These fish and their exotic habitat in Danau Sentarum have captivated Zulkiflie MS, resident artist in Pontianak, West Kalimantan. Painting: "Pesona Arwana II" © Zulkiflie MS, 1995

The Asian Arowana (Scleropages formosus), also known as “Dragon Fish”, is prized for its positive Feng Shui. The Chinese believe that they are reincarnations of the mythical Dragon and symbolize luck, wealth, prosperity and strength. Businessmen prefer to keep the gold variety in the office for prosperity and the red variety is said to be good for warding off evil spirits in the home. “Dragon Fish” is an apt name for the fish that can reach a size of 3 feet! When taken good care of, they can live up to 25 years old.

Asian Arowanas come in many exotic hues from red to gold to purple to green to silver, but the most sought after is the Super Red variety. The reddest of the Super Red are the Chili Red and Blood Red varieties and can only be found in the tea-colored waters of Kapuas River and Sentarum Lakes (Danau Sentarum) in West Kalimantan. In Japan, the Super Red Arowana can fetch prices ranging between $2,000-$200,000. Due to its popularity, demand and outrageous price tag, the Super Red Arowana has been fished almost to extinction in West Kalimantan and it is extremely rare to catch one in the wild.

Asian Arowanas are now protected under Appendix I of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of wild flora and fauna (CITES), so all commercially traded fish are bred in CITES registered farms and are electronically tagged with coded microchips when the fries reach a size of about 6 inches. CITES violators in the US could face up to $20,000 in fine and up to five years imprisonment. Avoid “wild caught” Arowana— you don’t want to end up with bad Feng Shui!