EXOTIC AROWANA A FISH OF NIRVANA
THE FAMOUS INDONESIAN DRAGON FISH
ARWANA aka AROWANA DERIVED FROM INDONESIAN WORD NIRWANA MEANS HEAVEN OR PARADISE, BUT THEY HAVE SEVERAL OTHER COMMON
NAMES, SUCH AS BONYTONGUE, THE DRAGON FISH, OR A NUMBER OF NAMES WITH VARIETIES OF SPECIFICATIONS.
A BONYTONGUE NAME IS DERIVED FROM THE SHAPE OF A
TOOTHED BONE ON THE FLOOR OF THE MOUTH, THE "TENTACLE TONGUE" EQUIPPED WITH
TEETH THAT BITE AGAINST TEETH ON THE ROOF OF THE MOUTH.
KNOWN AS THE FISH OF PARADISE AND THE MOST EXPENSIVE PET FISH, A BONYTONGUES OR THE DRAGON
FISH OF AROWANAS ARE CARNIVOROUS, WHICH MEANS THE ADULTS AROWANA FEED ON OTHER
FISH. WHILE JUVENILES, FEED ON VARIOUS
INSECTS AND SHOULD BE FED WITH
HIGH-QUALITY DIET MEATY LIVE FOOD, SUCH AS
CRICKETS, SHRIMP AND CRICKETS, CENTIPEDES, SHRIMPS, SMALL FROGS, EARTHWORMS, MEALWORMS AND THEY
ALSO LIKE TO BE FED WITH PREPARED
FOOD LIKE FROZEN SHRIMP,
FROZEN FISH FOOD, AND PELLETED FOOD.
ALL VARIANTS OF AROWANA FISH ALSO KNOWN AS A MOUTH BROODER WHICH MEANS ITS EGGS AND JUVENILES IS HIDDEN IN THE MOTHER’S MOUTH PROTECTION .EGGS AND JUVENILES PROTECTION CAN BE OBTAINED FROM THE COUPLES ( MALE OR FEMALE ) OF THEIR PARENTS.
UNTIL NOW AROWANA FISH SPECIES
(FAMILIA OSTEOGLOSSIDAE) WHICH HAS BEEN SUCCESSFULLY DESCRIBED BY TAXONOMISTS
AS MANY AS TEN SPECIES, ONE SPECIES SPREAD IN TROPICAL AFRICA, FOUR SPECIES IN
SOUTHEAST ASIA, TWO SPECIES FROM NORTHERN AUSTRALIA, AND THREE SPECIES OF SOUTH
AMERICA. TEN SPECIES OF AROWANA ARE:
SUBFAMILIA HETEROTIDINAE (
AROWANA WITHOUT TENTACLE)
PIRARUCU AROWANA / ARAPAIMA :
ARAPAIMA GIGAS ( CUVIER , 1829 )
SUBFAMILIA OSTEOGLOSSINAE (
AROWANA MURMUR )
AROWANA SILVER/INDONESIAN SILVER AROWANA :
OSTEOGLOSSUM BICIRRHOSUM
( CUVIER , 1829 )
AROWANA BLACK / BLACK AROWANA :
OSTEOGLOSSUM FERREIRAI
( KANAZAWA , 1966)
( KANAZAWA , 1966)
AROWANA GREEN / INDONESIAN GREEN AROWANA :
SCLEROPAGES FORMOSUS
( SCHLEGEL & MÜLLER , 1844 )
( SCHLEGEL & MÜLLER , 1844 )
AROWANA GOLD / RED TAIL GOLD/ INDONESIAN GOLDEN : SCLEROPAGES AUREUS
( POUYAD , SUDARTO & TEUGELS , 2003)
( POUYAD , SUDARTO & TEUGELS , 2003)
SILVER AROWANA/ INDONESIAN SILVER :SCLEROPAGES MACROCEPHALUS
( POUYAD , SUDARTO &
TEUGELS , 2003)
RED AROWANA / INDONESIAN SUPER RED AROWANA :
SCLEROPAGES LEGENDREI
( POUYAD , SUDARTO & TEUGELS , 2003)
( POUYAD , SUDARTO & TEUGELS , 2003)
AROWANA PAPUA/RED SARATOGA/NORTHERN SPOTTED BARAMUNDI : SCLEROPAGES JARDINII ( SAVILLE - KENT , 1892 )
ACCORDING TO POUYAD, ET AL. ON HIS JOURNAL IN 2003, HAS DIVIDED THE SOUTHEAST
ASIAN AROWANA FISH INTO 4 DIFFERENT SPECIES, NAMELY GREEN AROWANA, GOLDEN
AROWANA, SILVER AROWANA AND RED AROWANA. THE MOST ASIAN AROWANA DRAGON FISH OR ASIAN BONYTONGUE VARIANTS CAME FROM INDONESIAN
TERITORRIES.
