Pictures of baby Arowanas show that all breeds of this fish are silver in color. However, some breeds already display their natural colors during this early stage. If you want to buy an Arowana, you may find it tedious to differentiate which is original and which is not. This article will help you do just that. Still, it will help to remember that not all Arowanas end up having their own colors on their scales. Sometimes their scales produce that color for a fraction of their lives, other times they are worse as their colors never appear.
To differentiate which is which, consider the following guiding questions:
For a Red Asian Arowana:
- Is the fish allowing hints of pure red to appear on its top? Is the color really red, or is it just a hue? Most of the Arowanas in this category are classified into two types, Class A and Class B. The color of Class A is deep red. Class B is a mix of orange and yellow. Unfortunately, most Arowanas in the US are Class B.
- Are the scales aligned naturally straight? If not, that fish is most likely not a red Arowana. The true red Arowana has proportionally aligned scales. No scale is missing its place if you look at the body of the fish. If you can find one, seek help from the store owner to see if the messy scale was done accidentally.
- The mouth of an original red dragon fish is a bit pointy at the top. Try checking this feature out at the pet store and note the distinctive angle in the fish’s mouth. Just make sure the Arowana fish is closed when you check its appearance.
For a Golden Arowana:
- The original color of a Golden Arowana is already present at its young age. Like the Red Arowana, its upper body is already dyed a golden hue. As it matures, this color will spread to all other scales in decreasing intensity. The result will be a fish with decreasing colors of gold and orange on its body.
- The scales of this type of fish are not the same with the arrangement in the red ones. Their scales are messy and their overall appearance is not that impressive. Still, when they mature, there is a good chance that their appearance will change.
