world's largest freshwater fish


you do not have to go to south america to see the world's largest freshwater fish - the arapaima. there are at least three places in singapore where you can see this fish, and in two of these places - haussman aquarium in lim chu kang and kok fah technology farm in sungei tengah - you do not have to pay a single cent to view the fish. kok fah has three of this fish and haussman has about five. the s'pore zoo also has one which is 1.85m long.

the arapaima can grow up to more than 3m long and weigh up to 200 kg. in spite of its size, this fish is able to jump out of the water to snatch unsuspecting birds from low-lying branches. its diet consists of fish and other kinds of small animals, including birds. at haussman, you can feed the arapaima with 'kuning' fish bought from the shop.

the fish has the ability to breathe air from the surface because of a lung-like lining in its throat. this is an advantage in the oxygen-deprived water of the amazon river. the fish is able to survive long periods of drought by gulping air and burrowing into the mud of the swamps.

as a result of over-fishing, there are very few large (more than 2m) arapaimas found in the wild.

when ivy came back for a visit in september, i took to haussman to have a look at these monsters. she was quite put off by some foul smell coming from the fish tank.