Of these two monsters who is bigger or is there a bigger fresh water fish? I always see each one of these titled, largest fresh water fish. So who takes this title. Ive also heard that sturgeon and paddle fish are the largest. I wanna know once and for all. Largest fresh water fish! And have you ever seen any of these in home set ups?
Mekong giant catfish vs Arapaima gigas.
- Thread starter noahmz1
- Start date
Hi,yes I agree its a toss up,some say the Mekong Catfish others say the arapaima,wels catfish,and alligator gar,and there are a few more on the list.
The largest bony fish found in freshwater are certain sturgeons and sawfish. However, these fish do not carry out their entire life cycles in freshwater, and so are not considered "true" freshwater fish.
As far as the largest "true" freshwater fish go, the current champion is the Chinese paddlefish, Psephurus gladius, historically reaching up to 23 ft. and 1100 lbs. This fish is very close to extinction and there are probably no more giant individuals left.
Of other freshwater giants, the heaviest are the Mekong stingray, Dasyatis laosensis, and Mekong giant catfish, Pangasius (Pangasianodon) gigas, both of which may top 600 lbs.
The arapaima (Arapaima gigas) does not reach near such sizes, and is probably smaller than the largest alligator gar (Atractosteus spatula), giant barb (Catlocarpio siamensis), and various other monsters.
As far as the largest "true" freshwater fish go, the current champion is the Chinese paddlefish, Psephurus gladius, historically reaching up to 23 ft. and 1100 lbs. This fish is very close to extinction and there are probably no more giant individuals left.
Of other freshwater giants, the heaviest are the Mekong stingray, Dasyatis laosensis, and Mekong giant catfish, Pangasius (Pangasianodon) gigas, both of which may top 600 lbs.
The arapaima (Arapaima gigas) does not reach near such sizes, and is probably smaller than the largest alligator gar (Atractosteus spatula), giant barb (Catlocarpio siamensis), and various other monsters.
you should break it down to certain categories like largest catfish, etc. Makes more sense to do that.
Top 4 biggest cats in no partic order would be:
wels catfish
Mekong catfish
Paroon shark
Piraiba
For barbs it would be
mahseer (tor pituitora)
siamese giant carp (catlocarpio siamensis)
ETC
PS. All the fish above easily would attain over 5 ft and over 200 lbs EASILY
Top 4 biggest cats in no partic order would be:
wels catfish
Mekong catfish
Paroon shark
Piraiba
For barbs it would be
mahseer (tor pituitora)
siamese giant carp (catlocarpio siamensis)
ETC
PS. All the fish above easily would attain over 5 ft and over 200 lbs EASILY
Who cares? Either way, these are not fish that you want to get on the wrong side of...
Alligator Gar:
Pirarucu:
http://www.***********.com/rss_feeds/images/080326_arapaima_1.jpghttp://www.***********.com/rss_feeds/images/080326_arapaima_2.jpg
Mekong Giant:
Sturgeon:
Wels Catfish:
Mekong Ray:
Nile Perch:
The mighty Goonch:
Not to mention:
The point I'm trying to make is, no matter where you are, Freshwater or Marine, you really should be asking yourself if its safe to go in the water...?
Alligator Gar:
Pirarucu:
http://www.***********.com/rss_feeds/images/080326_arapaima_1.jpghttp://www.***********.com/rss_feeds/images/080326_arapaima_2.jpg
Mekong Giant:
Sturgeon:
Wels Catfish:
Mekong Ray:
Nile Perch:
The mighty Goonch:
Not to mention:
The point I'm trying to make is, no matter where you are, Freshwater or Marine, you really should be asking yourself if its safe to go in the water...?
The arapaima is by far as big as many people think. They reach sometimes exceptional lengths of more than 2,5m, sometimes around 2,7m in very very rare cases, but are not as heavy as the giant Pangasianodon gigas and Pangasianodon santiwongsei. The giant piraiba is recorded at more than 140kg and about 2,3m or so. The largest wels on record was 2,78m and weighed 144kg. The chinese paddlefish´s size is most probably also highly exagerated, but it is very probable that this species reaches a length of more than 4m. I think this species rivals together with the giant freshwater stingray for the longest freshwater fish, but both species have either a long snout or a long tail, and are not really best examples for pure length. In matters of length the wels is recorded with a bigger length then the giant Pangasianodons, piraibas and arapaimas, but is not the heaviest. The giant allogator gar can also reach similar lengths in exceptional cases. All the giant freshwater stingrays from which I read had only estimated weights, it seems that none of them was actually weighed, so I would be very critical about their actual weight. Untill now, the giant Pangasianodon gigas seems to be the heaviest pure freshwater fish with an authenticated weight.
