Arowana

The Arowana (アロワナ, Arowana) is a freshwater fish in the introduced in. It is tied with the Arapaima as the second-most valuable freshwater fish in the, selling for 10,000 Bells, and it is beaten only by the Dorado and the Stringfish, which each sell for 15,000 Bells.

A variant of the Arowana, the Ivory Arowana, appears exclusively in as an event fish.

Donating to the museum
As with all fish caught in the, the Arowana can be donated to the museum in each game by talking to Blathers, who also will give some information on it.

In
Blathers will say this upon donation:

"Another rare fish! You, old bean, are an angler for the ages! The bards will sing your praises! Thanks to generous individuals such as yourself, Player, the museum is growing by leaps and bounds. Your dragon fish has now found a home away from home. I promise, it will be very happy in its new digs!"

In
Blathers will accept the donation willingly. His words are as follows:

"I've never heard of a dish made with arowana... However, I find it hard to believe they're inedible. People eat ANYTHING. Still, they're probably more profitable to sell for viewing than for eating."

It appears in the middle tank in the aquarium.

In
"...It's said that arowana have retained the same appearance for nearly 100 million years! That's far longer than people or owls have been around... Hoo, the sights they must have seen... There's a bit of mystery about them, is there not? A fitting appearance for the king of tropical fish!"

It appears in the tank on the right in the aquarium.

In
An information board in the aquarium will display this description of the Arowana:

"Arowanas are ancient fish that have remained basically unchanged for 100 million years. They are known for their large scales and the hair that sticks out from their lower lips. They have a remarkable jumping ability and can leap over a yard above the surface of the water. Males protect their babies by keeping them in their mouths and releasing them once they reach a certain size."

In
"It would seem your angling expertise knows no bounds! This beauteous arowana fetches a pretty Bell, though I'd venture to say that its true price is beyond measure. The arowana is an excellent jumper. Some have been seen leaping six feet out of the water, eh wot! Alas, it has also been on the endangered-species list for some time. It's up to us to do all we can to help preserve such magnificent creatures for the years to come."

The Arowana can be found in the large tank in the back of the first room of the fish exhibit area.

Real-world information
Arowanas, also known as aruanas or arawanas, are a freshwater fish of the family Osteoglossidae, sometimes known as "bonytongues". They can obtain oxygen from the air by sucking it into their swim bladder, which is lined with capillaries akin to lung tissue. In aquariums, Arowanas tend to school in groups of five to eight; any fewer may show an excess of dominance and aggression. Osteoglossids are basal (primitive) fish from the lower Tertiary and are placed in the actinopterygiid order Osteoglossiformes. There are ten described living species: three from South America, one from Africa, four from Asia, and the remaining two from Australia. Osteoglossidae is the only exclusively freshwater fish family found on both sides of the Wallace Line. This may be explained by the fact that Asian arowanas (S. formosus) diverged from the Australian Scleropages, S. jardinii and S. leichardti, about 140 million years ago, making it likely that Asian arowanas were carried to Asia on the Indian subcontinent.