AROWANA

[pete28]

HI ALL IVE DONE SOME EXTENSIVE RESEARCH BUT HAVE YET TO FIND A DEFINITIVE ANSWER. WHAT AROWANAS ARE LEGAL IN THE US? I RECENTLY READ AN ARTICLE IN A FISH MAGAZINE (HAD THE ARTICLE ABOUT AQUARAMA 2003) AND IT SAID SOME WERE ENDANGERED BUT THEY HAVE BEEN FARMED SUCCESSFULLY AND ARE NOW AVAILABLE FOR SHIPMENT AROUND THE WORLD. THIS INLCUDES THE GOLDS AND THE REDS. BUT I WAS UNDER THE UNDERSTANDING THAT THESE FISH CAN COST IN EXCESS OF 20K IS THIS TRUE. i GUESS WHAT IM GETTING AT IS I AM PLANNING ON SETTING UP A TANK FOR A SINLGE AROWANA 155+ GALLONS BUT DO NOT KNOW WHO OR WHERE TO GET ONE FROM. THE LOCAL PET STORES LOOK AT ME LIKE IM CRAZY. CAN ANYONE HELP?
THANKS PETE

 

[Eelzor]

Not with that attitude.

 

[Eelzor]

Ok I got some info.

I would get a big tank as the bigger the better. Some places will make them for you. For a say, 90cm arowana I would get a 300Gallon tank. You can have a few more fish in there too, as long as they are not small enough to get eaten. SOme arowanas are quite cheap, but some are more expensive. I can help with the sizing and all, but not so much the costs, and whereabouts.

 

[ryan]

The Asian Arowanas (depending on patterning etc) are the fish that sell for thousands in the Asian market.

I would also advise 300 gallons for one Arowana. A good lfs should be able to have custom made tanks, were you give them the size, measurements etc and they send the of and have the tank made. I know CFC has a custom built all glass tank for his Silver Arowana

 

[CFC]

I know CFC has a custom built all glass tank for his Silver Arowana

Ahem! Mines a Scleropages jardini not a Osteoglossum bicirrhosum!

Telling people ive got a common siver arowana, what are you like


The others are right, the minimum size you should be looking at for your arowana in the long term is 96"x36"x24" (360g), i have mine in a 66x30x24 (200g) and already at 14" i can see the tank isnt going to be big enough . You could get away with a 72x24x24 (180g) for the first 18 months or so but by this time the arowana will have reached around 20" to 24" in length.

The arowanas that are commonly found in stores are Silver arowanas (Osteoglossum bicirrhosum) Black arownas (Osteoglossum ferreirai) and the Australian arowana (Scleropages jardini). The silver is the most common but also grows the largest (up to 48") but has the most even temper, next is the australian which grows up to 36" but has a bad temper and is very aggressive, the blacks are not so commonly seen now but are probably the best of the lot since they have the benefit of only growing to around 36 to 40" and being even tempered.

Scleropages formosus is the asian arowana and one of these will set you back around $500 for even the lowest grade, a high grade red or gold can go over $20 000! Since the asian arowanas are a endangered species they come with a microchip emplanted in the skin and a certificate which proves they are a farm bred fish.

 

[Eelzor]

We can get free australian arowana here to keep - but they are called 'Saratoga' here. Say it. It sounds cooler then 'Arowana' doesn't it? We can just fish em' out and put em' in a tank. But I haven't got a tank big enough, so I'm keeping small catsharks for now.

 

[DiXoN]

i can add that the silver/black and jardini arowana are all legal in the US however the asian arowana is not it is federally illegal and comes with big fines and even in some cases for distribution the possibility of time in jail.
you can get them but they are even more expensive and you would need to have people in the know so to speak.
dixon

 

[ste2k3]

Telling people ive got a common siver arowana, what are you like

yeah Ryan, hes got a common pearl arowana!

I build custome tanks and I would definatly say that if you go for a big tank, especially for messy fish, then get a hole drilled in it so you can use a sump filter as the less equipment in the tank, the better.

ste

 

[ryan]

Alright alright, thats it I'm going crazy I've seen the fish and I go and call it a Silver Arowana. Its a bad day and I was in a hurry... I know its a Jardini.

 

[bkk_group]

some arowanas that are illegal to own in the usa are legal in canada. golden arowanas i think, for one.