TOP 10: The largest fish

In all the water bodies on the planet - lakes, rivers, seas and oceans, hundreds of thousands of different fish live, which can amaze with their fantastic appearance and unusual abilities.

I would like to know which of all the fish on earth is the largest. Whales are not included in this rating, as they are mammals, not fish. When determining the winner, the weight of the fish and its body length will be taken into account.

Herring king

In another way, this fish is called a fish belt. In addition to the Arctic Ocean, the herring king is found in all oceans with warm waters. On the head of the fish there is a “crown” - a large fin, and the body resembles a ribbon. The length of the fish is 3.5 m, thickness - 5 cm, height - 25 cm. Usually this giant is found in shoals of herring.

The Guinness Book of Records is the largest fish belt weighing 272 kg and a length of 11 m. Its meat is not eaten, although it is not poisonous.

Common catfish

In all freshwater bodies of Russia and Europe, the largest fish is catfish. Some individuals reach a length of 5 meters with a weight of about 400 kg. This thick fish comes in different shades - light yellow, black and even albino. There are no scales on the body. This is a valuable commercial fish.

Catfish is omnivorous. Its diet includes crustaceans, plankton, mollusks, live fish. He can dine with small pets or waterfowl. Cases were recorded when catfish attacked a person.

Blue atlantic marlin

This beautiful fish lives in the Atlantic Ocean. Male marlin is about a quarter smaller than the female, and they, in turn, reach five meters in length. The maximum weight of the fish that could be caught was 818 kg.

Fish meat is very oily and valuable. Fans of Japanese cuisine especially appreciate it. Recently, marlins have been threatened with extinction, as they are caught in huge quantities to prepare delicious dishes.

The body of blue marlin is blue or blue. The sides are silvery. On the head there is a very strong and long peculiar “spear”, the length of which is about 20% of the whole body. The fish is not too aggressive, despite its awesome appearance. Large sharks are the only enemies of the blue Atlantic marlin. His diet also includes mackerel, squid and shellfish.

Moon fish

The largest fish on earth is the moon fish. With a relatively short length - about 3 meters, it weighs more than 2 tons. The record holder feeds on algae and jellyfish, prefers to live in the warm waters of the oceans.

Due to the fact that the moon fish does not have a swimming bladder, it swims poorly. She also does not have a caudal fin. In order to turn, she uses side fins or spits out a powerful stream of water from her mouth. The mouth of the moon fish ends with a beak, and with the help of its teeth it can make strange noises - “talk”.

They don’t eat fish meat, it’s not poisonous, but its taste is unpleasant. In oceanariums this outlandish creature does not contain, since they are broken on glass.

Huge tiger shark

The color of tiger sharks resembles that of large predator cats, which is why they are called leopard ones. Their habitat was tropical or subtropical waters. The tiger shark is viviparous. Usually 8 sharks are born.

With a fish size of 5.5 meters, they pose a potential danger to humans. But their main diet includes turtles, cephalopods, sea snakes, fish.

In the huge mouth of the shark there are many sharp teeth that easily cut through the tortoise shell. Shark females grow larger than males. Their weight reaches 1.5 tons.

In Hawaii, the maximum number of cases of predator attacks on people has been recorded. Most often, the victims survive. Sharks themselves suffer a lot from humans.Everything is valued in a predator - fins, skin, meat.

White shark

In fifth place is the white shark, which is also called the cannibal shark. A predator inhabits all the oceans of the planet, except for the Arctic. The longest fish that could be caught had a little more than 6 meters, and its weight was about 2 tons.

The white shark usually hunts during the day, unlike other fellow predators. Her diet includes everything that moves in the deep sea.

In the ocean - this is the most dangerous predator. Over the past 20 years, about 140 white shark attacks on humans have been recorded. Tragically ended 29 of them. But people are not the favorite prey of the largest fish on the planet.

Freshwater Beluga

Another largest freshwater fish is beluga. This representative of the sturgeon family is listed in the Red Book. It lives in the Azov, Black and Caspian seas depending on its life cycle. Typically, the beluga is about 4 meters long and weighs 1.5 tons. There is information that there was a specimen 9 meters long and weighing 2 tons.

The giant's diet includes medium-sized small fish and mollusks. The main enemy for the beluga is man. Delicious caviar and tender meat of this fish are of value to poachers.

Manti

The third place in the ranking is occupied by representatives of the order of stingrays, called manti. The wingspan of some of them is 9 meters, and the mass is 3 tons. This giant lives in all oceans - from tropical to temperate latitudes. A fish swims with the help of fins, with which it swings and soars like a bird in the sky.

Giant shark

The second place ranking belongs to a giant shark. She is a blue shark. The maximum size of the female that has been officially registered is 9.8 meters, and the weight is 4 tons. According to unconfirmed data, individuals were found whose length reached 15 meters.

The size of the giant shark is awesome, but for humans they are completely not dangerous. The main diet of this fish is plankton.

Whale shark

The whale shark became the winner in this nomination. This peace-loving and slow-moving fish eats only plankton. You can even ride on her back. Once it was a commercial fish. This fact today explains the rarity of the species.

Most of all, the whale shark prefers the waters of the Eastern shores of Africa and Taiwan. Optimal for her is a water temperature of 20 to 25 degrees.