Specialist arowana store enters book of records

The Malaysia Book of Records research journalist Zulhairi Md Zin (third from left) presenting a certificate to Lim Kim Heng for Nagamas being the largest arowana store in the country. Pic by Yong Chee Choong

PREMIUM: The megastore has about 500 fish on display and offers its loyal customers special privileges

PETALING JAYA: AROWANA fish lovers will have plenty of choices at Nagamas Retails Sdn Bhd which opened it doors recently. The biggest arowana specialty store is a subsidiary of Senheng Electric (KL) Sdn Bhd.

Located in SStwo Mall, the store has a floor space of the 929sq m, and displays about 500 arowana fish of various species such as the Malaysian Golden Crossback, Albino, Red, and Golden Highback.

Senheng managing director Lim Kim Heng said: "Usually, arowana sellers will only have about 30 fish in their shops, but at Nagamas, there are many different species on offer to our customers.

"They can sit back and relax in our air-conditioned store while choosing their fish," he said at the launch of the store recently.

He said customers will also find friendly and knowledgeable sales personnel.

"We have zero per cent interest instalment payments for up to 36 months.

"Customers will also enjoy free delivery service if they make purchases of RM1,000 and above in a single receipt.

"To reward loyal customers, there is a five per cent discount storewide for members who will also earn points which can be redeemed for premium products and member's day promotions.

Lim said, unlike any other arowana store, Nagamas also offers buy-back guarantees to its customers.

"We are confident that the customers will only get the best quality from us, but if they find that the fish is not up to their expectation, they can come back to us.

"We will give them a refund and pay them an extra 10 per cent of the price they paid for the fish, provided the fish is in good health," he said.

During the launch, a traditional lion dance was performed to bring prosperity to the store.

Nagamas was also presented with a certificate for being the largest Arowana retail store in the country by the Malaysia Book of Records.

Read more: Specialist arowana store enters book of records - Central - New Straits Times http://www.nst.com.my/streets/central/specialist-arowana-store-enters-book-of-records-1.277670#ixzz2THBUkHQo

Gilded fish symbols of prosperity

Common Crossback.

By NOR AIN MOHAMED RADHI | streets@mediaprima.com.my 

BIG CATCH: The arowana, believed to bring good luck and prosperity to its owner, is now being bred in on a big scale by an electrical company

SEMANGGOL: THOUSANDS of ringgit exchange hands near the 7,000 acre (2,832.8ha) freshwater lake of Bukit Merah, which is being used for the commercial breeding of the highly-prized ornamental fish, the arowana.

Also known as scleropages formosus, the fish is believed to bring good luck and wealth. The farming of the fish has been around in the country since 1970s.

Many, including Sengheng Electric (KL) Sdn Bhd, have invested their money in the business that promises lucrative returns.

Sengheng Electric, one of the largest electrical chain stores in Malaysia, recently revealed its arowana farm, Nagamas Aquaculture, to the media.

The 1.21ha farm houses 52 ponds, 929- sq metre hatchery room and a nursery room.

There are also about 1,000 breeding parent fish of various species, such as the Malaysian Golden Crossback, Albino Arowana, Red Arowana and Golden Highback.

Red arowana

During the visit, Nagamas Aquaculture director Ong Kar Ghee gave the media and other guests information on the arowana, its lifecycle and what to look for in a good arowana.

Malaysian Golden Head Crossback.

Nagamas director Lim Kim Heng, who was also present, said the high demand for the fish has led them into the business.

"There is a high demand locally from aquarium hobbyists and international markets like China, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Europe.

The worker gently opens an arowana’s jaws to release the fry

"According to Chinese belief, rearing a pair or two at home and office will bring good luck, health, happiness and prosperity to the owner.

"Besides that, it is also believed that the fish can ward off evil spirits," he said adding that the total investment for the project was about RM10 million.

A scanner reads data from a microchip embedded in an arowana

According to Lim, the price for an 8-inch (20cm) arowana can be anywhere between RM3,000 and RM10,000. Ong said the arowana is best bred in quiet rivers and lakes at temperatures of 24oC to 30oC.

Of all the arowana species, the species from Asia is regarded as the most highly prized by breeders.

Unlike other fish, arowana choose their own mate. After weeks of coaxing, the female will lay the orange coloured eggs and the male will fertilise them immediately before swallowing all the eggs in its mouth.

