Monster Leviathans: The Planet’s Largest Freshwater Fish That You Probably Didn’t Know About
Obviously the world’s oceans are known to support the majority of the planet’s fish species, but did you know that there are monsters patrolling the world’s fresh waters that are as big as the cars that we drive or can swallow a person whole if they were hungry enough?
When considering day fishing at our favorite fishing holes, generally we catch fish not bigger than 60 to 75 pounds on a rod and reel. Larger fish are always possible using a trotline or net in deeper water or along river channels. Usually, the majority of us catch hand size bluegill bream, slab crappie, largemouth bass, carp, or catfish (best chance to catch a large fish).
In the United States of America, there are some pretty large freshwater fish lurking the deeps of thousands of miles of rivers, deep lakes, ghostly swamps and the endless tributaries that are the life support of healthy rivers. There are bigger and more formidable freshwater fish prowling the freshwater basins in the more remote parts of the world. Monstrous fish, so huge that some of them are as big as the cars that we drive and others so aggressive that they could possibility swallow a man whole, if they were hungry enough.
Let’s take a look together at the Monster Leviathans: “The Planet’s Largest Freshwater Fish That You Probably Didn’t Know About” and thank our lucky stars that we haven’t come face-to-face with one of these monsters at our favorite fishing or swimming hole.
Arapaima
The Arapaima (as known as the “Paiche”) is one of the largest freshwater fish in the world reaching lengths up to 14 ¾ feet and weighing as much as 440 lbs. A native fish to the Amazon, these fish are commonly raised in commercial farm ponds, because of its delicious meat and protein many poor rural regions of the Amazon can easily obtain.
Mekong Giant Catfish
The Mekong Giant Catfish is considered the most endangered fish in Southeast Asia and in a last ditch attempt to save the fish from complete extinction, the World Conservation Union has classified the Mekong Giant Catfish as critically endangered making it a crime to harvest. The Mekong Giant Catfish can grow to more than 660 pounds in the Cambodian Mekong River Basin and grow to lengths as big as a Volkswagen.
Giant White Sturgeon
The Giant White Sturgeon is a freshwater prehistoric looking fish with sweet meat that is considered to be a delicacy in many parts of the world. Found mainly in the Yangtze River in China, the Giant While Sturgeon can reach lengths of exceeding 12 feet and weigh more than 950 pounds. There have been some documented cases in which Giant White Sturgeons have been caught by sports fishermen weighing in at more than 1,100 pounds and nearing 16 feet in length.
Chinese Paddlefish
The Chinese Paddlefish are considered one of the planet’s largest freshwater fish, which are found in the Yangtze River in China. These fish are quickly disappearing and quiet frankly, the scientists are scratching their heads as to the reason why, but commercial fishing and pollution are two possible reasons as to why. The Chinese Paddlefish can grow to more than 1000 lbs and reach lengths of 23-feet or greater. Everything is bigger in China.
Giant Stingray
The Giant Stingray found mostly in the river basins of Cambodia and China, but are found in other freshwaters throughout Asia, can grow up to 5 meters (16.4 feet) in length and weigh as much as 1,100 lbs. Just like with other stingray species, the Giant Stingray has a sharp, deadly spear-like barb at the tip of its tail that can be used to defend itself with a potentially deadly outcome.
Bull Shark
The Bull Shark is considered to be one of the most dangerous sharks in the world, because it can survive both in the salt waters of the oceans and the brackish and freshwaters of inland rivers and tributaries. The Bull Shark can grow to 500 lbs and reach lengths of nearly 12 feet. They have been known to attack and kill humans. This type of shark is found in the Ganges River basin of India, the Mississippi River Basin in North America, the Amazon River in Peru, and in Lake Nicaragua in Central America.
Northern River Shark (Glyphis sp. C.)
The Northern River Shark is only known to inhabit the Adelaide and Alligator River systems in the Northern Territory of Australia, but the numbers are apparently on the decline due to heavy fishing and environmental toxins. The Northern River Shark can reach 2 to 3 meters in length and have rows razor-sharp teeth, just like its saltwater cousins.
