 80% of what they normally eat, Over feeding can make the Arowana grow fast but can affect the fish in the long term. This is important for overall shape and good colour development.

Shipping & Insurance

We offer various shipping and shipping insurance for peace of mind during shipping of you valued Arowana, please enquire for further information.

We can also ship within the EU with special arrangements subject to booking availablity and recieving countries import regulations, costs apply due to cost of freight and complicated packing procedures.