Anyone Wants To Breed Asian Arowanas?
Hi all,
I have received quite a few emails from individuals from several countries asking for advise about breeding asian arowanas in their respective countries.
So rather than write to each of you, I thought I'd write an article here to provide my take on this lucrative YET very risky venture. I have published it in ezeinarticles.com under arowana breeding but I have reproduced it here for your easy reading as well.
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Asian Arowanas Breeding Venture – Know The Risk
In recent times, we see that many more individuals have expressed interest in wanting to go into the arowana breeding business. Here we mean the asian arowanas specifically, especially the gold (or cross backs), red and red tail golden (or RTGs) as they are the ones that fetch the highest prices in the market. There is a saying that as long as there are Asians (especially the Chinese), there will always be demands for this magnificient fish. This rise/surge in demand is more pronounced now with the rising affluence of the middle class families in China in recent times.
The asian arowana's resemblance to the mythical dragon has made them a much sort after 'feng shui' fish. They are considered a 'good luck' fish and many people swear by this! Many feng shui masters have considered them to be one of the three 'lucky' fishes, the other two being goldfish and koi. There was a 'fourth' one which is the flowerhorn or 'Luo Han' but I think this is passe now and has not really stood the test of time.
What has also driven up the prices for these beautiful asian arowanas are the fact that it is very difficult to breed them. (Again we are talking about the red, gold and RTG arowanas only.) Thus far, they have only been successfully bred commercially in Malaysia, Indonesia and Singapore. No one has succeeded in breeding them anywhere else which has led to a constant 'short supply' of asian arowanas in the market. Success rates in breeding asian arowanas in tanks are also too few and far between and is just not viable commercially.
As is evident above, the arowana breeding business can be highly profitable when done on a commercial basis. This has driven up the interest of people wanting to get into this business. But please be aware of some of the inherent risks before you do take the plunge into it.
1) The barrier to entry can be quite steep because of the high initial investments needed. For this business to be viable, you will need many ponds with a minimum of 20-40 adult asian arowanas in them to breed as not all ponds will be productive from the start unless you already have some producing ones. With each adult arowana being between $5,000 to $10,000 each, you do the math. Bear in mind that these cost does not include the investment you have put up to build the farm!
2) Even if you have the farm and the arowanas in place, there is still a chance that they will not breed enough for you to sustain the farm. Please do not take the plunge if you do not have someone experience to run it for you. You need an experience individual with a 'sharp' eye who can spot pairing arowanas (which means possible male arowanas that are carrying the fry in their mouth) and know when is the right time to harvest the fry. Even experience breeders don't get it right all the time, let alone us. So be mindful here!
3) If you are intending to try this in a place or country which has no history of breeding success in the past, then you have to be triply sure this is what you want to do. Asian arowanas are very picky about what kind of environment they will breed in. There must be a 'right' climate and optimal mix of soil and water in the mud ponds for them to breed in. I want to emphasize again that they have only been successfully bred commercially in 3 countries, namely Malaysia, Indonesia and Singapore. Does this mean it cannot be bred in any other country? Frankly, no one knows! Never say never but you just need to know the facts thus far and be ready for any eventuality!
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Hope you enjoy this and do provide your comments here after reading it. Cheers!
Steven
Filed under Arowana Farm News by on May 28th, 2008. Comment. 
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Comments on Anyone Wants To Breed Asian Arowanas?
I really want to buy an adult pair,just to keep at home in a big tank.If they do bred,than I have to increase my tank.
Could you hunt for me please. Thanks
Cheers
RT
Dear Mr. Steve,
My Silver Arowona which is 1 Year Old. Two weeks back while I was cleanign the Tank to change water the Arowona jumped out of hte tank and I had put it back to the tank. Since then it is not eating much. Please let me know what had made the fish to eat less. Await for your advise.
Thanks & Regards.
V. Hem Sankar.
hello
thx for the info, some time back thinking about making a pond here in canada, had the discussion with the fellow hobbiest and then giveup on the the same reasons.
hem sankar, silver aro must be still in shock, give him some time try to raise the temp bit more
steven n fellows,
this is an very good advice, i had experiences with my discus breedind business past 7 years ago, it cost me too much, atlast i fail to maintain the small farm i had, painful with all the criticsim from family, but greatful with all the experiences i had with this exotic fish.
i notice n understood what steven mentioned in his article, that's why i will work for my base first, hopefully 1 days i will have chance to combine my hobby with career as one.
ihave a culinary career with me now, n i get myself to involve with life insurance business lately also, 1st target is to stable my financial n get step by step to be dream come truth. i will get back to what i like to do most.
anyways, is happy to know there is so many off fish lover around, feel great.
lately my blood red baby is getting really red, wowww is feel very……..happy with all the effort put in to.
thank you steven, too be honest u r someone very open minded.
I AM IN INDIA , I LIKE TO BUY GOLDEN / RED GOLDEN AROWANA . CAN ANY ONE SUGGEST ME WHERE I CAN GET AND HOW BUY FROM WHERE ?.
WAITING FOR YOUR REPLY.
Hello Sir,
I am D Manikandan from Coonoor, The Nilgiris, Tamilnadu, India. I have 2 arowanas in my tank for last 2 years.
One is silver and another is pearl. My tank size is 4’ x 2’ x 2’. and both my arowanas are fine.
But, somebody told me that you should not have two arowanas in one tank, that is not good for your
future / fortune. Especially when they swim cross each other is not good.
