@Galantspeedz Lol.
care to share how much more specialized care is required as compared to the SDs?
It's a long read but yes, in fact I do
Food/Feeding - SD's are
much easier to feed in general -- just throw in pellets and watch 'em go -- no stress or barely any time involved, they'll hardily eat most anything thrown in the tank. Arowana on the other hand can be VERY finicky if not frustratingly whimsical eaters. Besides pellets (hopefully), many want to eat live or frozen food which takes much longer to prepare and feed (if you don't want to make a nitrate factory mess with left over food in your tank). And they're liable to change their tastes any time and without warning. After 6 months of wolfing down pangasius filets, my BBXB suddenly decided she didn't like it anymore, but will eat Asian sea bass. Next month, who knows? She used to eat any kind of shrimp -- a couple of months ago she stopped eating any kind of completely white shrimp and will only eat shrimp that has some red coloring. Weird? Yes. Frustrating? Yes. SD owners have to worry about similar? No.
Maybe others aren't as cool or relaxed as you, but feeding Arowana can often be way more troublesome than SD's -- personally it pisses the crap out of me when my Aros sometimes go on pellet strikes. Besides wasting money on the food I've thrown into the tank, I have to spend time taking out the uneaten pellets. Time is money. Just go to 2 sub-forums of Arowana and SD's (other Characins) and compare the amount of threads about members having problems feeding their fish. Many Aro owners are quite distraught about it. Also as others have mentioned Aros sometimes go on hunger strikes for no apparent reason -- leaving the owner perplexed if it's just whim or if maybe it has some health issue. I've never seen SD owners having this problem, have you? Of course not every Arowana is a fussy or difficult eater, but overall the difference in care/difficulty here is kind of like "duh".
Water - Yeah really no difference.
Lighting - Lol, how many threads can we see on MFK and across the internet about people confused about "What kind of lighting should I use with my Aro?". Tanning, no tanning? If so how many hours and which light is best? Or with golds, WTT or not? Which background color is best? Lighting 24/7 or not? -- these are all considerations an Asian Arowana owner has to decide about, whereas SD owners simply DO NOT. Just check out the recent thread about the guy with a Sing Arowana who is paranoid to stop WTT & 24/7 lghting because he's scared his fish will lose its golden head and crossing, which he spent a lot of money on to acquire. Have you ever seen SD owners having to learn and worry about stuff like that?? No.
I'm quite sure you are aware that there are a number of grooming processes associated with Asian Arowana in an effort to bring out their best. How many people need to take the time, effort and expense to groom SD's??
Heavy lids - Sure this is good fish keeping practice but you will need a much stronger and secure lid with Aros, the jumping power of the 2 fish isn't even comparable. Also while it sucks to have a $35 fish jump out of a tank and die, it sucks X 10 when a $1,000 fish jumps out of a tank and dies -- naturally the potential of this is much more worrisome for Asian Arowana keepers compared to SD owners -- unless perhaps they're so rich like you that money isn't a matter. Then even if you have glass lids (I personally wouldn't use glass lids with Aros), you have to be concerned about your Arowana jumping up and bashing its head on the hard glass, which could kill it or cause drop eye. I've never heard about SD owners worrying about this -- have you?
Filtration - Yes both require adequate filtration.
Hardy - You blew off RD's point about PLJ & Dropeye as simply cosmetic issues. Perhaps essentially you are right but you can't tell me that most people whose $1,500 perfect Super Red or Xback suddenly develops dropeye wouldn't be super sad and disappointed about it -- call me superficial but I sure would be. Just go to Arowana dedicated forums and you can see many people almost crying about dropeye and begging for help/advice. Do SD owners face this issue, stress or possible disappointment?? No.
Also nobody mentioned about HLLE, which Asian Aro are more susceptible to compared to SD's given that their lateral line system is more sensitive -- HLLE is not only a cosmetic issue, and can lead to death of a fish.
And you forgot a few, let me help:
Aggressiveness: Yes some if not many Asian Arowana are chill (esp. when older), but some are not (esp. when younger). I have one that often attacks nets and siphons, he's quite territorial. It can be a PIA and I also have to be concerned that he might jump out the tank when doing so. Also both my Aros have jumped up and bitten my hand/finger when cleaning the tank (though not for a while now) -- how many SD owners have to worry about this? Also SDs can be bothersome to other fish (just like they nipped the fins of Joey King of DIY's Asian and bit off its barbels, very sad that), but Arowana can kill and/or eat other fish much more readily depending on their character and disposition. Have you ever heard of an otherwise calm SD that suddenly went beserko and destroyed every inhabitant in the tank just for fun, like Jardini are know to do sometimes do?
Emotional attachment: Maybe not fair to the fish but are you
seriously going to tell us that you were equally emotionally attached to your SD's compared to your Asian Arowana?? So when either of them got sick, injured or died you felt the same amount of sadness and were equally upset, right? Lol, either you're a fibber or a robot without measurable emotions. IMO it's much easier to get emotionally attached to Asian Arowana because they have more character than SDs and seem to be a much more intelligent fish (it's how they've survived for a 100 million years). In the same way most people get more emotionally attached to dolphins and whales compared to other marine creatures, it's not surprising that many people become more emotionally attached to an Arowana compared to an SD.
Investment: I've touched on this several times above. And yes from an ethical perspective it's not so nice to care more about one fish than another because it costs more. HOWEVER, the reality is from a practical perspective, when we're talking a $1,000-$2,000 fish vs. a $35 fish, it's completely natural for most people to be even more upset when there are problems. If you crashed your Porsche or your Ford Fiesta, which would make you more upset? Many people work hard and save a lot of money to get their 'Dream Fish' Asian Arowana -- to compare losing this Dream Fish to say an SD is quite ludicrous, even if it is morally unfair. (btw lol, since when are you concerned about fish keeping morality? -- clearly only when it's convenient for your argument).
Basically to take your overall argument a step further would entail maintaining that keeping a guppy is the same as keeping an Asian Arowana. Lol, good luck in convincing us of this, but I wouldn't doubt you'll try in vain due to loss of face that your main argument has been blown out of the water. Keeping SD's (or gold fish or African cichlids, etc.) is NOT the same as keeping an Asian Arowana (or a Silver or Jardini for that matter). Next you'll be telling us that keeping an Arapaima is just as easy as keeping a Flagtail...yeah right.
By continuing this line of thought you are doing a big disservice to new potential Arowana owners, esp. total newbies like OP who will be in a shock when they find out the reality that it's simply not as easy and carefree as you are irresponsibly implying.
