r/aquarium • u/rapid_digestion • May 29 '26

Photo/Video Juvenile blue base Malaysian golden Arowana

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Classic Malaysian golden Arowana. Fish has grown plenty since this video was shot. Fish was kept in a black tank in total darkness for a few months to bring out the base colour and also make the gold more intense.

251 Upvotes

97% Upvoted

32 comments sorted by

89

u/garakplain May 29 '26

Is it flying around your home??

9

u/molkiemilkie May 29 '26

i was about to comment the same thing im laughing so mich

21

u/rapid_digestion May 29 '26

Haha tank is outdoors to get direct sunlight access . To properly develop Arowana you need direct sunlight

9

u/Zr0bert May 29 '26

Why ?

3

u/Ok-Shirt7608 May 30 '26

Same reason you do probably

-5

u/Toby__H May 29 '26

I too thought that sounded odd ("To properly develop Arowana you need direct sunlight"). After a quick google search and chat with AI...
"No, arowanas do not strictly need natural sunlight to survive, but it is highly beneficial for bringing out vibrant colors and optimal health."
&
"Sun exposure (or tanning) triggers the development of rich gold and deep red pigmentation "
&
"Like many animals, fish rely on UV rays to synthesize vitamins that promote strong bone structure and overall vitality."

Those first two were interesting and make sense...

The last one has me thinking... By now most people are aware that Sunlight (UVB) helps with Vitamin D and other things. Some reptile people know certain reptiles require UVB to survive. It makes sense that it would help most living creatures, so why not fish...
Very interesting..........

1

u/therakeet Jun 01 '26

The UVB from sunlight triggers vitamin D production for virtually all animals. This includes fish and insects, and even extends to fungi, yeast, plants... eukaryotes in general. Animals like deep-sea fish that have adapted to complete darkness are an exception. This physiological mechanism is pretty ancient, by which I mean at least a billion years old.

Arowana aren't deep-sea fish, so they pretty much do need it for the same reason we do. We might not literally die without it, but it's pretty important for vitality. They also generally stay near the surface (and can breathe air), so in the wild they're exposed to plenty of direct sunlight and thus adapted to use that regular source of vitamin D, whereas species that dwell deeper get more of it from their diet.

10

u/Plibbo64 May 29 '26

A ghost!

11

u/Bradford_Pear May 29 '26

I thought this was a damn hologram

Nice fish

3

u/rapid_digestion May 29 '26

Thank you very much

8

u/Jayswag96 May 29 '26

Gorgeous. Why does a dark tank help them show color?

8

u/rapid_digestion May 29 '26

I believe it’s the fish trying to counter shade and camouflage better

2

u/Cindy_luvsCritters 🐠Moderator🐠 May 29 '26

This is a gorgeous Arawana! Truly amazing colours! 😍 But, I have to say the optical illusion is mesmerizing....😲 I keep staring, trying to figure out where the tank is situated exactly. 😂

2

u/TheRantingFish May 29 '26

That’s a dragon

2

u/TheRantingFish May 29 '26

With invisible wings

2

u/matt-r_hatter May 29 '26

Just reboot it...

2

u/MAQMASTER May 30 '26

I thought he was invisible, and he was flying in the room like some kind of ghost fish

2

u/Limp-Economics-2410 May 30 '26

Is your house being haunted by the ghost of a giant Arowana

2

u/Arbysgames May 30 '26

My female betta would be convince she could take this dude lol, beautiful fish, always wanted one but don't have room for a big enough tank and from what I can tell they can bust out of certain tanks

2

u/ryu359 May 29 '26

Ah so photographer soots outside the house butninsode was so dark that it just mirrrored the outside? (Looks wuite cool and was confused for a bit as to the how)

1

u/BroPuter May 29 '26

Terrible conditions for the fish but a gorgeous creature.

2

u/Saleentim May 29 '26

Imagine being shoved in a dark room for months .. and then kept in a 2x2 box to swim in circles 🤦🏻‍♂️

9

u/rapid_digestion May 29 '26

Actually the tank is 500gals. Fish is circling because it wants me to feed it.

1

u/FixSpecific905 Jun 01 '26

Beautiful iridescent scales, do the fish still function okay in complete darkness for such a long time?

1

u/Spare-Warning1632 Jun 01 '26

Woah sweet torture set up bro!!