Giant pangasius facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Giant pangasius |
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The Giant Pangasius (Pangasius sanitwongsei) is a very large freshwater fish. It's also called the Paroon Shark or Chao Phraya Giant Catfish. This fish belongs to the shark catfish family. You can find it in the Chao Phraya and Mekong rivers in Southeast Asia. Sadly, there are much fewer of these fish now. This is mainly because too many are caught by fishing. Because of this, the Giant Pangasius is now considered Critically Endangered. This means it's at a very high risk of disappearing forever.
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What's in a Name?
The scientific name sanitwongsei was chosen to honor M. R. Suwaphan Sanitwong. He helped a lot with fishing efforts in Thailand.
Where Do Giant Pangasius Live?
The Giant Pangasius naturally lives in the Mekong and Chao Phraya rivers. These rivers flow through countries like China, Cambodia, Thailand, Vietnam, and Laos. This fish has also been moved to other places like central Anatolia, South Africa, and Malaysia.
The Pangasius sanitwongsei can live in water that isn't perfect. It often prefers to stay at the bottom of deep parts of freshwater rivers. These fish live in rivers, but they are in danger because of dams. Dams can trap the fish and stop them from moving freely. There are two groups of Paroon Sharks that are separated by the Khone Falls. They cannot swim over these falls.
How to Spot a Giant Pangasius
The Giant Pangasius is a type of ray-finned fish. It's part of the Pangasiidae family, also known as Shark Catfishes. They have long fins on their back and belly. These fins help them stay steady and swim well.
Their skin is dark, which helps them hide in the murky river bottoms. They have a wide, flat head without whiskers. Their body is long and somewhat flat from side to side. They have a silver, curved belly and a dark brown back. Their fins are mostly dark gray or black. The first ray on their dorsal fin is long like a filament.
Fully grown adults can reach up to 300 centimeters (about 10 feet) long. They can weigh as much as 300 kilograms (about 660 pounds). Most often, these fish are around 2 meters (about 6.5 feet) long.
Reproduction and Life Cycle
We don't know much about how P. sanitwongsei reproduce. But we do know that they lay their eggs in April and May. It's thought that they lay eggs right in the rivers where they live. They probably don't travel far to reproduce.
Each time they lay eggs, there are about 600 eggs. Each egg is small, about 2-2.5 millimeters wide. The young fish don't get any care from their parents after hatching.
What Giant Pangasius Eat
The Giant Pangasius is a carnivore, meaning it eats other animals. It mostly eats shrimp, crabs, and other fish. Since it lives at the bottom of rivers, it's also known to eat dead animals. As a top predator, it helps control the number of smaller fish in the river.
How Long Do They Live?
The exact lifespan of this fish isn't known. However, it's known to grow very fast. Usually, animals that grow fast also tend to have shorter lives. One reason for this might be the problem of overfishing.
Their Role in the River Ecosystem
The Giant Pangasius is a top predator in its ecosystem. This means it helps keep the populations of smaller fish in check. Without these big predators, smaller fish could become too many. This would upset the balance of the food chain. Because too many Giant Pangasius are being caught, the number of smaller fish might increase.
Why Giant Pangasius Are Important
This fish is important to many local people living near the rivers. It's a key food source for them. Many fishing villages depend on these fish for food and to earn money by selling them.
Because this fish travels a lot, it can show us important paths and places for spawning. Protecting these areas is very important. This fish is also valuable for fish farms. It can grow very large even in captivity, which helps the fishing economy. This is why it was brought to rivers in South Africa.
These fish are also sometimes kept as pets. They are considered exotic because they are not common in home aquariums. They need very large tanks or ponds because they grow big and are very active. Sometimes, people release them into rivers when they can no longer care for them.
Threats and Conservation Efforts
The Giant Pangasius is a highly protected species. Fishing for it is banned all year round. However, it is still threatened by too much fishing, dams being built, and pollution. Its population keeps going down because there aren't enough laws or enforcement to protect it.
Dams are a big threat because they block the fish's natural habitat. The Paroon Shark travels upstream to lay eggs and lives downstream. Dams stop them from reaching their breeding sites. Even if parts of the river are connected, the fish can't swim through dam walls.
Protecting the Giant Pangasius also helps other species in the same area. This is because it's an "umbrella species." By protecting this one species, a whole ecosystem can be saved. Since these areas are heavily fished, rules can be put in place. For example, limits on the size of fish that can be caught. This allows adult fish to reproduce more successfully.
The Thai government is trying to help the population by breeding them. They have also suggested stopping all fishing until the P. sanitwongsei population grows to a safe level. While breeding in safe fisheries helps, it can reduce the genetic variety of the fish. This makes them more likely to get sick or be affected by environmental changes.
Rules and Protections
To control overfishing, rules about how many fish can be caught and their size can be put in place. In 1989, China listed the Paroon Shark as a protected species in Yunnan. However, this fish lives in many countries, including Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, and Vietnam. Rules in China don't protect the fish in other parts of the river.
Some groups in Asia are working to protect wildlife in these regions. These include the Asian Species Action Partnership (ASAP), Species Survival Commission (SSC), World Wildlife Fund (WWF), and International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
See also
- List of freshwater aquarium fish species
