Color me green. I sorta gave up on the idea of an arowana because of the legal issues.
The truth is that, if not for the ministrations of my charming wife, I would probably be running an even lower-budget version of Ohio Fish Rescue myself. If people are going to give me monster fish for free, I'll house them. It doesn't get cold here. You could keep most fish outdoors 11 mos a year here. Plumbing is no mystery.
But so far I have only rescued 3 small catfish, 1 BNP, and 7 assorted cichlids, all under 6"
Maybe my wife just needs some more convincing.