The Arapaima fish (Arapaima gigas) is one of the biggest freshwater fish species in the world. Its origin is the Amazon River Basin in South America. It can reach a length of 4.50 metres (177 inches) and weigh up to 200 kilograms (440 lbs). You can see good specimens of these fish in the Mainland Tropical Fish farm in the eastern part of Singapore but the view is from above as these fish are kept in a concrete pond. The fish in the farm is not fully grown yet, about 80 kilograms in weight according to the signage.
These fish are dark brown in colour, with red specks. An attractive and awesome fish to watch but not a fish to keep in a tank or any Koi pond. The Arapaima is a large predatory fish that eats fish, birds and any other animal that it can catch. The farm owner actually places a few floating fake ducks in the pond and builds fencing around the pond for the safety of the viewers and also for the fish.
The arapaima in the farm are probably not for sale. The owner sells fish food for visitors to experience watching the large fish feeds. It probably helps with the upkeep of the fish as they are big eaters and grows rapidly.
BTW, there are arapaima exhibits in the Singapore Zoological Garden and also the Underwater World in Sentosa. Video of Arapaima feeding in Singapore Zoological Garden.
No comments:
Post a Comment