$80,000 Arowana Aquarium Fish

Yesterday, some of you, reading our post on NYC aquariums, were probably wondering how come a simple fish can be as expensive as a luxury car. Here is the answer !

The fish that was getting all the attention at Aquarama 2007, and is considered by some to be the most expensive aquarium fish in the world, is a 15" platinum arowana .This particular aquatic vertebrate is owned by Aro Dynasty, a Dragon fish breeder based out of Singapore.

Its white coloration is an exceedingly rare mutation of the rather common arowana. Arowanas are not usually so pricey, but this platinum-colored mutation is unique in its own way. This fish is of the species Osteoglossum that are mostly found in South America.

The fish measures around 40cm/15" in length, and looks stunning. It is, however, not entirely perfect because It does have one minor flaw. The fish’s right eye is starting to look downwards. This is a common problem with arowanas and in fact many keepers are paying for cosmetic surgery for their prized arowanas.

It was recently offered for sale to prospective buyers by a UK arowana importer for more than £200,000 ($300,000). However, Aro Dynasty told Practical Fishkeeping Online that the fish is now "off the market." It confirmed that it turned down S$80,000 for the fish a few years ago.

Video

(Pictures by Neil Hepworth)

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Luxury aquarium : hand-pick your exotic fish and take it home

NYC-based Okeanos Aquascaping, is an international custom aquarium and pond company specializing in the integration of cutting edge designs, hand-picked exotic fish, coral and other livestock, brilliant colors, and mesmerizing effects.

Sure, you could go to a beach or an aquarium anytime to see exotic aquatic life. But you guys deserve the finest luxuries in life, right ? So why not take a trip or build a customized aquarium in your home?

Okeanos is now offering five-star experiential vacations where customers can travel with Okeanos' staff around the world to see exotic fish, coral and other livestock in its natural habitats.
The client will have the opportunity to pick out the fish, coral and livestock that he/she wishes, and Okeanos will replicate the environment in the customer's location of choice.

That sounds very “luxury” though… but a bit selfish too (bad joke…time to sleep). Although fish must not really suffer in such big aquariums, I just hope I’m not actually doing publicity for a company which brings back some endangered species home! And unfortunately at $100,000 each, I guess we cannot find this kind of fish everywhere…

Though, if customers get bored with their luxury fish, they can still turn them into the world’s most expensive sushis, we will be glad to feature them once again on Luxuo ^_^

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Moody Aquarium Sink

Moody is not only a simple washbasin, but also an aquarium for goldfish, a Zen garden or a simple pebble river bed or whatever you would like it to be. It is completely watertight with a sand bed for fish, and provides the necessary lighting for maintaining your fish in healthy conditions.

A powerhead is also provided to ensure water circulation, oxygenation and filtration. There are two openings, one on each side of the basin, closed by soap dishes to access the crystal top for cleaning purposes or changing arrangement. (they've even tested it to make sure that the fish won't die if you fill the sink with hot water!)

The washbasin is mounted on a chrome finish brass stand provided with a convenient front towel rail.

Moody is definitely a beautiful concept that will transform your bathroom to whatever you would like it to be (till you see the algae starts growing o_O) !
It might even get your kids to wash their hands and brush their teeth more often !

Distributed by Italbrass. Priced from $4495.

A rare Chinese bahaba on sale for $140,000

A fisherman in China's Zhejiang province has netted a fish that, according to local tradition, may sell for over 1 million yuan (about 140,000 U.S. dollars).

Li Shaoshuang, from Cangnan county of the coastal province, caught it in his Saturday's first cast while working offshore nearby the Xiangshan harbor.

"It is dark brown all over, 1.2-meter long and 15-kg in weight," said the veteran fisherman Li who has already frozen the fish. "It's my first time to see this kind of fish."

A fellow 60-year-old fisherman who came with others to Li to get a glance of the fish told him in great surprise that it is Bahaba flavolabiata (Chinese bahaba) which have disappeared from the site for at least 50 years.

Due to its extreme scarcity, the air bladder of Chinese bahaba is said to be as expensive as gold in weight. More than a decade ago, another fisherman of the same county caught a Chinese bahaba of less than 3.5 kg but fetched for more than 100,000. Therefore, fishermen on the scene urged Li to ask for at least 1 million for his.

To make sure it is a sky-high pricing Chinese bababa, the fishermen sent for an aquatic research institution expert the next day, who uttered the appearance should tell it's a Chinese bahaba no doubt, but, still, a dissection is needed to make sure it is not another species similar to Chinese bahaba.

Li declined the expert's suggestion in fear that it would ruin the fish and lower the selling price. He also turned down a fish vendor's offer of 500,000 for this queer fish, making it clear he would not let it go for less than 1 million.

In April 2007, a fisherman in Zhanjiang City, Guangdong province, netted a 49-kg Chinese bahaba and sold to a restaurant for 580,000 yuan. The restaurant cooked the fish meat but has kept the dried maw since, tagging it at 2 million yuan with words "not for sale."

via Chinaview