PART 1: Introduction/Overview

Also known as the Dragon Fish or Water Monkey. Originated sa Cambodia, Indonesia,
Malaysia, Australia, Thailand, Vietnam, South America ug Africa walay Philippines gape

daghan. Nabuhi since dinosaur age ug ma buhi up to 25 years in captivity. Endangered n

cla karon specialy the Asian Aros; they range in size from 30 to 90cm. All arowanas are mouth
brooders (ang laki mag lumlum sa itlog sulod sa ilang baba).

According in Chinese and traditional Asian (feng shui) believes; this brings fortune, good health
and dispel bad spirits. According to breeders, this are gold bars swimming in there ponds. ~_~

Habitat:
Aros are predatory, territorial and aggressive fresh water fish; they are carnivorous dili mo eat ug
utan and will eat almost any aquatic life that fits in their mouths. Mao if you decided to put a
tank mate pilia kanang d ma sud sa iya baba or else…
Aros are surface feeders, they can jump 2x there height mao gi tawag cla flying monkeys sa
Africa.

In Captivity:
I’ve mentioned tank size and water temperature at the earlier post. Or tank should be 3x the
length of your Aro, full grown Aro require a 125Gallon tank and it must be covered at all times!
Minimal decorations is advice ug avoid sharp edge/objects pra dili ma samad or garasan imo
Aro. Substrate is advisable pra dili mag sig tanaw sa iyang reflection ang Aro sa ubos, to prevent
(Drop eye syndrome) will talk about this later as we move on.

Feeding:

Adult Aro’s should be fed once a day lang or every other day; young (juvenile) fish must be fed
2 to 3 times a day apas sa ila growth. Aro foods can be classified into four types; Live food,
Fresh food, Frozen food ug Canned food.

 Live Food: mao ni #1 choice sa mga Aro mag laway pa, sama sa; Guppies,
SuperWorm (nay daghan sa manalili or pet shoppe), Goldfish, Crikets o temus and
small frogs. As long as limpyohan sa ninyu to ensure they are parasites free.
 Fresh Food: like; market Prawns (pasayan), fish, chicken or beef heart. Pag buwad
lang sa mo gud, unaha lang sa ang Aro. ^^ reminders, please cut off the head and tail
of the prawn or any sharp object sa inyu e lawg.
 Frozen Food: most of this is sold frozen like worms, cockroaches, larvae, insects and
centipedes. Note, ang ok-ok ako gi mention dili nang naa sa ato balay ha this are
breed from a cockroach farms.
 Canned Food: like pellets and dried process fish foods, that can be buy in any
petshope. Normally Aros don’t like this but when you train them young they will.
Ok, if you’re lucky enough to actually bred an Aro, the fry needs food after the yolk on there
body disappeared aprox 60days then mangita nanag ma kaun. You can feed them mollies or
guppies lang, ayaw timplahig milk kay lo-od. And Fish should only be fed an amount they can
consume in approximately 5 mins.

Types of Arowana:

Please paki basa earlier post (below), thank you. Nag tina pulan! Nyahahaha

Current price nlang (sa minimum price lang ug bata pa na aro pra d kayu sakit)
Based on 2010 price tag in peso.

Golden xback = 50k up to 100k for juvenile!

Blood/Chili red type = 50k up to 80k for juvenile
RTG = 20k to 60k
2nd grade Red (redtails)= around 9k
Green variety = 4 to 5k
Saratogas or Jardini= 1 to 3k
Silver and Black Aro = 900 up

Blue base Aro = don’t know sa price

and Platinum base Aros = 2.4 Million! (oist nay dugo sa imo ilong o). very rare.

PART 2: The Arowana Aquarium

It will surely help beginners to start this hobby successfully, start sa silver Aro pra d kayu sakit
kung ma deds ^^. When acquiring housing depth is really not important but width and length is.
Naa cla dapat ka languyan space to avoid curled gills, they prefer rectangular tanks.

Tank Cover:
It is a must! Aros jump every time mka kitag food sa taas insects or frightened. I have a lots of
friends lost there Aros bcoz of unstable tank covers. You can weight down the cover to give
extra firm and not easily dislodged.

Equipment:

Aros required well filtered, clean water and natural looking environment; heres the list:

 Gravel/Rocks with rounded edge = recommended (optional)

 Filters = with Bio, Mech and Chemical filtration
 Aeration = for oxygen
 Heater = optional, if low temperature area.
 Algae Scraper = pede rag Janitor fish
 Aquarium salt = ma palit sa pet stores
 Water Conditioner = Very important in every water change.
 Vacume pump = for cleaning the botton / water change
 Variety of quality medication kit = in case of emergency
 Background covering = Dark backing will show off coloration
 Power plugs extension = stay away in water splashing and drips.
Preparation and Acclimatizing:
Before putting your new Aro on the tank please do the basic 1st.
Put water conditioner on the water ma tabay o stock water na, specialy MCWD which contains
chlorines. Recently, one of my aro died because of unchecked water condition, Ayaw
compyansa. Ka remember no-on ko da . Leave the fish in the platic floting in ur aquarium for
20min pra sa temperature adjustment, yaw sa buhi-e. Then gently put a small amount of water
from the aquarium into the platic kung asa ang isda, repeat this every 3min interval until hapit n
ma puno ang platic then drain some mga 50% and same procedure gihapon until ma puno nsad,
then release! Note: turn off aquarium light if any for a day to reduce stress. It is normal kung imo
fish dili mo eat at this time but this should be temporary.