My question is, It is true? and Do you know anything about this? Please let me know.
Thanks & regards,
D. Manikandan
I have 4 big adult aro..(wild red) i want to sell a pair. are you interested? I am at Malaysian
do not listen, they all full of S
when u put 2 arowana togather
if they get alone
it is very good luck
u can breed asain arowana in fish tank
japanese have been very good at it
since 1998 , hey guys
read more u find out
i personalilty do have a pair of red
i didn't make it the first time,but i did the secound time
11 fry, they all fine
RT,
You would need to get 2 that is at least 3-4 years old. You can advertise in the forums if you want to find a pair.
Steven
Sankar,
It could have been traumatized when it jumped out. It could also be hurt. Does it swim ok now?
Steven
Steven Tan,
You want to share how you made it so red?
Steven
Manikandan,
I have not heard of that before. But what is usually advisable is to have odd number fishes in the tank. The thought process here is more that in odd numbers, they will fight less as they are kept on their toes all the time.
Steven
Tom,
Cool! You're one of the few I know who's succeeded in breeding arowanas in a tank.. Anything special you did to get it to do so?
Steven
no, it just happen
it just all of luck
Im intrested, how much ?
how much u want 2 sell it.. aaron
Steven,
My friend has 50 acres of land in Temoh, Perak where an operator is currently rearing red tilapia. His tenancy is expiring very soon and there are 20 odd earth fish ponds supplied by fresh water from an adjoining lake/river which has a lot of fresh water fishes.
Possible to breed arowanas? If yes, any possible joint investors?
Regards
Julian
Julian,
Very hard to say… If there are other arowana farms in your area, probably chances will be higher that it will be successful.
Steven
Hi aaron,
I want to buy red arowana
I want to buy red arowana…if anu body have red arowana pls mail me to j_thameem@aol.in.
Even small size will be accepted.
Hi there! I would like to sell my silver Arowana fish. Anyone interested? E-mail me ASAP!
this is not true . if you wish you can have one more .i want a detail from you .send me your mobile number or mail my number is 9443894545 .i am from erode
I have heared that all the Arrowanas from Malaysia or selling point are infertile.. i.e they cant able to breed….And also I didnt hear any one from India.. had brood the arrowanas…
Please clarify
Hanesh,
Not sure what you mean by saying arowanas from Malaysia are infertile… Are you saying that after you buy them, they do not breed in your tank? It is very very difficult to breed in a tank…
Steven
i think he is saying that the fish may be made infertile by the wholesale farms so that they will not breed. i doubt that this is the common practise and that there a a lot of things that make the fish breed that people are not getting correct. it would seem that there is no real need to make for sale fish infertile if they are already so hard to breed. obviously they are hard to breed in large numbers and this is shown by the farms using a lot of parents in the one pond to increase the chances.
i would also imagine that under cites laws you would not be allowed to purposely make a fish infertile. i have read that the fish only breed near the equator due to the earths magnetism but i do not believe this to be true at all. it is the environmental conditions that are present around that area that makes it most possible for them to breed. they will be bred in other areas in the future.
Arowboy,
Good point! There are definitely multiple factors why arowanas do not breed easily.
Steven
Hi " aaron @ 2:02 pm " do you have wild golden ara if so how much can you sell for i'm in US virginia. How much it would cost to get it over here please advise thanks.
I have 4 big adult aro..(wild red) i want to sell a pair. are you interested? I am at Malaysian
Hello bro,
We are specialised in breeding and selling arowana.
if u r looking for arowana please contact us at 012-5778577 or visit us at no. 50A, Terusan Besar Tebuk Pancur, Simpang Empat, 34400 Semanggol, Perak.
TQ
Remy,
I cannot sell asian arowanas to you in the US as it is illegal to do so.
Steven
I am looking for arowanas.do you sale arowanas/ if yes please,response.Thanks
Hey aaron/anwar,
Im from mumbai and am interested in buying a red/golden aro. Want to know how much it will cost in rupees . would appreciate if u can reply soon. thanks.
How much do you want for them?
I STAY IN PUNE. WANNA BUY A GOLDEN/RED AROWANA. CAN ANYBODY HELP ME…
Pritesh,
You should buy from an authorized shop in your city.
Steven
Steven, I have an arowana farm. With quite a number of Xb, Reds and RTG fishes in separate ponds. Breeding is low and can be high depending on season it may seem. What i would like to know is if you know about the effects of nutritional feeds to increase te size of the yolk of the larvae.
Thanks.
Steven,
Stumbled into your site by accident. Finds it really informative. Keep it up.
Have a few questions? Hope you can help.
Do you know how long is the life span of Xbacks?
How long a breeding pair of Xbacks can reproduce? (ie. productive years?)
Daniel,
Arowanas can live for more than 20+ years if taken good care of. (some say much longer!)
Arowanas can probably breed for 10-15 years..
Steven
Helium,
Sorry but I can't really say. Not an expert in that area.
Steven
Hi,
I am interested in buying 2 ea. 4" size Golden arowana, 1ea. 4" size Red arowana and 1 ea. 4" size Silver arowana fish with all the proper documents and microchip.
Please let me know the reputed person / Shop / Breeder in india/Goa who can supply me and the pricing for each.
India-Goa.
Herbert,
Sorry but I do not know any shops in India that sells arowanas. Just a thought though… I think 4" might be a tad too small to have a chip inserted in it's body.
Steven