#  >  > Living And Legal Affairs In Thailand >  >  > Farming & Gardening In Thailand >  >  The Asian Arowana  -  King of the Aquarium

## FarangRed

*The Asian Arowana  -         King of the Aquarium

*In Asia the arowana is        also known as dragon fish. Because of it's looks and it's mystical        powers.
The arowana is flying        trough the water like the dragon trough the sky.

 Asians believe        that owning an arowana means good luck for the business and will  bring wealth        and fortune.
Therefore many        shopkeepers and business owners take care of an arowana in their        houses.

The dragon fish is        probably the most expensive aquarium fish on earth and in my opinion the        most elegant too.
It's natural        habitat is in southeast asia. Especially in Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia.        Arowanas like slow river streams in the jungle.

Nowadays the arowana is        considered an endangered species and is a protected fish. 
 It is still possible        to get an arowana from an arowana breeding farm, where purchase is        legal.

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## FarangRed



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## FailSafe

The one I had for eight years died a couple of months ago- he was ~75cm and 6kg- great fish.

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## Kurgen

How much do they cost?

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## FailSafe

Baby silver arowanas are cheap and can be found for 800-1000 baht- full-grown red arowanas like the one pictured above (and some other colors) are considered lucky by the Chinese and can cost hundreds-of-thousands of baht (or more)- if you're ever near the tropical fish section of JJ Market there are some really nice (and expensive) examples on display.

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## FarangRed

> How much do they cost?


I paid a 800 baht for the silver ones a couple of months ago I bought 10 growing very nice

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## FarangRed



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## FarangRed

I also bought 3 about 2 years ago for the first time I ever had some and these I put in the outside pond I dont think they will grow any bigger

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## FarangRed



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## FailSafe

I had mine in an 83 gallon tank for a couple of years and it remained the same size for a while (~35cm)- it had a serious growth spurt when I put it in a koi pond- I believe (given enough space to grow) they can reach 90cm in captivity.

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## FarangRed

I read somewhere that there was a show in Thailand a couple of years ago and the first prize was a chilli red Arowana it sold for 100,000$

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## FailSafe

^

I believe it- I talked to the guy who runs the shop at JJ and he said the same thing (3mil baht)- crazy.

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## FarangRed

My friend went to Bangkok a few weeks ago he maybe went to the same shop he had some red arowana's small ones for 25,000 baht

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## FarangRed



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## Kurgen

hmmm, small ones for 800 baht, big ones for 100's of thousands+, beats buying a bar I spose.

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## FarangRed

What do you think?

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## Tickiteboo

> 


Absolutely beautiful .  Wouldn't mind having a pondful of 'em ! Stunning markings .

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## dirtydog

I remember in the news a couple of years ago, a family in Singapore had a pond with some of those fish in, their Thai maid and gardener ate one of them, it was valued at around 100,000baht, the singaporean family wasn't to happy.

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## FarangRed

> Originally Posted by FarangRed
> 
> 
> 
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> 
> Absolutely beautiful .  Wouldn't mind having a pondful of 'em ! Stunning markings .


When they get that big they have to be alone in the tank or with a nice Stingray, the arowana looks after the top and the stingray at the bottom

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## FarangRed

> I remember in the news a couple of years ago, a family in Singapore had a pond with some of those fish in, their Thai maid and gardener ate one of them, it was valued at around 100,000baht, the singaporean family wasn't to happy.


Mine are not worth that much but I have to watch the gardeners they know they are worth money even one of them, they always hanging around the pond, one of them is more than a couple of months wages to them

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## FarangRed



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## FarangRed

We dont get a problem with frogs

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## FarangRed



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## FarangRed



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## FarangRed

*Mystical Beliefs:-*
 *According to Chinese  		belief, dragon symbolizes prosperity, good fortune, strength and power.  		Many Geomancer or Feng Shui Masters believe that the Golden Arowana or  Dragon Fish can  		helps to ward off evil and misfortune.  Beside its mythical  		beliefs, Asian Golden Arowana or Dragon Fish also know for its beauty slender   		body and its distinct and large reflective scales which resemble the  		majestic and mighty dragon.*

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## grasshopper

Grilled, fried in breadcrumbs or beer batter, steamed? Which is better?

