Treasures of Kalimantan

For a long time ago, the arowana or siluk was not hunted by the villagers that lived in numerous villages that dotted the numerous rivers and lakes in Kalimantan, Indonesia.

This changed when people believed that arowanas would bring good luck to their owners and soon this fish became 1 of the most expensive aquarium fish as demand outstripped supply. In their natural habitat, arowana population plummeted because of poaching for the aquarium trade and is now being classified under the red list of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES).

A matured red arowana

When the aquarium trade on arowanas first started, it was thought that arowanas were harvested from Kalimantan will always turn red or orange when the arowanas mature. However we now know that this is not true although the young arowanas had red fins and look very alike. The arowanas from Western Kalimantan along the Kapuas River region will turn orange or red when mature while those from Southern Kalimantan along the Bajarmasin region will remain silvery with yellow tails.

A matured yellow tail arowana

Naturally, differences in the colour of the arowanas also meant a difference in their prices. However, it would be difficult to identify a young red arowana from a young yellow tail as their young had similar features and red fins. The redness in the yellow tail arowana's fins would disappear only as the arowana matures. To differentiate between the 2, red arowanas from Kapuas region were called grade 1 red while those from Banjarmasin were called grade 2 red or Banjar red or 1.5 red.

Land before time ...

More than a million years ago, the islands of Sumatran, Java and Borneo and other smaller Indonesian islands were connected to Peninsular Malaysia on mainland Asia, forming the Sundaland. Geographical research has shown that Sundaland would include the southern tip of Thailand, the whole of Peninsular Malaysia, Borneo, Sumatra and Java.
 

Sea levels were significantly lower but suddenly rose during the Pleistocene. The connections to the mainland were covered by waters, leading to the formation and isolation of the islands.

Therefore, would it have been possible that the major rivers in modern Peninsular Malaysia, Sumatra, Borneo, Thailand and Cambodia were connected to form a major river system in Sundaland that hosted arowanas in its numerous rivers and lakes? As sea level rose, these rivers and lakes were disconnected when the land bridges disappeared. Could it be that the arowanas in each isolated river and lake further evolved to become the different arowana varieties that we know today? (hint: green arowanas are known to be found in Thailand, Cambodia and Tasek Bera Lake, Endau River and Trengganu drainage area).

Disposing your arowanas

A silver arowana in a man made pond.

Many people bought young arowanas when they were merely 6 or 7 inches long to raise as pets as they believed arowanas to be auspicious and beneficial for their feng shui. These infant arowanas eventually grew up, up to 3ft long and often  require bigger tanks as the continued to grow. In land scarce Singapore where majority of the population lived in HDB flats, having big 5ft tanks to house a 3ft arowana can be quite a challenge. It could get to a point where desperate owners tried to sell or even release them in manmade ponds or reservoirs. In many cases, these fully grown but abandoned arowanas thrived and continued to breed. 

I personally do not think these arowanas should not be released in the wild or in reservoirs as these are not native to Singapore. They could be donated to the Singapore Zoo especially so when the River Safari (a river themed wildlife park) has recently opened. This would be a more humane way of disposing your pets rather than to dump them into the wild and upset the ecological balance.

A pair of yellow tail arowanas in the Singapore Zoo

Of course, you can also choose to sell them off in your friendly LFS or over Ebay :P

Preserving arowana bloodlines

An interesting article illustrating the charm arowanas have on humans. I'm not really a fan of platinum arowanas, just the good old red and gold arowanas.
http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2012/11/5/nation/12271102&sec=nation

Preserving arowana bloodline

Big catch: Chua looking at the hybrid platinum arowana. Because of its rare colour, it is worth the price of a new Toyota Camry.

MALACCA: He is a lawyer by training but Lincoln Chua's painstaking efforts to learn about arowanas has turned him into a fish biologist of sorts.

