Arowana

The two reasons leading to the Asian Arowana being one of the most expensive and most sought after fish in the aquatic world are namely - its evolutionary past and the CITES Convention held in 1980. Studies have shown that, the Arowana as a whole, is a primitive fish from the Jurassic era. Fossils of the fish have indicated this fact. Having evolved through tens of millions of years means that it is indeed a very hardy fish that will live a good half century. Due to the high demand and low supply from river sources, the Asian Arowana was once closed to extinction. Hence, in 1980, the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) was signed by 72 countries, listing only the 'Asian Arowana' in the first appendix as a highest class protected fish.

COMMON	SCIENTIFIC	COLOUR VARIATION	COUNTRY OFORIGIN
Asian Arawana (Protected under CITES)	Scleropages Formosus	Gold (Over Back)	Malaysia
		Gold (Red Tail)	Indonesia
		Red	Indonesia
		Green	Vietnam, Burma, Thailand,Malaysia
Australia Arowana	Scleropages Jardini	Pearl	Australia
Australia Arowana	Scleropages Leichardti	Spotted	Australia
South American Arowana	Osteoglossum Bicirrhosum	Silver	Brazil, Columbia
South American Arowana	Osteoglossum Ferreirai	Black	Brazil, Columbia