i see them for 200+ and they are always individually seperated in tanks... the most i've seen them sell or is $1200


anyone know y?

probably cos some ppl are willing to do so...market adjustments from supply & demand hehe Anyway, besides being really beautiful fish, some ppl believe they give good luck (I know this from the chinese culture at least). For instance, some ppl believe that the markings on the fish's head will sometimes (if taken cared of well) give lottery numbers LOL And if the fish dies....the chinese believe that it has absorbed bad spirits (or something like that) for you, to give you good luck....

Whatever it is, I think it's a beautiful fish. I got into goldfish-mania however so it's gonna be a while til I start thinking of keeping carnivouros fishies hehe

Arowanas are seasonal and hard to come by. Thats why theyre expensive. We sell small ones though, about 6 inches long, for under $20 (US). Thats pretty reasonable for a fish that can get 3 feet long!

Actually goldies are omnivorous meaning that they enjoy meat, too.

maybe they are show quality? show me pics

LOL I think arowanas/saratogas can be (almost) found in the wild quite easily back then, until they get popular. I read that in Indonesia or something, they still catch Arowanas from the rivers to sell. I am not sure if they're easily bred in captive....so seasonal probably applies to when they need to be delievered I guess I say they're 100%carnivous in a sense that they only eat living things...my parents have tried fooling theirs into eating fish food/dead insects but it will only touch it if it's alive Although some stores have managed to starve them into eating pellets....

Aren't Arowanas some kind of Cichlid? Or at least in the same group?

Arowana is a very popular fish that been keep by many people. It kept in single because they will attack other arowana. It like koi some are kinda cheep but some are so rarly that it can go for on bid over 20g's. Arowana need specail care because they onli eat live food. They perfer those lito fishes but will eat anything thing that fit there mouth and that are alive. Arowana bring luck to the people that care for it. If i die than it mean it bad luck and if it die at a old age than that mean it will bring u even better luck and all yours bad luck will be forgiving. Arowana cost alot becaus eit have to be imported from Asia continent and it a very popular fish to the Asain culture and many other races that love the the style and the way arowana bring to them.

The Asian Arowana can go for as much as 10'000 dollars or more while the Silver Arowana which is what we in the western countries are likely to see in our LFS' are much much cheaper. I have a silver aro that probably wouldn't be much more than 40 dollars tops and he's now at about 15 to 16 inches long.
Silver arowanas are fairly common and come from South America. There is also an Australian Arowana that is more expensive than the silver but still way less than an Asian.
The breeding and selling of Asian aros is a very tightly government, (governments of the various Asian countries), regulated affair where each breeder must be licenced and each aro is supposed to be implanted with an identifying microchip. Also each aro sold should come with documentation. Of course there are people who, like in any other endevor, will sidestep any government controls but I wouldn't recommend any such dealings.
In the Asian culture the arowana looks incredably like a dragon and for a person to house a dragon in their home is a great fortune indeed!

are you guys talking about those
long knife fish they have in expensive chinese restaurants
Many asian people keep them because they're suppose
to bring prosperity and wealth
one of my friends has one and they bought it about thumb size
now its really huge
they like feeding it frozen prawns

Hi Ranchugirl,
aros aren't in the same family as cichlids but are in the Osteoglossidae family which is if I remember right the bony tongue fish. Genus and species are Osteoglossum bicirrhosum.

Troyjames, thanks for clearing that up. I guess you learn something new every day after all!

There are 3 classes of arowana.

South American arowana (The cheapest kind and many on the hobbyist market are still wild caught. Their status is still not endangered) - Silver arowana and Black arrowana (blacks have not been all that common or desired as aquarium fish because of their skittish behavior).

Australian Arowana (Saratogo jardini and Saratogo leichardi)... These look similar to the Asian arowana, but do not have the colour intensity. They are also not endangered, much easier to breed in captivity and hence cheaper.

Asian arowana. All Asian arowanas are CITES protected. They are technically an endangered species. Since the protection has been in place, only captive bred arowanas are allowed to be traded on the hobbyist market. Captive bred specimens by authorised arowana farms come with a microchip and a certificate of authenticity.

check out this site.. Dragon Fish Industries.
http://dragonfish.com/

Always glad to help Ranchugirl
Even if it means typing the scientific names that I can't pronounce. Lol.

Great post Kevkoi, CITES is what I was trying to remember but couldn't.

Hopefully I'll be able to find a good home for my aro soon as I found out about a guy over in Reno who does the maintainence on the various casinos aquariums. He can take larger fish for these aquariums. Which from what I've seen are very well maintained.

Oh no.. I just reread my post.... I got spellings of fish wrong! Where's the edit button?

It's suppose to be Saratoga... not "Saratogo"

They are also kinda hard to raise when younger. 6" as mentioned before is a good start.

They will also eat just about any fish that will fit in the dump bed mouth they have. I have seen one eat a mouse swimming on top of the water.