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Asian arowana (Scleropages formosus) are the most
exclusive and often best colored arowana in the whole family. According to
many enthusiasts, Asian arowana are among the most beautiful fish money can
buy for a freshwater aquarium. The graceful way of swimming, the perfect
beauty and the superior charisma make these fish the true kings of any
aquarium. Especially in
Red arowana are, as the name already suggests, the red variety of the Asian arowana.
Red arowana originate from the Kalimantan
province in
Since super red arowana are
slightly cheaper than crossback arowana, many farms and breeders in
Red arowana will develop color with age. When young, good quality fish already have very red fins and red lips and barbels. Besides these characteristics, high grade reds also have a very shiny glow on the side of the body. When the red arowana ages, its gill cover will turn fantastic red and the rim of the scales will become bright red as well. This will give the red arowana its famous red shine! The whole coloring process might take years though so it’s not a short term project for the owner. This does keep things excited and fun; see how your precious fish develops over time.
There are 4 varieties of red arowana: Blood Red, Chili Red, Orange Red and Golden Red. All these varieties are called Super Red or Grade 1 Red. However, when looking at real color, only blood red and super red can really be named super red. Orange red and golden red usually don’t have the quality characteristics of a true super red. Their color is of a lesser grade red and usually even orange instead of red. Due to marketing, many breeders use the term super red for most fish even though quality doesn’t have to be top notch. Furthermore, every breeder or farm has his own names for the different super reds. To give a few examples:
Qian Hu blood red arowana are called ‘Violet Fusion Super Red’ while super red arowana's from Panda Aquatics are called ‘Panda Red’.
The differences in original
habitats of red arowana caused differences in the red coloration of the
fish. Breeders from
As these names suggest, the difference between the two varieties is based on color. While blood red arowana have the red color of blood, Chili red arowana resemble the color of chili peppers. Blood red arowana usually show their fantastic red color a bit earlier than chili red arowana.These color differences are not always very pronounced and can be hard to notice. A good way to see the difference between both arowana varieties can be found on the scales, where the amount of color can be a good indicator. Blood red arowana usually have a broad red rim on their scales while chili red arowana usually have thinner rims. The scales of a chili red arowana have a greener core and a more metallic shine than those of a blood red arowana.
Besides this difference in color, we can see some other minor differences between the 2 varieties.
- The biggest difference can be found in body shape of the fish. Chili reds are usually broader and higher with a pointy head and bigger fins while blood reds have a slimmer and longer body shape, rounder head and slightly smaller fins. This causes a chili red to look much more massive. Body shape is obviously highly dependant on feeding regime so this is not always a good indicator.
- Chili red arowana usually have big red eyes where blood red arowana have smaller eyes which are lighter in color.
- The shape of the tailfin is a good indicator of whether you have a chili or blood red arowana. The first has a diamond shaped tailfin while the latter has a more fan shaped tailfin.
There are crossbreeds between Super red arowana and RTG arowana. This variety is called Amber Red.
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Blood Red Arowana |
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Chili Red Arowana |
Besides the superior quality of Super red arowana, we can also
distinguish a lesser grade red. These so called grade 1.5 or grade 2 red
arowana are hybrids of super red and banjar red or green arowana. Some
breeders try to enhance the colors of lower grade arowana by treating these
fish with hormones. Hormone treatments enhance the red color on the fish’s
body. Lower grade red arowana usually have a rounder head and lesser shine
over their body. The base color of the scales is also less bright and
usually a bit greenish or yellowish.
As we’ve mentioned before, super red arowana are one of the most
expensive arowana species money can buy. The other highly priced species are
the Crossback arowana, or Xback or XB arowana (this is how I will call it in
the rest of this article). Due to relative low offer and high demand, this
species of arowana has a high price. At the moment, the only official CITES
farms which breed XB are found in
There
are many names for XB arowana; Cross Back
Golden, Pahang Gold, Malayan Bonytongue, Bukit Merah Blue, Taiping Golden
and Malaysian Gold but in the end they are all golden arowana. These many
names originate from the many natural habitats in
XB can
be divided into many different color varieties which all represent the base
color of the scales of the fish. We can distinguish
Silver
based, Gold based, Green based, Blue based and Purple based. The last 2 are
sometimes mixed up as they look quite alike. Besides these different color
varieties, every farm also uses its own names for the different types of XB:
Blue based XB from Qian Hu farm are
called ‘Electric Blue Crossback’ and the Blue based XB from Panda Aquatics
are called ‘Panda Blue XB’.
Nowadays, many breeders try to cross the above varieties to create fish
which look even more spectacular. One of these varieties is the the 24K
golden arowana. This fish is like a swimming gold-bar. This golden based
variety shows superior colors even at very young age and is the dream of
many arowana enthusiast.
XB arowana differ from their cheaper nephew, the RTG, in color on the 6th row of scales, shine and intensity of coloration. Furthermore, young XB usually have “pearlies”. These pearl scales are the small scales near the anal and dorsal fin. This can be seen on the picture here. These pearlies indicate the possibility to full 6th level crossing at a later age.
Super red arowana are actually also crossbacks as many have a red shine fully crossed over their backs. This red variety got its own name though, due to the very different coloration and origin.
