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)

AROWANA GREEN / INDONESIAN GREEN AROWANA : SCLEROPAGES FORMOSUS 
( SCHLEGEL & MÜLLER , 1844 )

AROWANA GOLD / RED TAIL GOLD/ INDONESIAN GOLDEN   : SCLEROPAGES AUREUS 
( 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)

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 )

GREEN AROWANA

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 )

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.

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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.