GREEN AROWANA ( SCLEROPAGES FORMOSUS )
IN ADDITION TO INDONESIA GREEN AROWANA IS THE MOST COMMON
SPECIES THAT CAN BE FOUND THROUGHOUT THE WATERS AREA IN SOUTHEAST ASIA. THIS
SPECIES LIVE AND SPREAD FROM MYANMAR, THAILAND, VIETNAM, CAMBODIA,
MALAYSIA. GREEN AROWANA THAT COMES FROM INDONESIAN WATERS
TERRITORY IS EASILY RECOGNIZABLE FROM THE LOOK. THEY HAVE A WIDE BODY BUT SMALLEST SHAPE WITH CREAMY BASIC COLOR SCALES AND GREENY BRIGHT GREEN ON
THE SECOND RING SCALES BUT SOMETIMES THE SCALES HAVE DARK GREEN BASE COLOR. THE
GREEN COLOR EYE CIRCLE, MIXED WITH A DARK
GREY DORSAL FIN, ANAL FIN AND TAIL. THE MOUTH
AND OPERCULUM SHAPE ARE MORE ROUNDED THAN OTHER AROWANA SPECIES.
SILVER AROWANA
( OSTEOGLOSSUM BICIRRHOSUM & SCLEROPAGES MACROCEPHALUS )
SILVER AROWANA ( OSTEOGLOSSUM BICIRRHOSUM ) IS THE ENDEMIC FISH ON KALIMANTAN ISLAND. ANOTHER VARIANT OF SILVER AROWANA ( SCLEROPAGES MACROCEPHALUS ) ONLY LIVES IN WATERS HABITAT NEAR BANJARMASIN TOWN AREAS IN SOUTH KALIMANTAN PROVINCE. THIS EXOTIC FISH IS RECOGNIZED BY HOBBYISTS
AND BREEDERS AS RED BANJAR BECAUSE OF THEIR TAIL COLOR . SILVER AROWANA LOOK GENERALLY HAVE LONG BODY SHAPE
WITH A DARK GREEN COLOR ON THE BACK . THE SCALES IS ALMOST ENTIRELY SILVERY AND
SOMEWHAT DARK AND IT HAS DARK OLIVE GREEN RINGS. THE SILVER AROWANA EGGS SIZE HAS A RELATIVELY LARGE EGGS COMPARED TO OTHER TYPES.
SILVER AROWANA LIVE IN HABITAT THAT LOCATED AT THE BIG RIVERS WITH CALM-FLOWING AND CLEAR WATER
WITH ACIDITY ( PH ) OF MORE THAN 6. HOWEVER SOMETIMES, SILVER AROWANA IS ALSO
FOUND IN FAST-FLOWING RIVERS.
.
THERE ARE CURRENTLY 3 SILVER
AROWANA VARIANTS BASED ON THE COLOR OF THE DORSAL FIN , ANAL FIN AND TAIL FIN ,
NAMELY : VARIANT PINO / PINOH ( GREYTAIL SILVER ) , BANJAR YELLOW ( YELLOW TAIL
SILVER / YELLOW BANJAR ) AND BANJAR RED ( REDTAIL SILVER / RED BANJAR ) .
SILVER AROWANA WITH MULTICOLORS TAIL AND FIN ( SCLEROPAGES MACROCEPHALUS ) |
AROWANA PINOH WITH GREEN OR GRAY TAIL VARIANT HAS CAME FROM PINOH MELAWI RIVER (A TRIBUTARY OF THE KAPUAS RIVER) .
WHILE ANOTHER TWO VARIANTS, NAMED
RED TAIL AND YELLOW TAIL, KNOWN TO HAVE ONLY LIMITED HABITAT, WHICH IS IN THE
BARITO RIVER -CENTRAL KALIMANTAN PROVINCE AND SOUTH KALIMANTAN PROVINCE , INDONESIA.
PINOH AROWANA PRICE IS SLIGHTLY
HIGHER THAN THE GREEN AROWANA. THE PRICE OF YELLOW TAIL VARIANT IS HIGHER THAN
PINOH AROWANA . WHILE THE REDTAIL IS THE
MOST EXPENSIVE CLASS OF ALL VARIANTS IN
SILVER AROWANA.
GOLD AROWANA ( SCLEROPAGES AUREUS )
GOLD AROWANA KNOWN HAVE A MANY COLORS TAIL . ESPECIALY A RED TAIL GOLD COLOR OR KNOWN AS RTG LIVES ONLY IN A LIMITED HABITAT AREA IN ISLAND OF SUMATRA, WITH ENDANGERED
STATUS.
