Arapaima

Arapaimas are one of the largest fish in the world. They can reach up to 10+ feet, weighing 440lb. It's in the same family as the arowana, the bone-tongue family. They are a native of the Amazon. The Amazons have a myth that the Arapaimas are a descendant of god. Arapaima was cruel so God banished him and turned him into Arapaima. The native name for Arapaima is Pirarucu. The native use the tongue of the Araipaima and mix it with a tree bark called Guarana to kill internal worms.

The Arapaima is strong, if you get hit by a fully grown Arapaima it is like getting hit by a car going 30 miles an hour. Thai introduced Arapaima as sports fishing targets because they are really difficult to catch and they put up a strong fight. Thai people believe that the Arapaimas are holy fish. The chinese calls Arapaima "hai zhang" or elephant fish.

Arapaima is my number one favorite fish to keep because of their strength, power, and grace. They are like the emperor swimming through the water and nothing can touch it. He knows he's the boss. I had mine when he was only six inches. At that size, they are really weak and prone to disease. So I feed them a lot of feeder fishes to recreate their natural habitat allowing them to catch their own fish. As they grow, the color turns into a dark olive color. And they grow really fast. In twelve months, they hit 12 inches. So I moved them in with my two silver arowanas in the 125 gallon tank. I feed him beef hearts and squid to give him a lot of protein to bring out the color in the tail. With all those food, it grew really fast, from 12 inches to 30 inches. It was getting to big to handle so I had to sell it to my friend. From my past experience, the Arapaima is truly a feng shui fish. The night I sold it, the 125 gallon tank starting leaking and the canister filter stopped working along with the air pump. I would say, if you want to have good luck and fortune, you need to be mentally ready to keep it for life. If you sell it or die it will bring bad luck.