A difference between XB and super red arowana is the size of the fins. Where XB have relatively short pectoral fins, these fins might stretch as far as the vent for super red arowana. XB do have a bigger head than its red nephew. There is also a crossbreed between super red and XB arowana: Tong Yan arowana (TY). This fish is also called Red Splendour XB
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Young Electric Blue Xback |
| Golden Xback |
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Superiour quality XB |
The Red Tail Golden (RTG) arowana or Indonesian Golden arowana belongs to
the same variety as the previously mentioned golden arowana; the XB. The RTG
however, originates from the same country as the super red arowana, namely
The big difference between XB and RTG is the coloration. RTG will never fully cross. Usually RTG have coloration on the 4th or 5th level of scales. Some high quality RTG have a (fully) colored 5th row and sometimes even some coloration on the 6th level scales. These animals are called High Back RTG. The difference in color between RTG and XB is the reason for a big difference in price as RTG can be bought for a small fraction of the price of a XB. RTG come, just like XB, in different base colors. There are Blue based, Green Based en Golden based varieties. As previously mentioned, XB have less color but usually also a less bright coloration than XB arowana. The lips and fins of both species do look quite alike.
Red Tail Golden arowana are the biggest of all the Golden arowana. They are usually also more aggressive and are know to be the most aggressive Asian arowana|
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A High Back RTG |
| Red tail Golden |
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Green arowana are, as their name suggests, green colored arowana.
Like yellowtail arowana, this is among the cheapest species of Asian
arowana. This species has a wide distribution and originates from
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Nami Green arowana |
Silver
Asian arowana, not to be mistaken for South American Silver arowana, are
another cheap variety of Asian arowana. As the name suggests, these fish are
grey. There are 2 varieties: the Greytail and Yellowtail arowana. The
original Yellowtail from
Greytail arowana look quite like green arowana. According to some
people, these 2 species are actually one and the same.
Silver Asian arowana originate from
| Yellowtail arowana |
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The term Spoonhead indicates a slope of the back behind the head,
which gives the fish some sort of spoon like look. The back of the arowana
is higher than the head.
This effect can be created by power feeding but in
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Emperor Red spoonhead |
King of Arowana, or Fa Fu Long (FFL) arowana are like spoonheads but
with a more extreme slope behind the head. The slope of the back behind the
head is very high and the body of the fish is very short. This is a mutation
which has a high value in
A picture of FFL
will follow shortly.
Silver arowana are the
largest of the arowana species. In the wild, specimens of 60” have been
caught but in most aquariums they will normally top around 44”. Silver
arowana originate from the Amazon river, the Rupununi, the Oyapock and the
standing waters in
As the name suggests, the silver arowana’s body is completely silver. The animals have a very bright silver shine over their body and sometimes a blue-ish or reddish tint on their scales. The fins are the same color as the rest of the body.
At a young age, silver arowana have a lot of red on their fins. Some people use this as an extra sales argument although the color will fade with age till there is no red left. Due to the very high demand, silver arowana are bred in high numbers. With all this breeding some defects have surfaced: nowadays, many silver arowana have hanging eyes, the so called Drop Eye (DE).
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Silver arowana (Osteoglossum bicirrhosum) |
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Black arowana (Osteoglossum ferreirai) |
The Black arowana (Osteoglossum ferreirai) looks a lot like its silver cousin, the silver arowana. Its body however is grey-ish instead of silver. Young black arowana have a blue shine which is why they are sometimes sold as blue arowana. With age, this blue coloration fades until there is nothing left but a dull grey color.
When compared to the silver arowana, the black arowana has a more slender bodyshape. The tail is more pointy and the body less high. This gives the animal a completely different look. Black arowana also stay smaller in size than the silver arowana. In their natural habitat they can reach over 40” but in captivity they usually max out around 32”.
In
The Jardini
(Scleropages jardini) is
one of the most common species of arowana. The fish is
known by many different names:
The jardini belongs to the same family as the Asian arowana and has quite similar looks. The big difference is the size and number of scales and coloration. Jardini arowana have more but smaller scales compared to Asian arowana. The color of the scales is brown/bronze and each scale has a red dot which gives the animal an overall reddish shine. The fins of the jardini are darker than its body and have a dark red shine with lighter spots. The operculum shows loads of red spots and stripes and looks fantastic.
Jardini arowana are relatively small max out around 22-25” in captivity. This makes them suitable for smaller aquariums. The downside is its behaviour. Due to their aggressive nature, they can best be kept alone. This species of arowana is known to be most aggressive.
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The head of a Jardini |
The Leichardti arowana (Scleropages
leichardti) is also known by many names:
Dawson River Saratoga,
The body of the Leichardti is slightly more elongated and the head is rounder compared to the jardini. Leichardti arowana are lighter in color than a jardini but do possess the spots on the scales.
The African arowana (Heterotis niloticus) is widespread
throughout Africa: from Sengala and
The African arowana can reach lengths close to 40” in nature but in captivity it will usually stay smaller, like most fish species.
The big difference with other members of the arowana family is the mouth of the African arowana. As this fish is a plankton feeder, there is no need for a big mouth on the upper side of the head. This fish has a small mouth pointing downwards.
The body of the African arowana is grey-ish, brown or bronze in color and shows some similarities with South American arowanas. Its body is elongated and has similar, although smaller, fins as the black and silver arowana. Especially the pectoral fin is very small when compared to other arowana species.
Photo will follow
asap