Arowana Gender

Asian Arowana (Scleropages formosus) breeding in the region is normally restricted to earthen ponds. One of the limiting factors in increasing production is the inability to determine the sex of the brooders. Determining the sex of the arowana is important in determining the sex ratio of the brooders to maximize breeding.

In a collaboration R&D effort between Qian Hu and Mr Alex Chang of Ngee Ann Polytechnic, a novel approach of sex determination of the brooders using the Arowana Gender Index (AGI) was developed. Now commercial ornamental fish breeders can use this information to better determine the model ratio of the two genders to achieve the highest number of juvenile Arowana. This method offers a cheaper, simpler and efficient alternative to the traditional expensive DNA studies.

The method uses the differences in the relationship among the linear measures of the male and female adult asian arowana. The method yields high percentage accuracy (70%) and the index will greatly enhance the productivity of arowana breeders. This index can be used on Arowana fishes that are one year old and above. As the index uses data from healthy and non-deformed fishes, the accuracy of the index is only applicable to normal, healthy fish.