Unusual Facts about Arapaima Fish, Can Live A Day Without Water

VIVA – There was a giant fish suspected of being an Arapaima. Arapaima was stranded after a flood in Garut, West Java on July 5, 2022. This incident was quite surprising to many people.

In a video uploaded by the Instagram account @infojawabarat, the local people found two arapaima gigas fishes in the Cipeujeuh area. The video of the discovery of the arapaima gigas fish is also viral on social media.

Fun fact, Arapaima can live up to 20 years and here are other interesting facts about the Arapaima:

1. Arapaima Has Unusual Physique

As quoted from Nationalzoo, Arapaima have a broad, bony head, an inverted mouth and a slender body with a dorsal fin that runs along their back towards their large tail.

The head of the arapaima is copper green, the body is black with a white center and a red tail.

Arapaima measures up to 440 pounds (200 kilograms) and 10 feet (3 meters) long. However, sizes of 200 pounds (90.7 kilograms) and lengths of 7 to 8 feet (2.2 to 2.4 meters) are more common.

In Brazil, this fish is known as "pirarucu," a word from the Tupi language, which roughly translates as "red fish." In Peru, they are known as "paiche."

Arapaima has the ability to breathe air. The gills are so small that they take in air using a modified swim bladder that opens into the fish's mouth and acts as a lung. It can survive for 24 hours without water.

Arapaima is found in Brazil, Peru and Guyana. They live in slow-moving, oxygen-starved rivers in the floodplains of the Amazon River basin.

In the wild, arapaima eat mostly fish but are also known to eat fruits, seeds, insects, birds and mammals found on the surface of the water.

To eat, they use a "gulper" feeding strategy: by opening their large mouths, they create a vacuum that attracts nearby food objects.

They can also use short bursts of speed to attack potential prey hitting the surface of the water. At the Smithsonian's National Zoo, their diet consists of herring, squid, smelt, shrimp and fruit.

During the dry season between February and March, the arapaima lays thousands of eggs in nests about 70 centimeters long and 25 centimeters deep which are hollowed out in the sand by their fins.

The eggs hatch at the start of the rainy season (between October and November), which allows the fry (baby fish) to collect food.

Mouth incubation is also thought to occur. The male protects the fry by pulling them into his long, flat mouth and moving them to another location if a predator gets too close. Sexual maturity is reached after about 4 or 5 years.

As quoted from NationalGeographic, Arapaima gigas has long been believed to be the only species of arapaima, but in 2013 scientists proved that there is another species of fish.

Sometimes referred to as the "Cod of the Amazon," the arapaima is considered an excellent food fish and has provided an important source of protein in the Amazon for centuries.

Locals often salt and dry the meat, which can be stored without rotting, essential in areas with little refrigeration.

Their proximity to the surface of the water makes the arapaima vulnerable to human predators, who can easily target them with spears. Their numbers have decreased dramatically across the region mainly due to overfishing.