Since my other thread is locked for some reason, i will post this new thread:
For those of you that are not familar with arowanas, here is some GENERAL information:
1) arowanas are supposed to be very old fishes, they are in south america, asian, australia and africa. Each one of these countries has there own arowanas but they are "different" for example, the south americans have long anal and dorsal fins compared to the rest, etc.
This is weird becasue some scientists say it supports the "continental drift theory". This was the theory that all countries were one big mass, then with tectonic plates moving, etc. our conteninets look the way they do now. So with south america, africa, etc. they are all "the same family" so to speak, but yet they are so different and from different parts of the world.
2) south americans can grow 3-4 feet in wild but around 2 feetish in the aquariums. The asians are smallest, jardinis (australias) are meaner more teritorial. All of these require BIG BIG tanks when full grown.
3) feeding, when small they eat guppies, when larger they eat comet goldfishes, when larger, you can even feed them frogs. <some people beleive that feeding live foods will enhance there colors> i dont know if you can feed them a mice, but anything is possible, although it might hurt the arowana if the mouse fights back <shrug>
4) ONLY ASIAN AROWANAS ARE ILLEGAL IN THE U.S. You can buy jardinis, silvers, etc. in some LFS. The asian arowanas are illegal because they are on CITES list and on endangered species list. however they are legal in canada.
The "super red" asian arowanas can get $1000-2000 for a baby (3-4 inches). The bigger they get they can get more expensive, i have heard of full grown red arowanas going for $10,000+ EASY! So yes they can become expensive to buy. The demand for them is very high too, and the arowana farms in malaysia etc. can't keep up with the demand.
When it comes to asian arowanas it can get confusing with all the different grades, etc. so i dont want to get too specific in it.
baby south americans can go for $15-$25 each, baby jardinis can go for $40 each. So these are much cheaper.
5) may people (asians in particular) believe that arowanas are good luck and bring fortune. Its mysticism/supersitition, some say feung shui.
They also bring on good conversations like piranhas. When people see a long fish that looks like a snake or eel and never seen it, it can be interesting. When they eat, they have a "whipping action" and strikes at the target kind of like a snake. i have also heard of a "wherling action" where the arowana circles the goldfish very fast which creates a suction and then boom, it strikes it while the goldfish is confused trying to keep balance from being sucked.
They are also notorious jumpers and thats how they eat in the wild! so keep bricks to keep the hood down so they dont "bust out" of your tank.
Geez, i been typing for a while now and there is still so much to be said, but i will leave it at this for now and if anybody wants to add to it, feel free.
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For those of you that are not familar with arowanas, here is some GENERAL information:
1) arowanas are supposed to be very old fishes, they are in south america, asian, australia and africa. Each one of these countries has there own arowanas but they are "different" for example, the south americans have long anal and dorsal fins compared to the rest, etc.
This is weird becasue some scientists say it supports the "continental drift theory". This was the theory that all countries were one big mass, then with tectonic plates moving, etc. our conteninets look the way they do now. So with south america, africa, etc. they are all "the same family" so to speak, but yet they are so different and from different parts of the world.
2) south americans can grow 3-4 feet in wild but around 2 feetish in the aquariums. The asians are smallest, jardinis (australias) are meaner more teritorial. All of these require BIG BIG tanks when full grown.
3) feeding, when small they eat guppies, when larger they eat comet goldfishes, when larger, you can even feed them frogs. <some people beleive that feeding live foods will enhance there colors> i dont know if you can feed them a mice, but anything is possible, although it might hurt the arowana if the mouse fights back <shrug>
4) ONLY ASIAN AROWANAS ARE ILLEGAL IN THE U.S. You can buy jardinis, silvers, etc. in some LFS. The asian arowanas are illegal because they are on CITES list and on endangered species list. however they are legal in canada.
The "super red" asian arowanas can get $1000-2000 for a baby (3-4 inches). The bigger they get they can get more expensive, i have heard of full grown red arowanas going for $10,000+ EASY! So yes they can become expensive to buy. The demand for them is very high too, and the arowana farms in malaysia etc. can't keep up with the demand.
When it comes to asian arowanas it can get confusing with all the different grades, etc. so i dont want to get too specific in it.
baby south americans can go for $15-$25 each, baby jardinis can go for $40 each. So these are much cheaper.
5) may people (asians in particular) believe that arowanas are good luck and bring fortune. Its mysticism/supersitition, some say feung shui.
They also bring on good conversations like piranhas. When people see a long fish that looks like a snake or eel and never seen it, it can be interesting. When they eat, they have a "whipping action" and strikes at the target kind of like a snake. i have also heard of a "wherling action" where the arowana circles the goldfish very fast which creates a suction and then boom, it strikes it while the goldfish is confused trying to keep balance from being sucked.
They are also notorious jumpers and thats how they eat in the wild! so keep bricks to keep the hood down so they dont "bust out" of your tank.
Geez, i been typing for a while now and there is still so much to be said, but i will leave it at this for now and if anybody wants to add to it, feel free.