Alligator Gar
The Alligator Gar can reach weights up to 300 pounds and are commonly found long the Mississippi River basin of North America, but can be found in lakes and other rivers that connect with the Mississippi River. The larger fish can grow to lengths greater than six-foot and there have been reported attacks on humans, but most are believed to have been accidental attacks as the fish probably mistaken hands and feet as food. Alligator Gar have razor-sharp needle-like teeth filling the short snout and armor-like scales covering its body.
Blue Catfish
The Blue Catfish is closely related to the channel catfish and are found in rivers and reservoirs throughout North America, northern Guatemala east of the Appalachians. These fish have been documented to grow up to 150 pounds, but some legends exist that the Blue Catfish can reach weighs up to 350 pounds, but there hasn’t ever been a Blue Catfish scientifically documented in that size category.
Giant Carp
The Giant Carp often harvested for its meat, which is considered to be a delicacy throughout Asia can reach weighs up to 660 pounds and easily achieve lengths of 6 ½ feet.
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53 Responses to “Monster Leviathans: The Planet’s Largest Freshwater Fish That You Probably Didn’t Know About”
On August 17, 2008 at 2:34 am
Hey Nelson!
Cool article. I used to go fishing with my father and brother and would run amile if anything longer than the length of my forearm was pulled out of the water. What I would do with the sight of these babies coming at me I have no idea! Very informative! Cheers!
On August 17, 2008 at 5:47 am
Those are some very big fish. I only was aware of maybe 2 or 3 of them before reading this piece and they seems to be the tame ones on this list. Although, I would really have a blast trying to land a 660 pound catfish that would be cool.
On August 17, 2008 at 10:12 am
very informative. i did’nt know that freshwater fish would grow so big, even bigger than those found in the deep of the ocean.
On August 17, 2008 at 2:08 pm
Wow. Very cool article. You should check out my monster Goliath on amazing creatures. Well researched.
On August 17, 2008 at 8:05 pm
My son and I had a catfish swim along with our boat that was almost as long as the boat at Sloppy Floyd lake near Summerville Ga. It was amazing.
On August 17, 2008 at 11:38 pm
another nice article,those are really huge fishes,thanks Nelson
On August 18, 2008 at 9:59 pm
Great!! I don’t know the fish are great or your article is great!!
Good Job!
On August 19, 2008 at 12:43 pm
It’s so nifty to see the size some of these things can get to be, bit scary though. We sell alligator gar at the pet store I work in. The African tiger characin is another one that gets close to 6 feet. We sell those too.
On August 19, 2008 at 12:55 pm
i hate seeing these monsters caught. they should be left alone as they are truly natural marvels.
On August 19, 2008 at 2:14 pm
These are monsters – Great article
On August 19, 2008 at 2:19 pm
I learned. Thank you.
On August 19, 2008 at 6:07 pm
really informative article. I didn’t know half of this stuff and I’m not going swimming down in those rivers!
On August 19, 2008 at 8:08 pm
I love this article, thanks.
On August 19, 2008 at 8:40 pm
Clearly Photoshopped.
The shadows are all wrong. I’ve seen a lot of ’shops in my time, and i can clearly see this isn’t real.
You people are so ignorant for falling for this blatant fake.
On August 19, 2008 at 9:42 pm
Magikarp!!!
On August 20, 2008 at 12:35 am
Blue: seriously? These fish are in scientific journals…. and encyclopedias.
Hint: get an education and stop wasting your time telling everyone
“TOTALLY FAKE< LIKE OMG LOLCOPTRS PH0T0SH0P, VIsIt mY Pr0n site."
get a lifeeeee
On August 20, 2008 at 12:45 am
Thank you for posting this… amazing pictures! The arapaima picture took my breath away. I am pretty sure I would have a heart attack if I ever encountered one of these monsters while in the water.
I agree with Henrietta.. People who go around shouting “fake, fake” are truly missing out on some wonderful things in life, such as this article.
Well done.
