Every fisherman wants to catch the biggest fish in the world. But not everyone realizes how rich the nature of the truly large representatives of the water element. Not every fish can withstand a fishing rod or even the most durable net.
Nile perch
In tropical Africa, in its waters, inhabited by Nile perch. Most often it can be found in the Ethiopian part. Fish of this species eats smaller fish and crustaceans. The predator grows up to 2 meters per din and can weigh over 200 kilograms.
Taimen
The second name of this fish is “Russian salmon”, from which it is logical to assume that taimen belongs to the salmon genus. It can be found in the waters of Siberia, the Far East and Altai. This is a predator that grows in length more than 1 meter and reaches a weight of 60 kilograms. The reputation of this giant is unenviable: it is believed that he eats even his young, and his character is aggressive and merciless. In food, fish consume almost everything that comes their way.
Paddlefish
Most often paddlefish can be found in the fresh waters of the Mississippi and rivers flowing into the Gulf of Mexico. This large predator is not dangerous for humans, while it is happy to eat representatives of its own species and other inhabitants of the underwater fauna. Also, the fish can eat algae that grow at depth in fresh waters. The largest paddlefish reached reached 221 cm in length. Such large individuals can weigh about 90 kg.
Som
Som lives in fresh water of lakes and rivers of the European part of Russia, in the Aral Sea basin and in the waters of Europe. The fish lives very long and in its long life can grow up to 5 meters in length. Such a giant can weigh up to 400 kilograms. The body of the animal is very flexible and mobile. This makes it more mobile in the process of extracting food. Most of the diet of catfish are small fish, fry and aquatic insects. Also, he does not disdain carrion. Older fish eat shellfish, medium-sized fish and other living creatures. In the history there are cases when large catfish attacked waterfowl and small domestic animals.
Carp
The carp is distinguished by its large size and ability to eat anything. Fish lives in most freshwater bodies of water. More comfortable than all she feels in stagnant, slightly silted water. The largest representatives of the breed come across in Thailand. Large carps can reach a weight of 100 kilograms. Most of the animal's diet is small fish. Also carp eat caviar of other inhabitants of underwater depths, aquatic insects, worms, crustaceans. They hunt often and kill a lot of fish, since they themselves belong to a variety of rheumatoid.
Beluga
Beluga is a member of the sturgeon family. It can be found in the Azov, Black and Caspian Seas. Huge representatives of the species can gain up to 1000 kg of weight and reach 4 meters in length. These predators live extremely long, and therefore grow to such sizes. Beluga feeds mainly on the size of the fish. For her, the seal pups become a delicacy.
Alligator Gar
This freshwater giant is considered a real monster. He lives in Southeast America. The muzzle of the fish is elongated, and sharp fangs grow in the mouth in two rows. This monster can spend on land for about 2 hours in a row. The average length of the animal is 3 meters. Weight is about 165 kilograms. Alligator Gar is fierce and aggressive to such an extent that there have been cases of his attack on people.
Scat
The beautiful and unusual form of the slope lives in the Arctic waters and in Antarctica, as well as in tropical seas. There are some species that feel comfortable in fresh water. Most of these individuals live in Asia.
The slopes can inhabit both shallow waters and deep waters. The largest representatives reach a length of 8 meters and weigh up to 600 kilograms. They feed on crustaceans, mollusks, small fish, and echinoderms.
Whale shark
The palm in the ranking of the largest fish got a truly giant fish - the whale shark. In the entire history of the representatives of the species, which could be found by archaeologists, remained the largest.
The average whale shark has a length of about 10-12 meters. Those of them who are recognized as large reach 20 meters. The average weight in this case reaches 14 tons. In the 90s of the 20th century, a giant weighing 34 tons was found. The animal looks awesome, which leaves no doubt in the ability of the fish to destroy any living creature nearby. But in reality, the sharks of this species are very peaceful. Moreover, they do not pose a danger to humans. Even if the divers are in close proximity, the shark will simply not pay any attention to them. If desired, you can even touch it. But it should be remembered that hitting the tail of this giant can leave a person disabled for life.
A gray or brown background with yellow or white spots is characteristic of a whale shark. The fish moves rather slowly - about 5 kilometers per hour, most of the time being at the surface of the water.As a result, giants sometimes collide with ships and die from injuries.
The habitat of whale sharks is the waters of tropical seas. Here you can meet both individuals and single flocks up to 100 units. These fish live up to 60 years, their maturity falls on 25 years.
The shark feeds on small fish, crustaceans, plankton and mollusks. The huge mouth of the fish is filled with small teeth that are simply not capable of grinding larger food. The giant drains from suitable water into the mouth of the suitable living creature and swallows it. Excess water comes out through the gills. Therefore, the shark tends to get inside the cluster of small fish.
Arapaima Piraruku
Giants of freshwater reservoirs can not be compared with the whale shark. Nevertheless, they are striking in their size. One of the most prominent representatives is considered arapayma piraruk. Fish lives in rivers and lakes of South America.
In the daytime, you can see that the huge body of arapayma piraruku shimmers with all shades of red and is most clearly seen in the tail of the animal. Therefore, Arapaima gigas received the second name Piraruka, which means “red fish” when translated from the local dialect. Red overflows usually appear on the background of the main shade of the fish body from silver-green to blue-black.
Fish grows in length to 3 meters and can weigh up to 200 kilograms. She has a special anatomical structure. "Red fish" can breathe atmospheric air due to the special fabric in the pharynx of the animal. In addition, piraruco has a swim bladder. Such a structure was formed in the course of evolution due to the oxygen-depleted water in the Amazon.
Arapaima gigas feeds on small fish, freshwater shrimps, small river animals and birds. Fish hunt near the surface of the water, using its powerful tail, which enables it to make sharp throws for prey.
Arapaim meat is extremely tasty and it is actively hunted by fishermen. The Brazilian authorities even had to ban fishing, but this does not stop poachers.
In the underwater world there are still a lot of miracles and unique animals that you want and need to explore. An important human task is to preserve as many populations of such animals as possible and prolong their existence in order to maintain a healthy ecosystem.