Once the eggs are inside the male's mouth, it will stop eating for two months.

We were lucky to see the harvesting process during our visit.

At the first pond, three workers slowly dragged a net across it to trap the fish.

A fish expert will then slowly examine each of the fish for fry while those without fry will be released.

He will gently spin the fish before opening the male's jaws to release the fry into a different net which will then be transferred to a plastic bag. In the first pond, only one fish had fry.

The fry still have yolk sacs attached to their bellies.

The same routine was carried out at the second pond. This time, there were two male parents. Many of the fry still had yolk sacs attached to their bellies but these will slowly disappear.

Arowana are usually fed with worms, fresh prawns or squids.

On May 9, Nagamas will be opening the first arowana megastore in SStwo Mall. With a floor space of the 929sq m, it will display about 500 arowana fish for sale.

"Usually, arowana sellers will only have up to 30 fish in their shops.

"Soon, with the opening of our megastore, customers will be spoilt for choice. They can sit back and relax in our air-conditioned megastore while choosing their fish.

"We have trained staff who will be able to help them with their purchase," he said.

Nagamas will also be introducing its "Buy Back Guarantee" for all its sale.

"We are confident that the customers will only get the best quality from us, but if they find that the fish is not up to their expectation, they can come back to us.

"We will give them a refund and pay them an extra 10 per cent of the price they paid for the fish, provided the fish is in good health," he said.

Anak arowana betina RM250,000

Oleh Mohd Sabran Md Sani

Dianggap sebagai simbol kemewahan dan kejayaan, ikan arowana emas atau kelisa menjadi ikan hiasan bernilai tinggi kalangan peminat spesies berkenaan, berikutan harganya boleh mencecah puluhan ribu ringgit seekor.

Selain dikaitkan dengan keuntungan dan membawa tuah kepada pemelihara 
nya, masyarakat Cina mempercayai arowana berkebolehan memberi petunjuk kepada pemilik sama ada bakal mendapat kegembiraan ataupun kecelakaan.

Bukan saja bentuk badannya menarik, malah ciri asli yang terdapat pada arowana termasuk warna dan kilauan sisik menjadikan ikan itu sebagai satu spesies ikan hiasan termahal di pasaran. 

Ikan arowana adalah ikan hiasan air tawar istimewa yang mendapat tempat bukan saja di kalang­an penggemar tempatan, malah luar negara. 

Spesies berkenaan mula diternak sejak 40 tahun lalu oleh pengusaha ikan hiasan di Bukit Merah, Perak. 

Aktiviti penangkapan ikan secara tidak terkawal sejak 70-an menyebabkan ia mengalami kepupusan di habitat asal. 

Bagi tujuan pengawalan, Convention on the International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) menjadi badan ditubuhkan untuk menjaga kepentingan spesies berkenaan sama ada bagi tujuan eksport atau import. 

Dalam memastikan kesinambungan arowana, Jabatan Perikanan melalui Institut Penyelidikan Perikanan (FRI) Glami Lemi, Jelebu, Negeri Sembilan menjalankan kajian mengenal pasti jantina ikan khususnya di peringkat juvenil. 

Kajian dengan kerjasama Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) antara lang­kah drastik dilakukan berikutan timbul permasalahan di kalangan penternak untuk mengetahui jantina ikan Arowana Emas bersaiz lapan sentimeter hingga ke 10 sentimeter. 

Kepentingan mengetahui jantina ikan ini disebabkan ada perbezaan nilai mengikut jantina kerana ikan betina lebih bernilai berbanding ikan jantan. 

Hal ini kerana ikan betina dapat menghasilkan anak yang bernilai hampir RM250,000 jika pembiakannya berjaya. 

Malah, secara semula jadinya ikan arowana adalah antara spesies ikan yang sukar untuk dikenal pasti jantinanya kerana memiliki bentuk badan hampir sama antara jantan dan betina terutama pada peringkat juvenil. 

Kaedah digunakan bagi mengetahui jantina ikan arowana yang biasa digunakan adalah dengan melihat bentuk badan, namun kaedah ini kurang tepat dan tidak boleh dipraktikkan pada pering­kat juvenil. 

Meng­gunakan kepakaran dimiliki, kedua-dua badan penyelidik berkenaan membangunkan teknologi biosensor hormon untuk menentukan jantina ikan arowana. 

