TGA was founded by a person who had and still has a deep passion and appreciation of most varieties of fresh water and marine fishes since childhood. Our founder bought his first golden arowana (High back or Indonesian golden) as a school boy in 1983 for about USD $80.00 as he could not afford to buy a Malaysian Golden arowana which cost about USD $1,000 then! He even dreamed to be an ichthyologist (the study of fish) one day but was "persuaded" by his father to join the family trade as a lawyer like his brothers. He often wondered what life could have been if he had pursued what he loved then.
After having left London in the early 1990's as a barrister-at-law (Inner Temple), he came back to Malaysia and practiced law till today. However, since coming back, his love for fish had intensified. He had, at different times reared tropical fishes such as discus (symphysodon aequifasciatus), WILD cardinal tetra (Paracheirodon axelrodi), WILD altum angelfish (Pterophyllum altum), WILD fresh water stingrays (both Potamotrygon Leopoldi and Henlei) and Japanese Carps (nishikigoi). In fact, he was so obsessed with koi that he traveled all over Japan in 2003，2004 and 2006 for 5 to 7 days (each trip) just to pick up those special koi for his own collections and enjoyment. However, having learned that to acquire those special dream fish, all one had to do was to pay the fish breeders/dealers asking price! One quickly realized that it is next to impossible to acquire such special specimens unless the breeders/dealers are willing to sell AND one is willing to make an enormous financial sacrifice.
Having gone through the whole cycle of rearing those fishes, our founder decided to go back to his beloved arowana like in the 80?s and started collecting golden "crossback" arowana in early 2000 as WILD golden/blue "crossback" arowana can only be found in Malaysia. To find that special and beautiful specimen, much time and effort was spent in travelling, researching and countless interviews with local traditional fishermen (in their respective regions), fish dealers and breeders were made. The primary objective was and still is to procure the most beautiful "crossback" arowana in the world and at the same time preserving and conserving those purebreed Malaysian wild arowana bloodlines from either being extinct, hybridized or cross bred with other varieties of arowana.
Opportunity came in early 2008 when he was finally offered some F1 (first generation) baby fish whose wild parents (Fo) are from the Selama region in Perak Malaysia. The breeder only managed to buy 3 fishes (1 male, 2 female) from a fisherman in 1997-1998 as Selama fishes were already highly endangered then. Subsequently, our founder successfully procured some purebreed Bagan Samak F1 babies from 2 separate breeders who bought their wild parents from 2 fishermen of Bagan Samak region. Those F1 babies have grown up beautifully with an exquisite body shape, having a deep metallic shine and luster. We are very proud to announce that those Selama F1 babies have become brooders (parent fishes) themselves by giving birth to 44 F2 babies on 23rd August 2014. This is very significant for those who are in the know for it is very difficult for wild fishes (Fo) to breed in captivity. It took many years before the F1 were born. It took TGA more than 4 1/2 years before the 1st batch of F2 were born. A very few selected pieces will be made available for collectors like you to love and treasure. Through out the years, we have also collected F1 and F2 purebreeds from Alor Pongsu, Changkak Lobak and Lubok Buntar regions in Perak Malaysia, together with some stunnings hybrid pieces from established bloodlines whose some parents were also collected from the wild from various regions.
TGA is different and distinguished from others for we are fish lovers whose brooders, though fewer in quantity compared to other breeders, are of exquisite and exceptional quality. Our brooders are individually identifiable and defined for they were painstakingly collected and raised with much love throughout the years. We sincerely hope that you will enjoy the same satisfaction as we do in bringing them to you.