Here is a letter e-mailed to me from an arowana fanatic from Singapore. Thanks Kevin! I find this letter very helpful and decided to share this info to every arowana fanatic out there. Although, some of you might disagree with certain topics on this letter.
 

Okay, here it is: 

Hi!, It was nice to see your interest in Asian Arowanas . I'm also a fish keeper myself and would like to share some tips on keeping the fish . By the way , I am keeping an Asian Golden Red Tail Arowana . Here are the tips I would like to share with you . 

1) Never feed the fish with Crickets , grasshoppers and cockroaches . 

2) Ensure good water Quality , this should be the correct conditions : 

• pH 6.8 Buffering 120 ppm Hardness 50 ppm 

3) Never use active carbon in your filter , active carbon should be used only when you want to remove Medicines in the tank that u used recently , the maximum life span of carbon is 2 weeks . 

4) Try not to change water so frequently , it causes the fish stress , it may result in death . 

5) Try to feed the fish with small goldfishes and shrimps<shrimps will enhance the colours naturally 

6) Try not to decorate the tank with gravel and plants , arowanas are very aggressive fishes , it may spoil the fishes scale patterns 

7) Use vitamins weekly to enhance the health of the fish < recommended Ocean Free " Vital-Colour " or Tetra Fish vitamin> 
8) Ensure a constant temperature of 28-30 degrees Celcius 

With the advise from above, I ensure your fish would live a healthy life span of 20 years with no problems . I come from Singapore , The Golden Back Asian Arowana is the most expensive here as it is very very close to being extinct . It costs S$2000 for a mere 3 1/2 inch Arowana . All fish in Singapore are electronically tagged bearing their own unique number . With a scanner , the fish can be identified . 

here are the prices of the fishes in Singapore , it will shock you: 

1st Grade Red Arowana                                  S$1500-1900(7 inches) 

Golden Back Arowana                                    S$2000-3000(4 inches) 

Golden Red Tail Arowana                                S$580-600 ( 5 inches) 

1 1/2 Grade Red Arowana                               S$395-420 ( 7 inches) 

Green Arowana                                                S$80-100 (5 inches) (no certificate) 

Yellow Tail Arowana                                        S$65-70 (5inches) (no certificate) 

Australian Pearl Arowana                                 S$45-50(5 inches) (no certificate) 

Silver Arowana                                                S$18-23 (4 inches) (no certificate) 

Black Arowana                                                S$ 20-30 (4 inches) (no cert) 

so you can see the high prize of the fish , the chinese believe the Arowana brings good luck to the owner. A red Asian 1st grade ( 24 inches) depending on colour sells for 20,000 S$ . wow imagine that!!!

 Arowanas are excellent jumpers! Please keep your tank tightly covered!

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