Arapaima (Arapaima gigas)

[epaiva]

Native to the streams of the Amazon River basin, the arapaima is a massive yet sleek and streamline freshwater fish. It can breathe air, allowing it to survive in pools with low water levels or decaying vegetation. Arapaima have broad, bony heads, upturned mouths and streamlined bodies with a dorsal fin stretching along their backs toward their tails, which are massive, yet stumpy in appearance. The head of the arapaima is copperish-green in color, their bodies are black with a white center and their tails are red. In Brazil, they are known as "pirarucu," a word from the Tupi language, which translates roughly as "red fish." In Peru, they are known as "paiche."
When the rivers overflow, fish can be dispersed into the surrounding forest for miles, sometimes to remote areas where floodwater contains so much decaying vegetation that oxygen levels are too low to support most fish. This predicament does not affect the arapaima, as it has the ability to breathe air. The arapaima is one of the largest freshwater fish in the world, reaching up to 330 pounds (150 kilograms) and 10 feet (3 meters) in length. However, sizes of 200 pounds (90.7 kilograms) and 7 to 8 feet (2.2 to 2.4 meters) in length are more common.
The arapaima is found in Brazil, Peru and Guyana. They live in the slow-moving and typically oxygen-deficient rivers of the Amazon River basin floodplain.In the wild, The arapaima eats mostly fish but is also known to eat fruits, seeds, insects, birds and mammals found on the surface of the water.

*This image is copyright of its original author

*This image is copyright of its original author

*This image is copyright of its original author

*This image is copyright of its original author

credits to Smithsonian Zoo, @arawuanco, @keridesevi and @fishing.club Reply