This excerpt is taken from the book, Arowana, A Layman's Guide by Willie Si & Winston Sng. published 1997
"Myth's and beliefs.
There are many myths and beliefs associated with the arowana.New beliefs are constantly being added to the growing list as hobbyists relate stories of how the fish has affected their lives.
Some are both intriguing and interesting, We shall highlight a few of the more interesting stories we have heard associated with these beliefs.
The most common belief that we know of is that if an arowana is well kept and taken care of, it will bring the owner good luck and fortune, while keeping all evils at bay.
Our interpretation of this belief is that at all times there are good and bad luck surrounding us. We like to think of them as positive and negative energies. By taking good care of the arowana, it will enable the arowana to "absorb" and filter the negative energy, while allowing the positive energy to pass through to the owner. This may explain why some hobbyists have noticed their arowana behaving slightly under the weather when a particular fortunate incident has occured.
There once was a story about a 15 year old who aquired a 8 inch (20cm) long Pahong gold arowana, a valuable grade in the golden species. This young man spent a lot of time and money in the upkeep of his fish. In 1990, three years after he aquired the fish he was enlisted in the army. While he was away on training, his family took over the reponsibility of caring for the arowana. One day in 1991, the young man was involved in a very serious accident while out on training. He was admitted to the hospital in a coma. For seven days, his family members visited him and prayed for recovery.
On the evening of the eighth day, he regained conciousness. His first words were "How is my arowana?" His family reassured him that his fish was in good health as they had been faithfully taking care of it in his absence. They then celebrated his recovery.
Upon reaching home, his family were shocked to see the arowana floating upsidown in the tank. It had been in fine condition when they had left several hours before.
They boy had been so faithful in caring for the fish that the arowana repaid the kindness by sacraficing its own life in exchange for the owner's life.
The reverse is also believed to be true. That is to say, if an arowana is treated badly, then it would be unfair to expect the arowana to absorb any negative energy on the owner's behalf.
We heard this story sometime in 1988. A man resigned from his job to start his own business. The time seemed ripe since the country was coming out of the 1984/85 recession. Being low on funds, he managed to convince his two brothers to join him in the venture. They started a small trading business dealing in electrical and electronic equipment, operating from a small rented office. Being superstitious, they consulted the proper authority to determine the ideal office address, telephone number and layout. The presence of an arowana was also determined to be essential to the success of the business.
In less then a week the man had everything set up to receive his arowana, a beautifull 8 inch (20cm) golden arowana. Two weeks after the arrival of the arowana, they secured their first business deal.
Since the business was still in its infancy, the brothers spent a fair amount of time in the office taking care of their fish. The arowana continued to grow well, and so did their business.
Within three years, they had moved to a bigger office and subsequently secured a factory space. By then, they were able to employ two ladies to assist them in the day to day running of the office, while they attended to business in Singapore and the region.
When they began to put too much emphasis on their business by spending long periods of time overseas, playing golf and entertaining late into the night, and started to neglect the arowana, the health of the fish began to deteriorate.
One day in 1991, the man noticed that the arowana was very ill. He was worried that the fish might die in his office, bad luck would result for him and the business. He made arrangements to have the fish removed and released into a nearby river. After the fish was removed, business took a 180 degree turn and the venture folded. The company went bankrupt in 1995. Many arowana owners believe the man literally threw his business into the river.
There is another well-known story of a man who was asked to take care of his brother-in-law's four year old arowana while he was away on a business posting overseas. For the first two weeks all was well, but the man began to feel the pinch in his pocket because he was regularly purchasing small fish to feed the arowana. If he could catch some fish from the canal in his estate, he could save quite a bit of money. Some time later the man was found dead in the canal after he slipped on some algea and fell into the water.
Another common belief, held in high esteem especially among hobbyists who have aquaried orange arowana between five and six years of age , is that when the fish changes from orange to red, good luck is on the way.
Without meaning to dampen their spirits, we must point out that it is quite normal for arowanas of this age to change color. It is around this age that the arowana matures and becomes ready for spawning. The change in color is nature's way of making the fish more attractive to its potential mating partner.
Yet another popular belief is that when an arowana is kept in a tank at home, the fish must not be placed directly in front of the main enterance of the house. This means if you were to look into the house from the main doorway, you must not be able to see the whole tank. If you were to be able to get a full view of the arowana, it would bring the owner bad luck. Placing the tank anywhere else in the house is fine.
According to popular belief, arowanas kept and displayed in business premises must be of the golden or green species to have proper impact. For the home, the red arowana yeilds the best results. Whatever the color, should the owner notice that his arowana is behaving in a sickly manner, especially prior to an appointment or interview, there is a high possibility that the outcome of that meeting will be negative.
There once was a businessman who was meant to sign a partnership agreement with his friends. Each partner was to contribute $100,000 to the venture. After countless negotiations, the day finally arrived for the agreement to be signed. While the man was preparing to leave for his appointment, he suddenly noticed that his pet arowana appeared to be feeling unwell. He immediately attended to his arowana. The man was so absorbed in treating his arowana that he did not realise that he had missed his business appointment. By the time he noticed the time, the business opportunity had been lost. His friend had found another partner and he had been excluded. He was dissapointed, his friend was dissapointed and it seemed as if he had missed out on the chance of a lifetime. Three months later, the same man received news that the business venture had collapsed. He thus interpreted that his arowana had saved him from losing $100,000.
So, in future, if you are stood up for an appointment or interview, and your meeting partner cites his sick arowana as the reason, please understand his concern.
With so much mystery surrounding the arowana, it is no surprise the the number of people around the world showing interest in the fish has been growing. Whether it is because they admire the arowana's beauty, or whether it is simply curiosity, we cannot deny that the arowana has a very strong following."
