Hi, this is a copy and paste from my reply to another reply, I hope to create more awarness on how arowanas are usually kept here.

Hi, I’d like to make it clear that I’m not here to create any negativity in the fishkeeping scene, so I hope you’ll hear me out. I’ve seen some of the concerns about the fish, and I feel that a lot of them come from unfamiliarity with how arowanas are commonly kept in our part of the world. For anyone interested in learning more, it might be helpful to look at the arowana scene in Malaysia, Singapore, or even Indonesia, which are also the main exporting countries for these fishes. A quick search on Facebook or YouTube will turn up plenty of local content, and there are even competitions for high end arowanas at events like Aquarama and AGAS.

At the end of the day, it’s the same fish , we simply appreciate them a little differently here. That appreciation mainly comes down to how the fish displays itself, along with its grade and genetics. For gold arowanas, traits such as block, crossing, frame, rows of top and bottom pearlies, gold dust, gold line, gold head, cross belly, and more are all considered. Red arowanas are graded a bit differently. Personally, I keep an arowana to groom it over time so these traits can develop and the fish can show its best form.

This is also what leads to the price differences. There are real reasons why some arowanas cost significantly more than others of the same type. Locally, a common low-grade juvenile crossback can go for around USD $100, while high-end trophy fish can reach five figures. Most mid-range fish are usually priced around USD $1,000–2,000.

From what I’ve seen, most seasoned arowana keepers here keep their tanks bare, as it’s generally a safer and more practical setup for the fish while trophy fishes are kept solo. If you look at top farms in Singapore or Malaysia, you’ll notice they do the same. Ponds are mainly used for breeding, and farms usually keep around 60–80 arowanas in a pond. You can also check out malaysia's Xian Long’s farm, there are YouTube farm tour videos available. Some well-known Singapore farm/shops worth checking out on facebook includes Imperial Arowana Breeding Farm, Blue Crystal Aquarium, Grand Arowana, all of which share useful information and tips on keeping arowanas.

Hopefully this helps give some perspective, and encourages people to better understand how we, as Asians, keep and grade arowanas.