On August 20, 2008 at 10:04 am
I don’t need to know if they’re fake. I enjoyed this article.
(films and TV shows portray fake stories, so what the heck)
On August 20, 2008 at 11:24 am
Great Article!
I don’t fish but I have always had an interest in Marine Biology.
You should contact the Imageing Foundation – perhaps write some articles for them – they’re a great foundation that is focused on saving our oceans, lakes, rivers,etc.. The founders name is Georgienne.
Leslie Thompson (Elle Millay)
On August 20, 2008 at 12:42 pm
I can definitely vouch for the aligator gars! We have them here and they get as long are longer than I am tall. I am 5′5″. Great article!
On August 20, 2008 at 1:23 pm
Fascinating article and well informative too. Good job!
On August 21, 2008 at 2:52 pm
This article is amazing and very informative.(the fish look delicious too)
On August 21, 2008 at 8:32 pm
Everything is not photoshopped. If that was true, nobody would have allowed you to remain, Blue. Background eraser and a supermodel cut and pasted into your spot, that’s what’d happen to you.
On August 26, 2008 at 6:05 am
the fishes mentioned in this post do get that big and
i have seen most of em.
the pics may have been tweked, not sure, but anyway there are
these creatures which grow these sizes.
see it to believe and then make a comment or
just shut and enjoy the post.
On October 9, 2008 at 3:45 pm
any of you that doubt these fish have the potential to grow to these massive sizes should check in any archive in their library and while your at it check on the sizes of snakes. you will be amazed.
On October 26, 2008 at 3:25 pm
wow thats so cool me and my dad caught this fish and it was longer than my arm and i thought that was big now that i see these i soooo want to go see them in real life
On November 13, 2008 at 7:16 pm
well..that amaze me much..did not think those giant fish really can survive our poluted water now…wow…..i catch many big fish in my entire life….but never so big like that….
On November 17, 2008 at 2:19 pm
blue has no clue. This has been documented for many years before photoshopping came into existence. I’ve lived in the Far East, the sting ray looks as big as a VW if it comes near a boat. There are also other Asian fish almost as big. Down in the Mekong Delta some of them look like pickup trucks. One fish would feed a village for a month if they dried the flesh. I’ve seen fishing boats being towed around for hours by one giant fish before it was tired enough to get to the shore.
On November 18, 2008 at 7:52 pm
Anyone who is interested in fish or ichthyology knows all of the fish mentioned above. Yawn.
On December 15, 2008 at 2:32 pm
I have never heard of or seen creature that are that size
(thank god)
On January 7, 2009 at 5:41 pm
Yes, freshwater fish can and do get this big…Its too bad people can be so narrowminded, and think these are “fake” and photoshopped. Actually, the first officialy recorded Muskegon attack was recorded in a lake in Wisconsin State last year!
On February 10, 2009 at 1:51 pm
Hahaha, you are all so gullible, the pictures are clearly fake. I bet you are all fundamental christians that believe everything you are told. OPEN YOUR EYES!!!!
Just look at the first pic. Those red lines near the bottom are clear signs that it is shopped. Trust me, I know my stuff!
On February 12, 2009 at 10:47 am
>Blue
i see that you don’t watch national geographic do ya?
OPEN YOUR EYES!!!! watch national geographic when your free, theres a world outside photoshop
>:(
nice article btw. cheers
On February 18, 2009 at 5:23 am
Lol, look for a fish called piraíba…
On February 20, 2009 at 6:35 am
PHOTOSHOPPED??? These are NOT PHOTOSHOPPED !!!
Those pics are REAL !!!
The red you are talking about is part of the color of the fish.
All these pictures ARE REAL.
I’ve seen fish in my neck of local freshwater lake as big or bigger than these. Believe it folks they DO GET THAT BIG !!!
B.T.W. check this out. Copy and paste this.
http://www.petfishtalk.com/shows/080326.htm
On February 20, 2009 at 6:46 am
Here’s another one for you Blue.
