VietNamNet Bridge – Breeding arowana, which is considered the king ornamental fish, is now in fashion among the rich.

Nguyen Ngoc Dung in Hai Phong City, the owner of hundreds of dragon fish, said more and more collectors in Hai Phong have got crazy about arowana, which tops the list of the freshwater fishes in Vietnam’s red book.

In Asian countries such as China, Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia and Vietnam, arowana has been proclaimed as the king fish which symbolizes the high rank, luckiness and prosperity. Therefore, having aquariums with arowana at home would help the landlords prevent misfortune and bring prosperity.

In order to prove the scarcity and value of arowana, Dung showed a document with the red stamp, saying that arowana is the only kind of fish in the world which has personal information recorded. He said this was a certificate granted by an international organization which showed the series number, the origin of every fish individual.

The owners of fish farmers would attach a chip to every fish before it is marketed, which shows the code of the fish. The same code number would also appear on the certificate.

Dung went on to say that it’s very easy for people to find out if the fish they want to buy are really from the farms they order by accessing to the farms’ websites and track down the codes.

The hobby only for the rich

It costs everyone much money, efforts and time to breed arowana. According to a member of the Hai Phong City Arowana Club, one should invest no less than VND30-40 million on every aquarium.

The aquarium needs to have the minimum length of 1.5 meters in order to ensure necessary conditions for fishes to grow up. It’s necessary to install the aquarium with PH meter and heater to ensure that the stable temperature of 28-30oC in the aquariums. Meanwhile, the water in the aquariums must be cleaned to ensure a good living environment for fishes and protect them from catching diseases.

However, according to Dung, VND30-40 million is just the initial investment, while fish collectors have to spend much more money to maintain their aquariums and feed the fish.

A member of the arowana fish club in Hai Phong said in general, arowana can be bought right in Hai Phong. Meanwhile, Dung said he can sell some 10 arowana individuals every month.

A small fish could be sold at VND2-3 million, while bigger VND10-15 million. Especially, the fish with beautiful colors could be valued of up to thousands of dollars. Meanwhile, some people have to fly to Indonesia, Singapore or Malaysia to seek to purchase arowana, because they cannot find the ones they really like in Vietnam.

Arowana very like eating centipedes. Sometimes, they can be fed with fresh beef or some other kinds of meat.

The nutrition provided to arowana needs to be designed carefully so as to ensure that the fish would not get too fat or too thin. If they are too fat, they would not be beautiful, while thin fishes would not be strong enough.

Especially, fish collectors would have to spend much time to learn how to stimulate fishes to show their colors. Arowana lit red or yellow under the natural light, but they would be less beautiful if they live in home aquariums. Therefore, the aquariums need to be lightened with the special lamps which can stimulate the fishes and bring the wanted colors.

An Ninh HP