Maintenance of Fry

During the incubation period the fry do not need to be fed. The fry will swim freely on the 7th week. Supplementary external live feed such as young guppys or bloodworm can be given at the early free-swimming stage to prevent the fry from attacking each other. The fry are very vigorous feeders and should be provided with ample supply of feed. We recommend a partial water change of about 30% of total tank volume every 2- 3 days to maintain water quality.
Bigger fry of about 10 -12cm in length can be fed with freshwater prawn or chopped fish meat to accelerate their growth rate. At 4 months in age we rear fingerlings individually in 75 x 45 x 45cm aquariums to avoid physical defects from fighting with siblings. To enhance the colour and promote the formation of chromatophores we suggest to illuminate with artificial lighting at least 10 -12 hours a day. After 6 -7 months of free-swimming the fry measure about 20 -25cm in length and are suitable for market.

Hatching Technique

Once removed from the male's mouth, the half-developed larvae are incubated in glass aquarium tanks, measuring 90 x 45 x 45 cm. Water temperature is kept around 27 - 29°C using a thermostat heater and dissolved oxygen is maintained at about 5 ppm (mg/l) through continuous gentle aeration of the water. We generally add about 2 ppm of Acriflavine solution to the water to prevent infection of any injuries suffered by the larvae during handling. Using this in vitro hatching technique, the survival rate to free swimming stage is generally about 90 - 100%.
During the first few weeks when the larvae still have a large yolk sac, they tend to remain at the bottom of the tank most of the time. The fry start to swim upward periodically when the yolk sac becomes smaller. On the 8th week the yolk sac is nearly fully absorbed and the fry start to swim horizontally. At this stage the first live food should be given to the fry. The yolk sac is fully absorbed and the fry become free- swimming at about 8.5cm in length.

Fry Harvest

The incubation period (time from fertilisation until the fry are released) is normally about 8 weeks. To shorten the period the fertilised eggs can be hand removed from the male's mouth on the 30th day after spawning. The brooding male should be carefully caught with a fine net and covered with a wet cotton towel to avoid injury and struggling.
The lower jaw of the fish is pulled backward slowly and the body is shaken slightly to release the half developed larvae from the male's mouth. The larvae are collected in a plastic basin and incubated in an aquarium. The number of the fertilised eggs collected in a single brood is usually about 20 - 35 larvae.

Brooding Male

After mating a brooding male can be identified by a distended operculum and its swimming behaviour. They don't seem to feed and look more placid than at other times. A brooding male can also be recognised by a remarkable brood pouch located at the underside of its mouth.

Spawning Behavior

The arowana shows very unique behaviour during courtship. Courtship takes place from several weeks to months before the pair starts to mate. The courtship sequences usually are observed at night when the fish tend to swim closer to the water surface. The male chases the female around the perimeter of the tank and sometimes the pair circle each other nose-to-tail. About one to two weeks before spawning takes place, the fish swim side by side with their bodies touching. Eventually the female releases a cluster of orange-red eggs.
The male fertilises the eggs and then scoops them into its mouth where it incubates them until the fry can swim and survive independently. The eggs are about 8 -10 mm in diameter and rich with yolk and hatch about one week after fertilisation. After hatching, the young larvae continue to live in the male's mouth for a further 7 - 8 weeks until the yolk sac is totally absorbed. The fry leave the mouth and become independent when they reach about 4550mm.

Earthworm for the Arowana

Earthworms are a favorite and are eagerly taken. They are very healthy and nutritious with minimal risk of disease transmission. Earthworms can be collected with the use of use some potassium permanganate by dissolving the crystals in a bucket of water until the water turns medium purple in color. Pour the water onto an area where you think the worms have burrowed and wait a short while. Within a couple of minutes, if there are any worms, they will be popping up out of the ground. The effects of the potassium permanganate on Arowana has yet to be studied. I would recommend against its use. Make sure that no insecticides are used in the place where you catch your earthworms. Feeding the earthworm with nutritious food to clear the soil and transfer the nutrient is highly recommanded.

king red asian arowana

King Arowana can come in any colour variety. It is a deformity caused by damage to the fry resulting in compression and breakage of the upper vertebrae.

This result is this striking but unusually regular deformity in the back that some consider to be majestic. They are highly sought after and the price of the fish can be significantly increased by this occurring.

Waiting lists for King Arowana can be huge as often there are several customers waiting for the deformity to occur and purchase the young immediately on reaching a saleable age.

Chili Red Arowana

Rarity will be the biggest factor. Consider this however. Typically as a marketed fish, your RTG's and Blood or Chilli Red's are going to command the biggest prices. Several factors are involved here.

The beauty and splendor of these fish are another factor. They are generally kept and bred in large outdoor ponds. Being an endangered species, it's rather important to ensure the survival of each particular group. In Asia itself, through culture, the red and gold colors symbolize luck and prosperity, and thus have a higher local value.

Super Red Arowana

It is also one of the more popular fish among Asian Arowanas, largely because of their auspicious color.With its full red fins even when young and red lips and barbels, no hobbyists will be able to resist the temptation to own one of them. It is believed that it will bring prosperity and wealth to the owner. There are few different varieties of Red Arowanas namely Blood Red, Chili Red, Orange Red and the Golden Red. In recent years, Chili Red, Blood Red, Orange Red and Golden Red are grouped together and termed Super Red or `First Grade Red'

Malaysian Golden

The most expensive and most colorful Arowana in the world originated from Malaysia is the Malaysian Golden Arowana. It is currently one of the most expensive color specimen for the Asian Arowana. There are many verities of the Malaysian Golden Arowana, 1st the Golden Arowana can be identified by observing the scale metallic based color and 2nd its can be identified by the level of goldenness around the scale, fully golden or all round golden is know as cross back, half golden is know as high back and golden quality between the cross back and the high back is known as super high back.

Types of Arowana

Silver and Black arowana are from South America, there is the homely African aro, the Australian Jardini, and as for Asian arowana the green, red tailed golden, and red are natively from Indonesia and the Crossback Golden from Malasia, which are also called the Malasian Golden, or Malasian Bonytongue. All the Asian arowana are scientifically reffered to as "Scleropages formosus" The other fancy names you hear like Electric Blue, Violet Fision, Chili Red just to name a few are just names given to usually either the red or crossback arowana for marketing purposes. Selective and crossbreeding methods have been used by arowana farms to produce specific desired results in Arowana. The majority of fish you're hearing about here are some colour variation of either the red or crossback. Somebody please correct me if i'm wrong

Blood Red Arowana

The Asian arowana comprises several varieties of freshwater fish in the genus Scleropages. Some sources differentiate these varieties into multiple species, while others consider the different strains to belong to a single species, Scleropages formosus. They have several other common names, including Asian bonytongue, dragon fish, and a number of names specific to different varieties.
Native to Southeast Asia, Asian arowanas inhabit blackwater rivers, slow-moving waters flowing through forested swamps and wetlands. Adults feed on other fish, while juveniles feed on insects. These popular aquarium fish have special cultural significance in areas influenced by Chinese culture.  The name dragon fish stems from their resemblance to the Chinese dragon. This popularity has had both positive and negative effects on their status as endangered species.

Beauty of PinoyArowana

A Pinay shines no matter where she goes, like the dragon fish. A most prized and expensive creature. A pinay from a land of variety from the range of nature green,silver to red. A country from different nations, the whole world in one blood.