THIS SPECIES IS COMMONLY FOUND IN
SWAMP PEAT, LAKES, OPEN WATER AREA NEAR A RIVER SUCH AS THE SIAK RIVER - NEAR
TOWN OF PEKAN BARU , RIAU PROVINCE AND
BATANGHARI RIVER IN BERBAK NATIONAL PARK , JAMBI PROVINCE, INDONESIA . THEY USUALLY LIVE
ON LAKE OR RIVER WITH A UNIQUE CHARACTERISTIC. THE WATER IS USUALLY HAVE A
BLACK OR REDISH COLOR CONCENTRATED WITH SCALE 6 ACIDITY PH. WHICH MAKES THIS
VARIANT HAS AN EXCELLENT DARK GOLD COLOR.
THERE ARE 3 COLORS CLASSIFIED NAMED
AROWANA GOLD,ORDINARY AROWANA GOLD ( GOLD FISH SCALES ON LEVEL 3-4 ), AROWANA HIGHBACK GOLD ( GOLD
FISH SCALES ON LEVEL 4-5 ) AND AROWANA HIGHBACK SUPER GOLD ( GOLD FISH SCALES ON PERFECT LEVEL, WHICH IS
5-6 ). ITS BRIGHT COLOR SCALES, FIN AND SHAPE OF HEAD IS ALSO A STRONG POINT OF ITS BEAUTY AND PRICES.
RARE VARIANT
WITH PERFECTLY BRIGHT COLOR GOLD
CROSSBACK AROWANA THAT ALSO KNOWN
IS CAME FROM LAKE IN MALAYA PENINSULA , BECAUSE OF ITS BEAUTIFUL NEARLY 24 CARATS GOLD COLOR THIS LIMITED VARIANT KNOWN HAVE AN FANTASTIC PRICE. THE AROWANA GOLD HYBRID VARIANT USUALLY CAME FROM THESE VARIANTS WITH SUMATRAN VARIANTS CROSSING BREED.
RED AROWANA (SCLEROPAGES LEGENDREI)
THIS RED DRAGON FISH FOUND IN
MANY PARTS OF THE TERRITORY OF WEST KALIMANTAN PROVINCE IN INDONESIA. THE MOST
COMMON PLACE FOR THESE FISHES ARE THE KAPUAS RIVER AND LAKE SENTARUM.
THERE ARE 4 MOST POPULAR WITH
VERY HIGH PRICE GRADE OF AROWANA WHICH ARE DETECTED IN THIS AREA. 4 VARIANT RED AROWANA ARE KNOWN AS SUPER RED
, RED , BLOOD RED , AND CHILLI RED AROWANA.
THESE VARIANTS ARE THE WORLD'S MOST
WANTED AND AS A POPULAR EXOTICS PET FISHES FOR THE HOBBYIST. THEY ARE KNOWN FOR ITS BEAUTIFUL NICE
COLOR , HAVE AN EXCELLENT STAMINA AND OUTSTANDING BODY LOOK, EVENTHOUGH VERY HIGH PRICES RATE ESPECIALLY
FOR THE BRIGHTLY COLOR OF HYBRID VARIANT THEIR STILL MOST PREFERED.
WITH HIGH PROFIT BY SELLING THESE
RED AROWANAS, A LOT OF FISH FARMERS TRY TO BREED THIS RARE VARIANT. UNTIL
NOW, THE RED AROWANA DRAGON FISH IS MORE
EXPENSIVE THAN SUMATRAN CROSSBACK
GOLD. EVEN AFTER THE FIRST TIME MASS PRODUCTION RED AROWANA DRAGON FISH’S
PRICE GOES LOWER, THAT PRICE IS STILL MORE EXPENSIVE THAN SUMATRAN CROSSBACK
GOLD.
PAPUAN AROWANA ( SCLEROPAGES JARDINII )
IN ADDITION TO ISLAND OF SUMATRA
AND KALIMANTAN , AROWANA FISH CAN ALSO BE FOUND IN ISLAND OF PAPUA . WITH JUST
THE 7 -8 LINES OF FISH SCALES AND
ALSO SMALLER ROUNDED FISH SCALES
THAN ASIAN AROWANA SCALE SIZE, PAPUAN AROWANA HAVE A DIFFERENT LOOK ALSO
CHARACTERISTICS. HOWEVER THE SCALES LOOK SO VERY BEAUTIFUL AND MORE SHIMMERING
LIKE PEARL. THEREFORE THE PAPUAN AROWANA CALLED PEARL AROWANA WITH THE
TWO DIFFERENT COLOR VARIANTS.
THEY ARE A FAMOUS RED OR PINK PEARL
AROWANA AND GREEN PEARL AROWANA.
THIS EXOTIC FISH LIVE IN MANY
RIVERS AND LAKE NEAR TOWN MERAUKE - WEST PAPUA PROVINCE, INDONESIA INCLUDING
IN NORTHERN AUSTRALIA AND QUEENSLAND.