C'mon now, dont be koi! ::spin::

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## drawp

I never understood the obsession with these, I'd take some random catfish over these ugly things any day of the week.

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## TafkaB

Gorgeous fish, but I do prefer the silver arrowana body shape, that bit longer, more graceful and longer fins. Shame they don't have the colour of the Goldens.

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## Lozman51

Thanks for the pictures...............sooay mak mak

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## who

.
-     What enchanting coloring.
.

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## who

.....beats buying a bar I spose.

-----owning a bar is fun...if your liver can take it.
.

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## who

Gorgeous fish, but I do prefer the silver arrowana body shape, that bit longer, more graceful and longer fins.
.
I agree.  A famous old restaurant in San Francisco had one in a brightly lit tank against a black wall.  Stunning.
.

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## who

I paid a 800 baht for the silver ones a couple of months ago I bought 10 growing very nicely.

What do you feed them ?

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## FarangRed

The ones outside eat anything, I do give the live food and prawns.

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## TafkaB

Lots of insects and similar low fat fare is the best for them. Pellets as a staple diet with some live food thrown in a couple of times a week. 

I used to have a small silver arrowana about 15 yrs ago now, and on the top of the tank (the water was lowered) I had a piece of floating cork bark. I used to feed it by dropping crickets on the bark, the arrowana would come along, watch them for a bit, line himself up, wind up his tail, then launch himself out of the water to make the catch.

You could probably train those arrowanas in the pond to leap up and take insects off the end of piece of bamboo if you wanted to give them a party trick and really show off their skills.

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## FarangRed

I get the ones in the pond jumping for food, I all sorts of food for them.

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## FarangRed



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## FarangRed



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## FarangRed



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## FarangRed



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## FarangRed



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## Carrabow

> What do you think?


Excellent?

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## TafkaB

Nice fish farangred, but couldn't you afford any gravel?

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## drawp

how do the angels get along with the arrows?  I always thought arrows were a bit too aggressive for something like those, especially in a tank like that I'd think that'd be bad news especially with no real hiding places

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## FarangRed

I did buy them at the same time and it's now 3 months ago the Angels fight each other

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## drawp

Right, I figured they'd fight amongst each other, Angels are always too chickensh-- to fight with a larger fish.  I certainly doubt one of them would ever have the courage to go after an arrow.

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## TafkaB

Angels will only attack another fish for territory, dominance over their own species or to defend their young, and the arrowanas are no threat to them now. Once they get bigger they'll soon gobble up the angels though.

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## GRUMPY

Sparks Fly Over Dragon Fish
*Zubaidah Nazeer & Leester Kong -Straits Times Indonesia*  |  October 16, 2011


Known as the dragon fish for its resemblance to the Chinese dragon, the  arowana is prized by those who believe that keeping a tankful of the  shimmering fish at home brings prosperity.

'The arowana gives you  a strong feeling when you look at it. It's an auspicious creature with  an air of mystery,' said Malaysian breeder Evelyn Ong.

Now, the arowana might be prompting strong feelings and a mystery of another kind.

A  plan by Malaysia to patent the so-called Malaysian Golden arowana is  drawing howls of protest from Indonesian breeders, who said the fish may  actually be a cross-breed that originated from their country.

Indonesia  is now racing to patent its arowana varieties, of which there are four,  to protect its share of the global market in ornamental fish.

'We  want this fish stated as ours because it is a part of our national  treasure,' said Stephen Suryaatmadja, the chairman of Arowana Club  Indonesia, which has more than 3,000 members. 'Why should anyone else  lay claim to our natural resources?'

Sparks Fly Over Dragon Fish | The Jakarta Globe

Article continues in the link

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