PART 3: Arowana Keeping

While Australian and South America Aros can usually be found or ordered commercially
through fish shops; mga tao interested sa Asian Aros must have understanding sa mga laws and
regulations regarding there trade. Kay endangered nman cla, CITES organization protects and
control this species, mao nang nay permit to Import/Export before u can own one direct from the
breeder. Only second generation, captive-raised Aros from CITES registered farm lang ang pede
mka baligya ani (nay daghan sa Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia) This Aros has a TAG code o
chip sa ila lawas, injected when they are young and a Certificate of Authenticity document must
be accompanied when buying one.

Dragon Fish Selection:

Syempre sa ka mahal ani you must know how to choose a good quality of breed, here’s some
tips.

 Color = Color and grade of an Aro directly affect price. Must be bright and glossy,
just an advice, don’t buy fry (baby) fish. Ok ra kay mka barato ka but chances are
you cannot assume the quality pag dako.Beware in color scum’s like: artificial color
injectable, 2nd grade juvenile Aros baligya as 1st grade, dwarftism (Aro raised in
hu-ot na area to compres scale) and the most cruel is the Blindness (butahan ang
isda) it intense its color if it cant see.
 Scale = dili talent ha ~_~ Scale are an indication of Health and quality for Dragon
Fish. Dapat evenly layered, neatly arrange, Large, bright and shiny. Avoid dull or
uneven scales or scales containing dark patches (na kuha na scale will grow back).
 Fins and Tail = One of the criteria sa contest and directly affect the gracefulness of
their movement trough water. They should be smooth, free of tears and wide open
during swimming.
 Shape = Arowana should have a Long, Broad appearance. Dpat nay gamay curve
from head to its back (one of the most expensive Red Aro fish is what we called the
King Arowana)
 Swimming Style = Aros have an elegant, graceful swimming style. They should
appear to glide through water, using all parts of their bodies while keeping their
heads stable. Silver Aros swims like a serpent while their head stays stable.
 Gills = should be smooth and lay flatly against the Aros body. The gills should not
be wrinkled and gill motions should be minimal when fish is breathing; excessive
movements or panting (hangos) may indicate distress or disease.
 Mouth = All Aros mouth are large, and should point upward. (if bali dili na Aro)
Two barbells should be equal in length and match the Aros body color. Nice head
shape would be a Spoon Head Aro.
 Eyes = are another indication of Health and quality. Should never appear Droopy or
cloudy, they should be completely clear and free of any dullness.
Tank Mates:
Depende sa ka dakon sa imo tank there are several factors that must be considered prior to the
addition of Aro tank mates. Just bear this in mind that Aros are territorial ug can be more
aggressive if wala clay space to move around. And an overcrowded tank is not good for your fish
as the waste and ammonia build up much faster and your fish will be more susceptible to
diseases. Basta, More is not good, Unless you have the space!

A good practice is to put them together while they’re still young, they will still fight but less
nlang because its there nature to do so. If you’re putting same Aros as a tank mate please put in
odd numbers of Aro in the tank (mga 5, 7 or pa taas) mag bugno na cla if 2 to 4 cla sa usa ka
tank. And Do Not try to put in two or more ADULT Aro in the same tank because they will fight
to death. Specialy ga dako ang Aro na nag inusara sa aquarium, you must do this while there
young.

Tank mates should be Large, Fast-moving, “Mid-tank” or preferable Bottom Dwelling fishes;
Sama sa: catfish, fresh water stingrays and janitor (isda ha dili tao) they also provide additional
benefits of helping to keep the tank clean and free of algae and excess food. Be aware lang diay
sa catfish, Fast growing na cla n isda basin ma upsan pana imo Aro and mao pay ma kaun.
Paktay! Fast moving fish sama sa: tinfoil barbs, silver dollar and parrot fishes. If you’re into
FengShui good partners would be the Siamese Tiger and the Prochilodus fish. Some fishes na
pede are: gars, dourados, peackock cichlid, gouramis etc. (kanang etc. dili na fish ha ~_-).
Just be prepared to remove new tankmates quickly to prevent disaster kung mag sigig away.

OK that end Part 1, 2 and 3; Part 4 and 5 will be posted below (hope you enjoy).