5 of The Largest Freshwater Fish In The World

In this video i will be going through 5 of the largest freshwater fish in the world. There are many giant freshwater fish in the worlds rivers and lakes but what fish is the biggest freshwater fish in the world? This is actually a very hard question to answer as monster fish come in many different shapes and sizes and two fish from the same species can vary in size drastically from one another.

So in this video i will be going through 5 river monsters that are thought to be the largest freshwater fish in the world. I will not be including sturgeon species as even though they spend a lot of time in freshwater, they can also be found in the worlds oceans.

The first giant fish on the list is the Mekong giant catfish. This giant catfish is mostly a vegetarian and spends most of its time feeding on the aquatic plants in the Mekong river but unfortunately due down to over fishing and habitat destruction it is now critically endangered.

For our second monster fish we will be heading over to Europe as we have the wels catfish. This giant predatory catfish is probably the sciarest river monster on this list. The wels catfish has a giant mouth and has been known to eat water foul and pigeons as well as anything else it can fit in its mouth.

For our next large fish we will move down to south America as we have the arapaima. The arapaima is a giant air breathing predatory fish and is very well suited to the slow moving waters of south America. Unfortunately overfishing also effects the arapaimas numbers and they are now protected in the wild.

For the next monster fish we will move up to north America as we have the alligator gar. The alligator gar is a prehistoric predatory fish and even though its jaws and teeth make it look like a very dangerous fish, it poses little threat to humans. The alligator gar in so large in fact that its only other enemy apart from humans are actual alligators.

For our final river monster we will be heading back over to south east Asia as we have the giant freshwater stingray. This stingray is thought by many to be the largest freshwater fish in the world. It is a very peaceful giant fish but does have a barb that its can use in self defence and this barb can even pierce bone.

What do you think the biggest freshwater fish in the world is?
Let mw know down in the comments below?

Thanks for watching hope you enjoyed :)

[pim]

Have you watched too much of River Monsters as a kid if you recognize all of them from the thumbnail?

[doggo]

Normal people: the weight is 440 pounds which is 200 kg

Tsuki: this fish is around *_two pandas_*

[paintedclear]

The arapaima is literally just a huge, living, swimming, missile. Like the tarpon.

[sylentlight]

THANK YOU for including the Alligator Gar. I've seen other lists like this that disregard it for some reason. I live in the southern US and the sight of one of these behemoths, even the smaller ones, really makes the water get warmer (if you know what I mean) as you scurry to get to shore as fast as possible! Seen several while playing in or near the rivers as a kid.

[ktx._.fishing]

In Texas we have the trinity river where a 12 foot alligator gar was caught and the average size is like 4-5 feet

[Jorji_FCS]

Here in Brazil it's more common to say "Pirarucu" than "Arapaima", but both are correct

[lizslilcorneroftheinstitution]

I grew up in a military family so I was born and lived in Charleston, SC several times! My parents loved camping and going fishing. I love the outdoors and loved seeing the different fish in the area but you couldn’t pay me money to eat fish, fresh or saltwater. Regardless, there were several “secret” canals where you had to hike... and hike... and hike to get to. In the end it was worth it because it was the first time I was able to see alligator gar up close and personal! I was never afraid of them but they certainly gave my family hell as they fished. The minute they’d get a good sized fish on the line, that was the gar’s equivalent to a dinner bell! It quickly became a race as to who would win... my parents.... the fish on the line or the alligator gar!😆 It was also in the same general area where I saw the two largest catfish I’d ever seen in my life. They were caught by a shipmate of my dad’s but the fisherman didn’t have enough room to store the meat. I don’t think my parents realized just how big they were either. The fisherman showed up in a truck and the two catfish literally took up the entire bed of the truck! My dad ended up having to get saw horses and sheets of plywood to prep the meat. Dear god I hated seeing those fish killed!

[coriander]

I forgot the show’s name, but there was a huge freshwater stingray that was caught on tv. I remember the episode from when I was younger and was amazed on how huge stingrays can get.

[cadumbra]

Jeremy Wade in the corner:
*heavy breathing*

[edunabahia]

Great video! The largest freshwater fish in South America is the Brachyplatystoma capapretum, in portuguese it's called Piraíba or Filhote. It can reach ~3, 7m and over 200kg

[UKFishCam]

Hope you are doing well! Loving the videos

[marypaigeflynn]

I really enjoyed this video and something that surprised me was the "whole foods" market and the arapaima...I don't think I've really looked into this at "whole foods" before, but it's something I'm going to check out!
Some of my favorite fish are gar and alligator gar..I have always been fascinated with this fish, since I was a little girl... I was swimming in Lake Murray in South Carolina.. I was floating at the top of the surface trying to learn how to ski and a group of alligator gar literally swam over me.. I remember being terrified and totally intrigued at the same time ♥️my grandfather told me to be still and they would swim right over me and they did 😅🤗I was only eight and it was truly scary but exhilarating at the same time!! They could have cared less about me but I really thought I was going to get eaten 🤣
My grandfather had caught a huge one at one time and he was an x-ray technician, I remember the huge mount of an alligator gar in his office and I thought it was the coolest fish ever...I have always wished that I had the room to keep one!! Someday🤔♥️
Thanks for sharing I always love your videos.. I hope you're having a wonderful day 🙏🌿🐟🌿💚

[davidcollier]

Although the giant tiger fish may not be the biggest freshwater fish, it's probably the most terrifying.

[jaycobgoodliffe]

I remember when I was younger I would go walking along the waterfront, there were these massive stingray that would swim I front of the look out. The owner of the restaurant infrount would often throw off cuts of fish to them which they would eat. When the new bridge was starting to be built one of the boat had something stuck in it and it was one of the giant stingray. We haven't seen them there since.

[fishingfanaticsuk]

Nile perch has the possibility to be up there. The ebro in Spain will produce a 300lb Wells within the next decade.

[Ezihkhel]

The Piraiba Catfish could very well be part of this list. They can reach rather large sizes, with the maximum length being 12 feet. The 12 foot length would probably be exceptionally sized individuals though but adults are typically 6-8 feet long.

[Malthrax]

Caught a wels catfish last year, must have been like 180cm long and 100lbs heavy

[hlsaquatics]

I’ve been fishing for most of my life and I’ve caught most of these fish

[diaryofagoat-lass]

As a kid who grew up playing all the Amazon Trail games, I knew the Pirarucu was gonna be somewhere on this list! 👍

[edmarpaiva]

in old times in brazil we have 5 meters arapaima(pirarucu!)