Jardini Arowana Identification Guide
Identify the Jardini Arowana by its reticulated gold-edged scales, upturned mouth, and long mirrored dorsal and anal fins.
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Key identification features
- Elongated, torpedo-shaped body with a distinctly upturned mouth and a pair of small barbels at the jaw tip
- Large scales, each edged with a fine, net-like reticulation of gold, bronze, or dark green
- Long, low dorsal and anal fins set far back on the body, mirroring each other near the tail
- Overall bronze-to-green metallic sheen across the flanks, sometimes with a pinkish or copper tint on the fins
- Muscular, slightly flattened body built for quick upward strikes at surface prey
- Grows to about 2-3 feet in length, occasionally larger in the wild
Common look-alikes
- Silver arowana: lacks the reticulated scale edging entirely, appearing more uniformly silver with pinkish-tinged fins and a longer, sleeker body
- Asian arowana: deeper body with large, solid-colored scales (red, gold, or green) that lack the fine "pearl-net" edging seen in jardini arowana
Where you'll see one
Jardini arowana inhabit rivers, billabongs, and floodplain lagoons across northern Australia and southern New Guinea. They cruise near the surface, using their upturned mouth to ambush insects, small fish, and other prey that fall or land on the water.
Frequently asked questions
How do I tell a jardini arowana from a silver arowana?
Check the scales — jardini arowana show a fine gold or bronze net-like edging on each scale, while silver arowana scales are plainer and more uniformly silver.
What confirms a fish is an arowana rather than another elongated species?
The unmistakable combination of an upturned, barbeled mouth with long, low dorsal and anal fins set far back near the tail is the arowana signature.