The arowana as a breed of fish dates back as far as the Jurassic age or the "age of reptiles" as its known.
This means that the arowana is a very old and resilient breed of fish which in some ways deserve the myths that surround it.
From the Jurassic age until now the arowana has remained mainly unchanged to the fish we know today.
Nowhere in the world is the legend of the arowana so proudly remembered than in Asia.
In this part of the world the arowana is known as the "dragon fish".
We all know about Asia's long held beliefs and folklore surrounding the icon of the dragon but for this part of the world to acknowledge the arowana as the dragon fish is an honour to the arowana.
In China, the red dragon fish is a highly sought after pet, which is rumored to bring wealth and prosperity to its household and owner.
Red is also a very lucky colour for the Chinese hence the reason it is used in so many festivals, flags and banners.
Many moons ago, a Chinese business man who worked hard all his life came into some bad times.
As a present and to cheer him up, one of his relatives presented the business man with a golden dragon fish.
The out of luck business man cared for the fish tentatively as he went out in search of business opportunities each day.
Within weeks he was starting to get business again and his luck had seemed to change.
Each day he cared and attended to the golden dragon fish religiously, and as the weeks and months passed his wealth and business got ever better.
He had always attributed his new found luck and wealth to his beautiful golden arowana but his family laughed at the thought.
Many years later as the old man lay on his death bed he made his wife go and make sure that the arowana was fed and okay.
His wife and son went and did what they were asked and returned to find their father had passed away.
As the son ran out to inform the rest of the family of the news he noticed that the golden arowana was now also dead.
It is said that their souls had joined over the years together as they both looked after one another.
Another story is that a village leader used to walk everyday to a river bank at the edge of his village.
And everyday he would feed the arowana in the river then sit on the bank for hours praying to them for luck, protection and wealth.
A village on the other side of the river had spotted this village leader sitting at the side of the river everyday and decided they could kill him easily and then own his village also.
The best archer in the village was chosen and sent on his mission to shoot the other village leader from a cross the river.
The next day the archer searched the far river bank until he saw the village leader deep in prayer on the far bank of the river.
The archer took aim and dispatched one of his arrows directly at the village leaders heart.
The rumour goes that an arowana jumped from the river and took the full force of the arrow in the side.
The force of the arrow pushed the arowana forward with it and ended up laid at the village leaders feet dead with the arrow stuck in its side.
It had saved the person it thought was its owner and to this day in china the arowana is seen as a sign of protection.
I hope this will help you to see some of the myths and legends that surround the magical arowana fish.