The Asian arowana is a large freshwater fish of Southeast Asian rivers and swamps, so prized in the aquarium trade that a single one can sell for thousands of dollars; its dragonlike look earns it the name "dragonfish." It doesn't live in the wild in the US, where it's protected under the Endangered Species Act and can't be imported or kept without a federal permit. The male carries the eggs and young in his mouth for weeks.
Appearance
- Appearance
- A long fish that grows up to about 35 in (90 cm), with large shiny scales in a mosaic pattern, big pectoral fins, a wide mouth, and two on the lower jaw.
Look-alikes
The silver arowana is a separate South American fish, not a color form. Its dorsal and anal fins run nearly the full length of the body and almost join its small tail fin, while the Asian arowana has a much larger tail fin.
Why they get mixed upBoth are called arowanas and have silvery bodies and chin barbels.
Where it lives
- Typical habitats
- Blackwater rivers
- Forested swamps
- Wetlands
- Range
- Native to Southeast Asia, from southern Myanmar through the Malay Peninsula to Sumatra and Borneo, and from eastern Thailand to Cambodia. It does not live in the wild in the US.
- Preferred conditions
- Lives in slow, tea-colored streams, forest-covered rivers, and peat swamps, in tropical water around 75–86 °F (24–30 °C).
Behavior
- Diet
- Young fish snap up insects at the surface; adults eat other fish and small vertebrates.
- Activity
- Hides by day among tree roots and other cover and feeds at night, usually alone or in small groups.
Life cycle
- Reproduction
- By the time they leave the father's mouth, the young are about 2.5 in (6 cm) long.
- Clutch size
- 30–100 large eggs
- Incubation
- The male carries the eggs in his mouth. They hatch in about a week, and the larvae stay in his mouth another 7–8 weeks until they use up their yolk.
- Time to maturity
- Slow to mature, at about 3–4 years old.
Name and classification
- About the name
- In 2003 researchers proposed splitting the color strains into four species (S. formosus, S. macrocephalus, S. aureus, and S. legendrei), but most scientists still treat it as a single species.
- Varieties and forms
- Hobbyists know it by color strains: green (the most widespread), red-tailed golden from northern Sumatra, gold crossback from Peninsular Malaysia, and red or super red from western Borneo.
Conservation
- IUCN Red List
- ENEndangeredVery high risk of extinction in the wild
- Status
- Listed on since 1975, the strictest level. Habitat loss is considered a bigger threat than collecting. In the US it is listed under the Endangered Species Act, so imports are banned and a permit is needed to keep one, and Florida and New Mexico prohibit owning one.
Culture and stories
- Culture and stories
- In Chinese-influenced cultures it's a symbol of luck and prosperity, linked in feng shui to water and to its lucky red and gold colors.
More species to explore
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