Check out on that red you “identified” as fake.
http://www.thejump.net/id/arapaima.htm
Open YOUR eyes Blue…
On March 8, 2009 at 5:31 am
really great article! wow just to think that when you’re cruising around on your boat in these lakes and rivers that there are these giants just below the surface! probably bigger than your boat! great pics!
On April 8, 2009 at 1:58 am
Really great article! Suburb pictures! Imagine if all of them where carnivores and we just swimming below your boat! you’d probally be dinner! CRICKETY!!!
On April 15, 2009 at 10:47 pm
Ya, I’d be more scared of the guy holding up the Arapaima. Anybody else see that? It’s like Skeletor and He-man had a baby. I’m sure the article was intriguing to the average sixth grader as well. Blue you’re an idiot.
On April 16, 2009 at 10:16 pm
Proof that these guy’s are real!:
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2008/04/photogalleries/stingray-pictures/
http://video.google.com/videosearch?client=opera&rls=en&q=giant%20freshwater%20stingray&sourceid=opera&oe=utf-8&um=1&hl=en&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&tab=iv#
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/8404622/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kvz6gs5nWBY
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XMa95RmP1b0
On April 18, 2009 at 4:56 pm
Monday,April 19th,10pm,on Animal Planet:RIVERMONSTERS!.
On April 18, 2009 at 4:58 pm
That would be on a Sunday.Sorry,my bad!;)
On April 24, 2009 at 8:48 pm
I have heard of all of these, and never thought they got THAT big. I have caught giant catfish before, but these fish could probably eat the one I caught. Arapaima are the most aggresive.
Mr /FAKE/ blue needs to change to red
On April 29, 2009 at 6:21 pm
I was in the marine Corps from 1985-1989. I was stationed at MCAS New River in North Carolina. I saw Alligator gar in the New River, which is in no way anywhere near the Mississippi River basin. They were pretty amazing, and HUGE! Plenty of alligators in general as well.
On May 10, 2009 at 5:29 am
A very super and informative article.
On June 3, 2009 at 6:44 pm
C’mon kids, stop feeding the troll aka Blue. He’s a 52-year old flipping burgers, asking if you want the meal or just the burger and runs out the basement to grab the paper before his mom does every morning. Your responses here is the most interaction he’s had in a decade. Stop feeding the troll.
To the fish enthusiasts, there are Arapaima exhibits at various aquariums/zoos around the world. Truly amazing to see one in real life.
On June 4, 2009 at 5:16 pm
Guys, lay off Blue. Yes, he’s wrong and offensive, but there’s no need to be offensive back. You’re better than that. With that said, Blue, come back when you know how to really to spot fake photos, ‘kay?
Those fish are amazing! Here in Lake Murray, S.C., we get catfish that can get pretty big-but no where NEAR that size. Our gar on the other hand….
Now those are bony devils, they are. Bit a buddy of mine pretty bad one time while we were swimming. It was fairly shallow (about 5 feet or so) and it came up and bit him. He ended up punching it a few times, and it swam away. I could barely believe my eyes! We still talk about it to this day….
On July 6, 2009 at 3:04 pm
I saw something recently about a Nile Perch. A giant perch that inhabits the great lakes of Africa that can reach a size of 440 pounds and six feet long.
On July 6, 2009 at 3:06 pm
Blue Arapama’s have brillant red lines on them. They look almost just like Giant female Siamese fighting fish. They are tropical fish with tropical colors. In fact, in South America they have a giant catfish with a brillant red tail.
On August 4, 2009 at 12:26 am
The Chinese Paddle fish has gone extinct because of dams the dams set up between it’s natural habitat and it’s breeding grounds, little debate there…
On August 6, 2009 at 10:09 pm
Thanks for the great article and pictures! I plan on trying to catch whatever the Mississippi, Missouri, and Illinois rivers offer. Especially foreign carp in the Illinois and Mississipi rivers. They are taking over there and are a threat to the Great Lakes. I imagine they are in the Missouri river also.
On August 9, 2009 at 8:44 am
hi fggslgdhan
On September 4, 2009 at 12:38 pm
all are real i never knew sturgeons got that big
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