Ketika kajian dilakukan, darah daripada ikan arowana diambil dan dianalisis kandungan hormon pembiakannya. 

Analisis itu bertujuan untuk melihat kadar kepekatan hormonnya dan jika kepekatan ‘ketotestosteron’ hormon tinggi berbanding ‘estradiol’, maka ikan berkenaan adalah jantan dan begitu sebaliknya. 

Teknologi biosensor pengesanan jantina ikan arowana dibangunkan dari hasil kajian hormon dalam plasma darah dilaksanakan dengan kerjasama UKM. 

Templat atau acuan biosensor dicipta untuk menge­san antibodi atau pun kandungan kimia dalam hormon pembiakan ikan arowana berkenaan. 

Biarpun kit biosensor berjaya dihasilkan, namun ia masih menjalani proses percubaan. 

Penciptaan teknologi kit biosensor pengesan jantina ini diharap akan dapat membantu pengusaha ikan Arowana Emas dalam menjalankan program pembiakan serta pemasaran ikan berkenaan. 

sumber: Harian Metro

Arowana emas berenang di BS Arowana Group

Kami di BS Arowana Group merupakan antara pengusaha ikan arowana bumiputra yang terbesar di Perak khasnya dan Malaysia amnya. 

Lokasi perusahaan kami terletak di Simpang 4 Semanggol, Perak iaitu 3 km dari Bukit Merah Lake Town yang terkenal.

Buat masa ini pihak syarikat memiliki 22 buah kolam yang menempatkan ikan termahal di dunia iaitu Malaysian Gold Arowana dan Highback Quality Arowana.

Kami mengalu-alukan sebarang pertanyaan mahupun ingin datang sendiri melihat kehebatan emas hidup ini berenang dan mungkin bakal menjadi milik anda sebagai koleksi kelak.

Sebarang pertanyaan, bolehlah menghubungi En. Zawawi Mohd Arif di talian 019 2611708 dan juga Uncle Mahmud di talian 019 214 8612 - Seksyen 8 Shah Alam.

Ini kerana motto kami ialah "Harga Murah, Kualiti Baik" 

Arowana now in aquaria of the rich

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. - Vietnamnet

Thief stole arowanas from homes

By Khushwant Singh
The Straits Times
Tuesday, Feb 12, 2013

SINGAPORE - A thief who was obsessed with arowanas stole $43,000 worth of the prized fish from tanks and ponds across the island.

Food stall assistant Ng Thai How spent two years driving around in search of landed properties to target.

Friday, the 41-year-old was sentenced to five months' jail after pleading guilty to theft.

The court heard Ng stole 37 arowanas between 2010 and last year. He and alleged accomplice Lim Keng Tat, 40, would cruise around in a car, looking for tanks and ponds containing the fish.

In court on Friday, Ng admitted taking them from landed properties in Upper Bukit Timah, Serangoon Gardens, Sembawang, Upper Thomson and other areas.

On one occasion, the pair were said to have driven to a house in Telok Kurau in the middle of the night. Lim allegedly parked about 100m from the property and waited there.

Ng climbed over the perimeter wall and used plastic bags to catch 17 arowanas. He then went back to the car and transferred them into a styrofoam box filled with water.

By the time they arrived at Ng's home in Ang Mo Kio, one fish had died, so each man ended up with eight arowanas.

The court heard that the 17 fish were worth an estimated $17,000 altogether.

The last theft was committed in September last year, when Ng netted an arowana worth $3,400.

A month later, police arrested him near his home. They picked up Lim the next day at his Yishun flat. Nine fish were recovered from each man. The rest had died.

Pleading for a sentence of no more than four months, defence counsel Mathew Kurian said Ng had been in custody since Nov 1 last year, and the Housing Board had sent him a lawyer's letter demanding he pay the instalments for his flat. The bachelor lives there with his mother.

The five-month jail term was backdated to the date of his remand. He could have been jailed for up to seven years and fined up to $10,000.

Lim has been charged, but has not been dealt with yet.

khush@sph.com.sg

- See more at: http://news.asiaone.com/News/AsiaOne%2BNews/Crime/Story/A1Story20130209-401239.html#sthash.DcyRCqxR.dpuf

Ikan Kelisa

Ikan Kelisa (bahasa Inggeris: Arowana) juga dikenali sebagai "Dragon Fish" atau "Bony-tongued Dragon" oleh sesetengah masyarakat Cina serta para pengeksport/pengimport khususya, adalah spesis ikan hiasan eksotik air tawar yang amat diidamkan oleh kebanyakan pemelihara ikan hiasan akuarium. Ini adalah kerana spesies ini mampu mempamerkan keasliannya sebagai ikan hiasan klasik yang bermutu tinggi.

