15 Most Largest Freshwater Monsters in the World
27 August 2022
15 Most Largest Freshwater Monsters in the World
We are aware of the myriad gigantic fish species inhabiting the sea, such as blue whales and fin whales, but the sea is not only the place where enormous fish reside. Although it is a different matter, a plethora of fishes found in saline water is larger than freshwater fishes. But this does not mean that large-sized fish can’t be found in freshwater bodies. A multitude of freshwater monsters such as sturgeons, catfish, sharks, carps, salmon, and stingrays may be found on the murky surface of freshwater bodies such as rivers and lakes. We have prepared a list of some enormous and hazardous freshwater monsters for you.
15. Giant Snakehead: 4 ft 9 inches
The Giant Snakehead is the largest species of its family Channidae and is often known as Murrels. These freshwater fish can be recognized by the shape of their heads, which resembles that of a snake. They have been observed to be 4 feet 9 inches in length and weigh up to 20 kilos. It is one of the largest freshwater fishes that inhabit Southwest India and Southwest Asia. However, three species of gigantic snakehead were caught in Maryland, USA, between 2004 and 2005. These predatory fish believe in ambush hunting techniques. With the assistance of their powerful jaws and razor-sharp teeth, they slip their prey into two parts in a single strike, rendering them inactive. Apart from swimming in water bodies, they can crawl on the ground to move suitable inhabitants or other water bodies.
14. Muskellunge: 6 ft
Muskellunge are large freshwater predator fish and the largest member of the Pike family found in North America. In general, they may reach a length of up to 6 feet and weigh up to 32 kilos. However, based on their past references, they have been seen up to 8 feet. Muskellunge means great fish and is also known as “Muskie” or “The fish of 10,000 casts.” However, this nickname is because they have enough skill to protect themselves from fishhooks, so they are notoriously difficult to catch.
13. Nile Perch: 6 ft 5 inches
There is a big chance you might be confused with this large freshwater fish as Berramudi, which belongs to the Latidae family. Nile perch inhabit the tropical rivers and lakes of Africa and are the largest freshwater fish on this continent. They may reach a maximum length of 6 feet 7 inches and weigh up to 200 kg. However, their average size ranges from 4 feet to 4 feet 6 inches. Some of the common names for Nile perch in Africa are Africa Snooh, Goliath Perch, African Berramudi, Goliath Berramudi, Gilant Lakes, and Victoria Perch.
12. Giant Devil Catfish: 6 ft 6 inches
Goonch is a large species of catfish found in the Indus and Ganges basins of the Indian subcontinent. This freshwater giant is also known as the Giant Devil Catfish. This species of catfish may grow up to 6 feet, 6 inches in length. These catfish species are among those rare and mysterious giant freshwater fish with a relatively limited population. Goonch is listed as a vulnerable species of animal.
11. Siberian Taimen: 6 ft 9 inches
The Siberian Taimen is the largest species of salmon. It grows slowly, reaching a length of 6 feet by the age of 55 years. However, in 1943, a specimen of a Siberian Taimen about 83 inches long, i.e., 6 feet 9 inches in length, was caught from the Kochi River. This specimen weighed about 100 kilos, and it is the largest recorded size of the species. This ray-finned fish species is a ferocious predator, well known as the River Wolf for its pack hunting behavior. The Siberian Taimen is also known as the Hucho Taimen, Common Taimen, and Siberian Salmon.
10. Electric Eel: 8 ft
Electric eels inhabit murky streams and ponds in the Amazon and Orinoco basins of South America. Perhaps you will be shocked to know that they have just the name “electric eels,” but in reality, they are not true eels. In fact, it is a member of the order of electroreceptive neotropical knife fish, closely related to catfish. Definitely, electric eels have poor eyesight, but they are well known for stunning their prey and predators with their 660 volts of electric shocks. Electric eels are large freshwater fish with a length of 8 feet and can weigh up to 44 pounds.
09. Giant Barb: 10 ft
The Giant Barb is the largest fish species in the Cyprinid family. Although different varieties of carp fish can grow up to formidable sizes, other species of carp can’t percussion with the giant barb, aka the king of fish. These migratory fish are mainly found in the Maekong, Mekong, and Chao Phraya river basins. In general, they can reach a length of up to 10 feet. Despite being of such a huge size, these giant freshwater fish are harmless, but they have threats from humans. Due to overfishing and habitat loss, they have been put on the critically endangered list. From some years, Giant Barb is being rearing on a large scale in Vietnam for their high economic value. Giant Barbs are also known by the names Siamese Giant Barb and Siamese Carp.
08. Mekong Giant Catfish: 10ft
The Mekong giant catfish is a toothless herbivorous fish native to the Mekong Basin of Southeast Asia. This catfish is a member of the shark catfish family and may grow up to 10 feet long and 650 pounds in weight. These fish grow with a phenomenal growth rate ranging from 150 kg to 200 kg in 6 months. For a long time, this freshwater monster is a common spot fish and in recent upstream dam construction in the Mekong River fell on the critically endangered animal species. However, it is now protected by the national legislation of Thailand and Laos.
07. Alligator Gar: 10 ft
The alligator gar is the largest species in the gar family native to North America. This is the only fish that has double-row teeth in its upper jaw, and its snout resembles an alligator. This hostile class of ray-finned fish may inhabit both fresh and salt water. This bony water monster is the ultimate survivor; it can live in environments where most fish species die from suffocation. Fossil records reveal this species of fish existed 100 million years ago, i.e., in the Earlier Cretaceous Period. In general, their size is 6 feet long and they weigh up to 100 pounds. But in 2001, an exceptionally sized gar, about 8 feet long and weighing 290 pounds, was caught from the Trinity River. But fishing guide Kirk Kirkland caught a 9 ft 6-inch long gar with his fishing rod in 1991 in the same Trinty River. Although that specimen can’t be verified, anecdotal evidence suggests alligator gars can grow up to 10 feet.
