why

[jlnguyen74]

if you pay top money for a XB and get a fish look like a normal HB then yes this is purely con case. Any top money XB should have good shine and at least 80% pearl.

But they're special cases, if you;re looking for BBXB, no guarantee of crossing, yu might end up with just 5th level.

Very well put!

I see more uncrossed xbs than crossed. I'm not sure what people have paid for them, but it is disturbing to me.

That's why I don't like to use the term Xback. It's market name, and it's confusing. I like to call them Malaysian Gold!

exactly my point if you see a xback that has been put in a white tank the shine levels will look very high for a young 7 inch so called xback and you will pay the higher price

when that aro is placed in non white tank the shine level will drop so for me we have been conned out of our money this is not right

you are right how many adults do we see that are fully crossed on forums like this

we see lots of nice farm pics showing what what we might get if we part with lots of money but we hardly ever see them in home tanks

Koji's post #20 described very well about translucent of the scales when put it white tank. It may be hard for untrained eye to distinguish between true "shine" and translucent scales. If you shop for a Malaysian Gold, don't let the shine blind you. Look for the pearls, if the edge/rim of the scales develop (easier to notice if the fish is blue-base). Just like with datnoid. Don't just look for 3 bars, or 4 bars, or the tail stripe, but should judge the whole fish base on color, body shape, stripe, etc...

 

[T1KARMANN]

ok for our us$2000 what are we getting if its not a true cross back is it just a extra super grade HBRTG

ALL farms are conning us then by putting super or premium grade blue base cross back if the fish has a 1% chance of fully crossing

its a lot essayer for people who live in county's like Singapore if they are not happy with the way a aro is turning out they just take it back to the farm its cert-ed from

i know for a fact if i wasn't happy with a $2k fish and the farm was just around the corner from were i live i would be on the phone demanding my money back

 

[jlnguyen74]

ok for our us$2000 what are we getting if its not a true cross back is it just a extra super grade HBRTG

ALL farms are conning us then by putting super or premium grade blue base cross back if the fish has a 1% chance of fully crossing

its a lot essayer for people who live in county's like Singapore if they are not happy with the way a aro is turning out they just take it back to the farm its cert-ed from

i know for a fact if i wasn't happy with a $2k fish and the farm was just around the corner from were i live i would be on the phone demanding my money back

Even a low grade true "cross back" still looks different to an extra super grade HBRTG. If you look at the pix posted by Skareb on post #4 and #5, you'll see the differences. On post #4, whether the "HBRTG" was WTT or darken, there's lack of "pearls," which present in "cross back" pix in post #5.
To say ALL farms are conning us is totally wrong! Most farm doesn't con anyone. Their reputation is at stake. However, distributor/middle-man is the one who does all the "hocus pocus!"
There are too many market-name that confuses buyer. That's why when buying an arowana, buyer should buy the fish based on whether he likes the fish or not, not buy it based on its "name." Arowana, as well as many other fish, changes when it reaches maturity. Some turns out nice, some doesn't. Some "bloom" early, and some are late bloomer. Just like Red arowana, some turns red, and some turns "orange," yet, the "orange" one is still Red arowana. So don't just expect all "cross back" will "cross back!" However, the gold shine of a true "cross back" won't be imitated by even an extra super grade HBRTG.
BTW, I don't know about the market in UK, but US$2,000 won't get a "cross back," (MAY BE, if it's purchased straight from the farm.)

 

[superleggera123]

your so right.. very though to get your moneys worth.. not just with aros but with any fish.. !
here in canada we have many places like arowana canada that upon request do whatever you want such as put in a darker tank to prove to you they are not conning.. however... i think if your truly want the fish of your dreams.. and you are prepared to shell out 10+k than why not add an extra 2k and fly to the the country and choose your fish..!
go to farms like shelook red of elkindo and you will get the fish u want no problem!

 

[sikoko]

its fair i think

 

[Chaitika]

That's why when buying an arowana, buyer should buy the fish based on whether he likes the fish or not, not buy it based on its "name."

So how do you know what a 7" fish will look like in 3 years? It's best guess, based on what I'm reading in this thread. Best guess is not exactly encouraging when looking to spend several thousands of dollars.

 

[jlnguyen74]

So how do you know what a 7" fish will look like in 3 years? It's best guess, based on what I'm reading in this thread. Best guess is not exactly encouraging when looking to spend several thousands of dollars.

Exactly! You can't know how a 7" fish will turn out in 3 years down the road, so don't guess. Buy the fish base on what you see at the time you buy? Does it have spoonhead? Does it have long pectoral fins, big tail, long barbels? Does it have pearl (if you're buying Malaysian Gold) Does it have deep/dark base? Etc... Don't buy it just because you "think" it will turn out very nice, and then get disappointed when it doesn't come out like what you "think." Color and drop eye are the two things that can be changed when the arowana grows. Don't buy an arowana with "bullet" head, small tail, short fins and barbels, and "think" it will grow into spoon head, big tail, long fins and big barbels You may have some control over it, but you don't have total control over how the arowana develops. Or pay more, and buy a nice fully developed arowana It's always down to "you get what you paid for."

 

[T1KARMANN]

I'm not the only person who is disappointed with the export fish

i done a aro com with 2 chili reds and 7 x super grade blue base cross back

i grew all the fish for 2 years to try to keep the best out of the com

you would think out of 7 cross back 3 from one farm 4 from another the percentage rate of getting 1 with full pearls and great shine would be much higher than just having 1 aro

not 1 of the xback was what i would class as good

if you take them odds and use them on the average aro keeper who buys just 1 aro the odds are highly stacked against them getting a good aro

out of 10 aros i have had in a 15 year span only one aro i would class as fairly good and that came from rockygold so yes i do trust him

but now if someone came to me and said they can get a great deal on a xback i wouldn't trust it as i feel most of the xback that are sold are not worth the us$2k

you need to spend us$4k before you start to get a gold fish

maybe I'm just being fussy but i cant afford to waste another 2-3 years growing a fish only for it to not to turn out the way i want

 

[jlnguyen74]

I'm not the only person who is disappointed with the export fish

i done a aro com with 2 chili reds and 7 x super grade blue base cross back

i grew all the fish for 2 years to try to keep the best out of the com

you would think out of 7 cross back 3 from one farm 4 from another the percentage rate of getting 1 with full pearls and great shine would be much higher than just having 1 aro

not 1 of the xback was what i would class as good

if you take them odds and use them on the average aro keeper who buys just 1 aro the odds are highly stacked against them getting a good aro

out of 10 aros i have had in a 15 year span only one aro i would class as fairly good and that came from rockygold so yes i do trust him

but now if someone came to me and said they can get a great deal on a xback i wouldn't trust it as i feel most of the xback that are sold are not worth the us$2k

you need to spend us$4k before you start to get a gold fish

maybe I'm just being fussy but i cant afford to waste another 2-3 years growing a fish only for it to not to turn out the way i want

I totally understand your feeling. While $2K are a lot, keep in mind that this is xback, not RTG. For example, when you go buy a Mercedes C300, you'll get a Mercedes C300, not a Ford Focus, but also not a Mercedes C350, or C63 AMG - no punt intended

 

[Chaitika]

We're going to be seeing some of Koji's 24k and diablo reds in Canada very shortly, so I'll have a chance to see some high quality xb's in person. It's the prices that have me very curious.