Asian Arowana: Size, Price and Why It Is Banned in the US

The Asian arowana is a large, metallic-scaled freshwater fish from Southeast Asia, prized in Chinese culture as a symbol of luck and wealth because it resembles a dragon (Wikipedia). It can reach about 90 cm, is Endangered in the wild, and cannot legally be bought or sold in the United States. Farmed fish usually sell for a few thousand dollars; the famous six-figure prices are rare exceptions.

Up to about 90 cm (35 in) in total length (Wikipedia); the Dallas World Aquarium gives 36 in (91 cm) but notes most are smaller. They reach maturity at 3 to 4 years and need large aquariums kept at 24 to 30 C (75 to 86 F) (Wikipedia). In the wild they are surface hunters in moving, often murky streams with sandy or rocky bottoms and weedy plants, and can leap out of the water after insects, spiders, frogs, lizards and even birds and bats (Dallas World Aquarium).

Because the US Fish and Wildlife Service listed the species as Endangered under the Endangered Species Act in 1976, which bans import and interstate trade without federal permits (AMAZONAS Magazine). The Hustle reports that penalties for people caught smuggling them have typically been probation and fines of $5,000 to $15,000. Internationally the fish is on CITES Appendix I, the most restrictive trade category (Wikipedia).

State rules add to this. Florida lists the whole bonytongue family, Osteoglossidae, as conditional species that cannot be kept privately, with one exception: the silver arowana (Osteoglossum bicirrhosum), a separate South American fish that is widely sold (Florida FWC).

What changed in 2026: the aquarium trade group USAQUA petitioned the government in November 2025 to allow imports of captive-bred Asian arowana from CITES-registered farms. When the Fish and Wildlife Service did not make the required 90-day finding, USAQUA filed a notice of intent to sue on 20 February 2026 (AMAZONAS Magazine). As of our check on 25 September 2026, the ban has not been lifted.

Prices reported by The Hustle (1 October 2024), in markets where the fish is legal:

• Average farm sale: about $3,000 per fish
• Retail range: about $1,200 to $5,500 depending on variety
• Specialty shops: from about $300 to more than $4,000
• A flawless super red: $30,000
• An albino fish: $300,000, "purportedly" sold by a Malaysian breeder

The same report describes at least 250 CITES-approved farms across Southeast Asia, and says the Singapore breeder Qian Hu sold about $30 million worth of arowana in 2019. Colour, scale shine, body shape and size drive price within a variety.

Search results and list sites give $400,000 for a "platinum arowana", a pale form of the Asian arowana. We could not find that sale documented by a named buyer, seller or auction. The highest figure we could trace to a named publication is the $300,000 albino fish above, and even that report says "purportedly". Treat any $400,000 figure as unverified.

Wikipedia lists five main natural colour varieties, each from a particular part of Southeast Asia: green (the most common), silver Asian, red-tailed golden, gold crossback (blue Malayan) and super red (blood red). A 2003 study proposed splitting these into four species, but most researchers dispute that.

The fish is a mouthbrooder. Females lay 30 to 100 large eggs (Wikipedia), and the male holds them in his mouth for about a month until they hatch, then keeps the fry there for another two to three months (Dallas World Aquarium). Long lives and few young are part of why wild numbers recover slowly.

Research and drafting for this page were assisted by AI and checked line by line against the sources listed below. Every number names the organisation it comes from, and where sources disagree we say so instead of picking one silently. Prices carry the date we checked them (25 September 2026); they change, so confirm before you rely on them. If you find an error, tell us and we will correct it.