Semua ikan kelisa mempunyai kepala yang agak bertulang, dan badan memanjang yang dilitupi sisik besar dan berat dengan corak mozek terusan. Sirip dorsal dan dubur mempunyai sinar lembut dan agak panjang, manakala sirip pektoral dan ventral adalah kecil. Nama bony-tongue (lidah-tulang) berasal dari tulang bergigi di dasar mulut ikan kelisa, 'lidah', yang menggigit kepada gigi di lelangit mulut.

Digelar dragon (naga) pula kerana sisik dan sesungutnya yang besar, menyerupai naga Cina. Ikan kelisa boleh mendapat oksigen dari udara dengan menyedutnya ke dalam pundi renangnya, yang berkedut dengan kapilari seperti tisu peparu.

Kelakuan

Ikan kelisa merupakan haiwan karnivor. Mereka pandai melompat, dan banyak yang mencari makan berhampiran permukaan air.

Pengelasan Spesies

Ikan kelisa terbahagi kepada sepuluh spesies: tiga dari Amerika Selatan, satu dari Afrika, empat dari Asiadan dua lagi dari Australia.

Scleropages formosus

• Kelisa Emas
  • Ikan Kelisa Emas Malaysia (Malaysian Golden atau Asian Bonytongue; nama sainsnya Scleropages formosus)
  • Ikan Kelisa Emas Indonesia: (Indonesian Golden atau Red-Tailed Golden Arowana; nama sainsnyaScleropages aureus)

Ikan Kelisa adalah di bawah CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species). 

Dilarang menjual atau membeli Ikan Kelisa tanpa permit. Kebanyakan Ikan Kelisa di dalam akuarium rumah adalah daripada "fish farm" yang membiak ikan ini untuk dijual dan dieksport ke negeri lain, seperti Jepun dan Amerika.

Famili ini mengandungi dua subfamili, Heterotidinae dan Osteoglossinae, semuanya kecuali dua daripada sepuluh spesies yang wujud adalah ahli yang kedua. Species are given with one or more prominent common names.

Famili Osteoglossidae

• Subfamili Heterotidinae
  • Genus Arapaima
    • Arapaima atau pirarucu, Arapaima gigas (Cuvier, 1829)
  • Genus Heterotis
    • African arowana, Heterotis niloticus (Cuvier, 1829)
• Subfamili Osteoglossinae
  • Genus Osteoglossum (Cuvier, 1829)
    • Silver arowana, Osteoglossum bicirrhosum (Cuvier, 1829)
    • Black arowana, Osteoglossum ferreirai Kanazawa, 1966
  • Genus Scleropages
    • Red-tailed golden arowana Scleropages aureus (Pouyad, Sudarto & Teugels, 2003)
    • Green arowana atau gold crossback arowana, Scleropages formosus (Schlegel & Müller, 1844)
    • Gulf saratoga, red saratoga atau northern spotted barramundi, Scleropages jardinii ^‡ (Saville-Kent, 1892)
    • Red arowana, super red arowana, atau chili red arowana, Scleropages legendrei (Pouyad, Sudarto & Teugels, 2003)
    • Saratoga, silver saratoga atau spotted barramundi, Scleropages leichardti ^‡ Günther, 1864
    • Silver Asian arowana, Scleropages macrocephalus (Pouyad, Sudarto & Teugels, 2003)

^‡This spesies adalah salah satu daripada dua kadangkala dikenali sebagai Australian arowana atau Australian bonytongue.

Satu kajian genetik menunjukkan bahawa keturunan yang membawa kepada arapaima dan arowana Afrika mencapah kira-kira 220 jutaan tahun dahulu, semasa Triassic Akhir; keturunan membawa kepada arowana perak dan biru gelap Amerika Selatan mencapah kira-kira 170 jutaan tahun dahulu, semasaJurassic Tengah. 

Manakala keturunan arowana Australia mencapah membawa kepada arowana Asia kira-kira 140 juta tahun dahulu, semasa Cretaceous Awal.^{[1] -Wikipedia}