24K Gold Fever!

[islandguy11]

How much are they?

Well let's just say somewhere between US$1,000-$2,000, we're still negotiating

In any case I think it's probably about a 1/3-1/2 the price such a fish would have gone for say 5-10 years ago when the prices were crazy high after becoming illegal in US. Now that Arowana breeding has been quite successful over the years, with an explosion of farms as well, there are more fish on the market so naturally prices have gone down.

And I would guess we'll be seeing more such quality fish available -- check out Singapore, Malaysian and Thai farms/brokers selling on Facebook nowadays and you'll see some crazy good stuff like this...

Which shouldn't be shocking -- quite a few of the farms have been doing this for a decade or two now and have unsurprisingly improved their lines over the years, at least appearance wise -- I really have no idea whether or not their overall health and longevity may have been affected.

 

[Destinys Reef]

I got to get me another Arowana, mine committed suicide. I had a small 2" gap between the glass lids and the tank rim that it jumped through.

 

[islandguy11]

I got to get me another Arowana, mine committed suicide. I had a small 2" gap between the glass lids and the tank rim that it jumped through.

To be sure Chris they are a challenging fish to keep -- I lost my first Aro, a $600 11" Gold Xback beauty a couple weeks ago -- tank itself was well covered but I didn't properly protect the top of the internal overflow corner filter in my 375g tank, and she jumped in there while I was away for 2 days on a business trip.

It was (an expensive) learning experience, and at the time I swore never to get another Aro -- fast forward a couple of weeks and here I am again lol, looking for another even higher quality one (and ordering a new, Aro-friendly big tank to keep it in) -- I think this is what's called Arowana Fever and I hope to rise better to the challenge 2nd time around.

 

[narayanang76]

To be sure Chris they are a challenging fish to keep -- I lost my first Aro, a $600 11" Gold Xback beauty a couple weeks ago -- tank itself was well covered but I didn't properly protect the top of the internal overflow corner filter in my 375g tank, and she jumped in there while I was away for 2 days on a business trip.

It was (an expensive) learning experience, and at the time I swore never to get another Aro -- fast forward a couple of weeks and here I am again lol, looking for another even higher quality one (and ordering a new, Aro-friendly big tank to keep it in) -- I think this is what's called Arowana Fever and I hope to rise better to the challenge 2nd time around.

Sorry to hear that loss. Am sure you get back being better with another beauty very soon. Good luck.

 

[Destinys Reef]

Oh I’m definitely getting another one. Who sells the gold xback that you are talking about?
Are they available in the states?

I’m still new in the Aro and stingray.

 

[Troy1015]

Oh I’m definitely getting another one. Who sells the gold xback that you are talking about?
Are they available in the states?

I’m still new in the Aro and stingray.

Best bet for Asian aro in USA is department of fish an fame they can help locate you top quality.

 

[islandguy11]

24K Update: I actually pulled the trigger on this one, sent off a good sized deposit for the fish -- then the day before it was to be shipped they sent me a final video of the fish -- which showed an injury to the fish's side, which they said happened when he jumped in his tank. They offered to keep it for another week or two while it healed up, but I just wasn't keen to spend that much on a recently injured fish and not knowing for sure how well it would actually heal up, so canceled the deal (which they were nice and cooperative about).

Was quite bummed about this, and thought again to give up on Aros, but was in Bangkok again a couple of days ago and couldn't resist checking out what was around. I came across 1 quite nice Goldenhead but then found a shop that was getting in a nice one the next day from Malaysia. Long story short, he sent me pix and vids the next day, I preferred this, couldn't resist and bought it, he'll be flown from BKK to the island tomorrow

Not quite as golden as the one in OP, but new one is younger and about 2" shorter (~10") so that's to be expected. I think it has great potential, head and back are already about 90% gold/crossed. More pix after he's arrived but here's 1 for now:

 

[islandguy11]

Sorry to hear that loss. Am sure you get back being better with another beauty very soon. Good luck.

Thanks for your words of Good Luck bro, I think they might have helped But thanks just as much for your advice before on other threads (and hoped for with this fish as well) -- if he gets even nearly as big and beautiful as your amazing 'Flash', I'll be a happier fish keeper.

 

[stratos]

That is a beautiful full helmet GH you have. I regularly import Asian arowana to Canada, have a fair bit of experience importing GH. As an importer I have always gone out of my way to warn people about the instability of GH. I have had long discussions with farm owners about WTT, and how best to do it. What follows is recent advice straight from a well respected breeder:

WTT is a painful process of learning the dynamic of tank environment. Side wall should be non-reflective, wattage depend on grow and shine of scale development, spectrum...8,000k light give almost ideal of the combination spectrum of light. 24 hour tanning give the best result. Wattage should be low for the start. You need to monitor the scale colourization and adjust all variables accordingly. There's no one size fits all technique. Water level should not be over 6 inches.

Here is a thread on a Canadian forum that has some more useful information : http://www.arowanaclub.ca/forums/showthread.php?t=6605 Inside that thread are links to a couple other threads (both on arowanaclub.ca and arofanatics). WTT is a fascinating subject

I hope you can post regular updates of your fish. I really look forward to watching how it develops. It looks absolutely stunning right now. Good luck.

 

[narayanang76]

Thanks for your words of Good Luck bro, I think they might have helped But thanks just as much for your advice before on other threads (and hoped for with this fish as well) -- if he gets even nearly as big and beautiful as your amazing 'Flash', I'll be a happier fish keeper.

Your welcome. However my Flash is nowhere near the quality you are talking about. So it would turn out much much better.

Here we have limitations on available quality and options to choose, on top of that some retailers pushing low quality fishes as better ones. We also have limitations on actually seeing the fish before buying so will have to accept once we receive shipment.

In your case I feel you get plenty of options, for best quality fishes and also able to see them before buying. So more options available, however it can be confusing.

Over the period of time, I have learned that the personality of your fish will be more appealing than how they look and would love to see them in their natural color and not going for any tanning or WTT. Just my personal opinion.