06. Bull Shark: 13 ft
Bull sharks are found in warm, shallow waters and rivers along coastlines around the world. The bull sharks are wider and heavier than their requiem shark family. At birth, they are about 2 feet 8 inches tall, while adults reach up to 11 feet. But according to a record, a female was seen up to 13 feet. Females are larger than males. The bull shark is an aggressive species known as the devil child in the shark world. As they can survive in freshwater bodies, they have more interaction with humans, which is dangerous. But the thing that makes them hazardous is their biting force, which reaches 1330 psi. This bite force is the highest among all other investigated cartilaginous fish.
05. Arapaima: 15 ft
The arapaima is native to the Amazon and Essequibo basins of South America, known as Piraruca in Brazil and Paiche in Peru. Generally, an arapaima is 6 feet long and weighs up to 200 pounds. The maximum recorded weight of Arapaima was 200 kg, and her verified length was 10 feet 1 inch. But according to anecdotal reports, arapaima can be up to 15 feet. Arapaima is not only one of the largest freshwater fishes in the world, but it is also one of the oldest species of freshwater. Male Arapaimas are mouth brooders. These scaly giants are referred to as the “Cod of the Amazon.” Arapaimas are harvested for delicious meat and giant scales, which are used for fashion jewelers.
04. Wels Catfish: 16 ft
The Wels catfish is endemic to wide parts of Central, Southern, and Eastern Europe’s Baltic, Black, and the Caspian Sea basins. However, their range has expanded, extending from the east of the United Kingdom to Kazakhstan and China, and as far south as Greece and Turkey. This large species of catfish may weigh up to 200 kg and grow to a length of 9.8 ft. However, a record-breaking 16-foot-long and 400-kg big Wels catfish was taken from the Dnieper River in 1856. After the Beluga sturgeon, the Wels catfish is the second biggest freshwater fish in Europe and Western Asia.
03. Freshwater Giant Stingrays: 16 ft 4 inches
Giant freshwater stingrays are found in South Asia and Borneo in large rivers and estuaries that belong to the Dasyatidae family. This species of stingray was first identified in 1990 and can actually grow to a huge size. The largest freshwater stingray ever caught was 590 kg. The only disc size was 8 feet and measured from snout to tail, they were 16 feet 5 inches long. Recently (June 2022), a specimen was caught from the Mekong River, weighing 661 pounds and measuring 13 feet tall. The tail of the freshwater giant stingray is about 15 inches long with spiky spikes that are capable of piercing the bones as well as injecting poison. The Giant Freshwater Stingray is the world’s largest freshwater fish, inhabited permanently in freshwater bodies. Unfortunately, fishing and habitat loss posed them endangered animal species.
02. Paddle Fish: 7 ft
The paddlefish is a basal chondrostean ray-finned fish with a wide mouth and a snout paddle. The paddlefish is an archaic freshwater fish that evolved with some morphological changes in the Early Cretaceous period, 120 to 125 million years ago. Paddlefish is a relative of sturgeon, which belongs to the family Polyodontidae and the Ascipenseriformes order. There are six species of paddlefish, four of which have been identified as extinct species by fossil records, three of which are from North America and one from China. The last two species are the American paddlefish, which is still alive, and the Chinese paddlefish, which was declared extinct in 2019.
The Chinese paddlefish may grow to be 9.8 feet long and 300 kg in weight. However, the longest Chinese paddlefish ever recorded is 23 feet long and weighs a few thousand pounds. The American paddlefish is smaller than the Chinese paddlefish. In general, American paddlefish may grow to be up to 5 feet long, but a specimen 7.1 feet long was caught from Okoboji Lake, Iowa.
01. Sturgeons: 18 ft to 24 ft
The sturgeon belongs to the family Acipenseridae, with 29 species of fish that originally inhabit the temperate waters of the Northern Hemisphere. The surgeon is an anadromous fish. They are born in freshwater and spend most of their lives in saltwater before returning to spawn in freshwater. They choose rivers that are interconnected with the sea.
The Beluga Sturgeon, or Great Sturgeon, is not only the largest species in the sturgeon family but also the largest freshwater fish in the world. They mainly inhabit the Caspian and the Black Sea basins but have sometimes been found in the Adriatic Sea. A massive female beluga was taken in 1827, around 23 feet 8 inches in length and weighing 1571 kg. But the recently caught beluga has been seen only up to 10 feet.
The White Sturgeon ranges in the eastern Pacific from the Gulf of Alaska to Monterey, California. However, some are landlocked in the areas of the Columbia River, Lake Shasta, and Baja California. The maximum recorded white sturgeon is up to 20 feet, while the common length is 6.9 feet.
The Kaluga Sturgeon, or River Beluga, is a huge predatory sturgeon found in the Amur River basin. The maximum record size of the Kaluga is 18 feet 6 inches tall and it weighs 1000 kg.
These are some of the freshwater monsters that inhabit the murky waters of freshwater bodies around the world. These enormous fish species are nothing less than the behemoth fishes present in the sea. If any of these freshwater monsters have surprised you, or if you think another monster should be added to this list, tell us in the comments section.