For almost three decades, he has been learning and researching about the ornamental fish. As for the 120 arowanas in his collection, Chua has been keeping a journal on their size, hue, behaviour and origin.
Chua, 45, is meticulous about their places of origin to ensure their lineage is protected.
“The pure Golden Crossback Arowana, which is unique to Malaysia, originated from Sungai Kerian and the Bukit Merah dam in Perak before it spread to nearby aquatic sites.”
He said their birthplace would distinguish them from others in terms of appearance, size and colour.
“In order to preserve a pure bloodline, it is advisable to mate the fish only with those from the same species,” he said at his home in Ayer Keroh.
Chua has converted the patio of his bungalow into a lush garden filled with customised fibreglass tanks. Among others, he has species from places like Bagan Samak, Selama, Changkat Lobak and Alor Pongsu rivers in Perak.
There is also a hatching room in his house to nurture fish fry.
Of the hybrids he owned, Chua noted that a platinum arowana he bought two years ago when it was only three-inches long was now worth the price of a Toyota Camry.
“It is exceptional because of its rare colour,” he said.
Chua said he was looking forward to the completion of his fish farm in Bukit Merah, Taiping, by the end of the year, adding that all his fish would then be transported there.

 

A beautiful golden crossback arowana

Sorry peeps, I haven't been updating this blog due to work and family commitment. Recently a friend told me that his arowanas have started to breed. He asked if I would be keen to buy a few to keep but unfortunately, my new 4room flat is too small to accommodate a 5ft tank. During renovation, I had intended a place to slot in a new 5foot tank but my dear wife bought a piano and it fitted nicely in there. There's actually another place in the house for a fish tank but I decided to leave it empty.

Anyway here's a beautify golden crossback arowana from my friend.

My first asian arowana!

My first arowana is actually an australian arowana, otherwise known as a jardini. I kept it for 7 years before it died in a shipping mishap on the way to my new house :(

The next arowana I had was a red arowana. I never intended to get a red arowana in the first place because I always preferred golden crossback but somehow, luck has it that my first arowana has to be a red. I was then a poor NUS 4th year student and I forked out a heffty SGD1,388 for my first red arowana!

SELECTION OF YOUNG ASIAN AROWANAS

I have not had the time to write anything new in here. As usual, its work, family and studies that got my blogged down.... and guess what, I was not 1 of the 5 lucky winners for tonight's ang pao toto draw!! :(
This was 1 of the very first articles contributed by 1 of the owners, who unfortunately had since left due to personal reasons. A year ago, to my dismay, I realised that most of the original articles were somehow removed. Fortunately, James did his magic and restored the articles and now I make it a point to backup them in here.


Proper selection of your arowana is very important since your pet can be your life long companion

Selection of Young Asian Arowanas are determined by its colour development, body shape & swimming postures.


Colouration is but one of the selection criteria. However, some place heavy weightage to this than any other factors. What is the best colour? General rule, the more intensely coloured, the better. This section covers some aspects of colour in the general types of Asian arowanas. Bear in mind colour preferences are very subjective.

1. Lips & barbels
Depending on the arowana variety, the colours are as follows:

Arowana Type                                   Colour
Red (1st grade)                                  Pink / Orange / Red
Lower grade red & yellow tail            Yellow / grey / brown or mixed
Gold (crossback & red tail gold)         Brown - grey mixed
Green                                                 Green - grey mixed
Hybrid                                                Colour will depend on the types inter-bred

1st grade red

2. Gill plates

Colourations normall begins from the 'A' valley region and the horiztonal line between the 'A' region to the eye. Colour development will then spread outwards from these areas. One way of identifying the possible future colouration of a young arowana is through these hints

3. Eyes

There is no clear relationship between the colour of the eyes with the arowana type. Most of the time, the eyes are coloured in a mixture of yellow, gold, green and red of various intensity. Some hobbyists preferred red-eyed arowanas.

4. Scales

A newly formed or undeveloped scale colour is of dull shades from grey, brown to almost black. All asian arowanas will have some colouration developed on every scale when mature except red-tail gold (which will have permanent undeveloped colour on the scales on its top). Under-bellied scales of arowanas are normally white in colour. Before any colouration becomes apparent, the scale first turns into a metallic shine that usually reflects a purple hue under lights. At this time, the base core colour of the arowana can be seen. The colour base of an arowana is referred from this inner region of the scale. The outer rim of the scale will show the corresponding colours of the arowana type.

                A young crossback

5 Fins

Some juveniles may have white or colourless finnage attributes, this is because colouration is yet to be properly developed. This may make it harden to distinguish breeds that are of similar colour bases.