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