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The Nami Green Asian Arowana

By Max Loo

Aqarticles

I have been so impressed with the Asian Arowana breed refered to as the "Nami Green" that I have decided to write a short story of my encounter with this variety of Green Arowana. My interest in Arowana keeping dates back in June 2001. I have always been an enthusiast in fishing related activities,  such as fishing locally and offshore. Commercial pond fishing has for many years been part and parcel of my life.

A friend of mine, who is the owner of a commercial pond, converted his business to an ornamental fish shop. It was at his shop that I was introduced to the wonders of the Asian arowana, said to be the king of ornamental fishes. With my zero experience in keeping the exotic arowana, I was advised to kick start the hobby and have a first experience with the cheapest variety, the Green arowana. My excitement soon turned to a short moment of sadness when I was told a local batch of Green arowana would only arrive  the next coming month. Looking around the shop I decided to get things started sooner; thus I purchased a Red Tail Golden (RTG) arowana.

Exactly one month later, I received news of the new batch of local Green arowana, on display and for sale at my friend’s shop. There were about 17 juvenile arowana in a small 3 foot tank. My jaw dropped and I was in awe when I saw a huge and impressive 33 inches adult Green Arowana on display at the entrance of the shop in a jumbo 5x3x3 footer tank. I began to strike a bond with the adult Green Arowana on display for its discus like “snake-skin” pattern on its gill plate and small patches of glittering shine on each of its big scales. It was a sight to behold. It was beautiful! It was that adult Green arowana that inspired me to keep the same type, which I learned later is known locally as the Nami Green arowana.

Here is the huge 33" Green I managed to capture with a very old digital camera

After some long chats with the shop owner, I am now more aware of the Nami Green arowana which is a local breed from a lake near a small town known as Nami. Often, when locals go fishing, they would  probably mention that they are going to Nami. From the scenario above, no wonder the Green arowana is known to most locals there as the Nami Green arowana.

A lake near a small town known as Nami

The lake is actually part of the Muda Dam located north west from the Alor Setar town center. It is next to the well known Pedu lake of Kedah State.The Muda and Pedu catchments are well know as a good fishing spot. Here is the place where anglers can hire those wooden “sampans” for angling activites. The place is near a small town call Gubir.

Very likely, when locals fish, they would mainly target “ikan - Haruan” or local snakehead, for its juicy flesh and its superior healing qualities for anyone who is recuperating from an operation. However, it is by no surprise for anglers to land the odd Green arowana.

Below is a very old picture taken by one of the local fisherman. This Green weighed about 7kg. As can be seen from the picture, the back ground is the Muda Dam.

A 7kg Green Arowana

The day after the batch of Green arowana arrived at my local aquarium store, I bought one. There was nothing special about this Green when it was small. No sign of pattern or shine on the gill plate or the scale. Here it is when it was about 5”.

My 5" Green Arowana

This variety of Green has a very good appetite and grows really fast in the first 12 months.

6 months later

It reached 12” in 6 months time. The gill plate started to show a very obvious pattern at around 14”.

At 14"

Here it is at around 16” on May 2002.

There are many special features about this type of Green. It has a very unique snake skin pattern on the gill plate.

Unique snake skin pattern

The eyes are red in colour.

There are spots of shine developing on the pectoral fins.

The scales are large and have spots of shine and patterns.

Currently, there are farms embarking on a project of breeding this type of Green. I am sure with their expertise and knowhow; they will succeed in breed this type of Green for all to enjoy in the not so distant future.

It is an exciting experience for me to know that this type of Green is so special and unique. I do hope that farms will maintain the originality of this breed so that those hobbyists who like its features will have the opportunity to keep and enjoy such a fish.