"Myth's and beliefs.
There are many myths and beliefs associated with the arowana.New beliefs are constantly being added to the growing list as hobbyists relate stories of how the fish has affected their lives.
Some are both intriguing and interesting, We shall highlight a few of the more interesting stories we have heard associated with these beliefs.
The most common belief that we know of is that if an arowana is well kept and taken care of, it will bring the owner good luck and fortune, while keeping all evils at bay.
Our interpretation of this belief is that at all times there are good and bad luck surrounding us. We like to think of them as positive and negative energies. By taking good care of the arowana, it will enable the arowana to "absorb" and filter the negative energy, while allowing the positive energy to pass through to the owner. This may explain why some hobbyists have noticed their arowana behaving slightly under the weather when a particular fortunate incident has occured.
There once was a story about a 15 year old who aquired a 8 inch (20cm) long Pahong gold arowana, a valuable grade in the golden species. This young man spent a lot of time and money in the upkeep of his fish. In 1990, three years after he aquired the fish he was enlisted in the army. While he was away on training, his family took over the reponsibility of caring for the arowana. One day in 1991, the young man was involved in a very serious accident while out on training. He was admitted to the hospital in a coma. For seven days, his family members visited him and prayed for recovery.
On the evening of the eighth day, he regained conciousness. His first words were "How is my arowana?" His family reassured him that his fish was in good health as they had been faithfully taking care of it in his absence. They then celebrated his recovery.
Upon reaching home, his family were shocked to see the arowana floating upsidown in the tank. It had been in fine condition when they had left several hours before.
They boy had been so faithful in caring for the fish that the arowana repaid the kindness by sacraficing its own life in exchange for the owner's life.
The reverse is also believed to be true. That is to say, if an arowana is treated badly, then it would be unfair to expect the arowana to absorb any negative energy on the owner's behalf.
We heard this story sometime in 1988. A man resigned from his job to start his own business. The time seemed ripe since the country was coming out of the 1984/85 recession. Being low on funds, he managed to convince his two brothers to join him in the venture. They started a small trading business dealing in electrical and electronic equipment, operating from a small rented office. Being superstitious, they consulted the proper authority to determine the ideal office address, telephone number and layout. The presence of an arowana was also determined to be essential to the success of the business.
In less then a week the man had everything set up to receive his arowana, a beautifull 8 inch (20cm) golden arowana. Two weeks after the arrival of the arowana, they secured their first business deal.
Since the business was still in its infancy, the brothers spent a fair amount of time in the office taking care of their fish. The arowana continued to grow well, and so did their business.
Within three years, they had moved to a bigger office and subsequently secured a factory space. By then, they were able to employ two ladies to assist them in the day to day running of the office, while they attended to business in Singapore and the region.
When they began to put too much emphasis on their business by spending long periods of time overseas, playing golf and entertaining late into the night, and started to neglect the arowana, the health of the fish began to deteriorate.
One day in 1991, the man noticed that the arowana was very ill. He was worried that the fish might die in his office, bad luck would result for him and the business. He made arrangements to have the fish removed and released into a nearby river. After the fish was removed, business took a 180 degree turn and the venture folded. The company went bankrupt in 1995. Many arowana owners believe the man literally threw his business into the river.
There is another well-known story of a man who was asked to take care of his brother-in-law's four year old arowana while he was away on a business posting overseas. For the first two weeks all was well, but the man began to feel the pinch in his pocket because he was regularly purchasing small fish to feed the arowana. If he could catch some fish from the canal in his estate, he could save quite a bit of money. Some time later the man was found dead in the canal after he slipped on some algea and fell into the water.
Another common belief, held in high esteem especially among hobbyists who have aquaried orange arowana between five and six years of age , is that when the fish changes from orange to red, good luck is on the way.
Without meaning to dampen their spirits, we must point out that it is quite normal for arowanas of this age to change color. It is around this age that the arowana matures and becomes ready for spawning. The change in color is nature's way of making the fish more attractive to its potential mating partner.
Yet another popular belief is that when an arowana is kept in a tank at home, the fish must not be placed directly in front of the main enterance of the house. This means if you were to look into the house from the main doorway, you must not be able to see the whole tank. If you were to be able to get a full view of the arowana, it would bring the owner bad luck. Placing the tank anywhere else in the house is fine.
According to popular belief, arowanas kept and displayed in business premises must be of the golden or green species to have proper impact. For the home, the red arowana yeilds the best results. Whatever the color, should the owner notice that his arowana is behaving in a sickly manner, especially prior to an appointment or interview, there is a high possibility that the outcome of that meeting will be negative.
There once was a businessman who was meant to sign a partnership agreement with his friends. Each partner was to contribute $100,000 to the venture. After countless negotiations, the day finally arrived for the agreement to be signed. While the man was preparing to leave for his appointment, he suddenly noticed that his pet arowana appeared to be feeling unwell. He immediately attended to his arowana. The man was so absorbed in treating his arowana that he did not realise that he had missed his business appointment. By the time he noticed the time, the business opportunity had been lost. His friend had found another partner and he had been excluded. He was dissapointed, his friend was dissapointed and it seemed as if he had missed out on the chance of a lifetime. Three months later, the same man received news that the business venture had collapsed. He thus interpreted that his arowana had saved him from losing $100,000.
So, in future, if you are stood up for an appointment or interview, and your meeting partner cites his sick arowana as the reason, please understand his concern.
With so much mystery surrounding the arowana, it is no surprise the the number of people around the world showing interest in the fish has been growing. Whether it is because they admire the arowana's beauty, or whether it is simply curiosity, we cannot deny that the arowana has a very strong following."
