Contents Index of fishes General parts of a fish
	Kelvin K P Lim and Peter K L Ng

Fishy Facts Some amazing fishes | More amazing fishes In this general section, we have compiled some amazing and sometimes little known facts about freshwater fish. We have included freshwater fishes from around the world to make it more interesting. Danionella Pandaka In 1986, an American ichthyologist recorded the Burmese cyprinid Danionella translucida as the smallest freshwater fish, females being mature at only 10 to 1 lmm in standard length. Prior to this, the smallest freshwater fish was the goby Pandaka pygmaea from the Philippines which can grow a few millimetres larger and is much stouter. There are several candidates for the largest freshwater fish in the world. The South American Arapaima or Pirarucu (Arapaima gigas, Osteoglossidae) is a prime contender at reported lengths of 4.5m, and weighing 200 kg. The largest known specimen of the Giant European Catfish, or Wels (Silurus glanis, Siluridae) reached 5 m in length and over 300 kg. The euryhaline Russian sturgeons (Acipenseridae) Beluga (Huso huso) (not to be confused with the white whale which bears the same name) and Kaluga (Huso dauricus) easily reach 5 m in length, and can weigh an astonishing 1500 kg! Arapaima Wels Beluga Mekong Catfish The giant Mekong Catfish (Pangasianodon gigas, Pangasiidae) which lives in the Mekong River, easily reaches 2.5 metres in length and is an important food resource, having being successfully cultured by the Thais. This peaceful giant is known locally as Pla Buk or "Huge Fish". Young fishes have teeth and barbels, lacking in adults. Candiru A very slender and small 2.5 cm catfish called the Candiru (Vandellia cirrhosa, Trichomycteridae) from the Amazon has the nasty reputation of entering the urethra of people urinating under water! Once inside, their spiny gill covers make them impossible to extract except by surgery. They normally feed on the gill tissues of fishes. The predatory Giant Malayan Catfish or Tapah (Wallago leerii, Siluridae) of South East Asia which can reach 2 m in length, has such a huge gape (mouth width) that it has been reported to swallow small dogs and mousedeer! Tapah Photo: Francis Lim

Introduction Freshwater habitats Fishes in Singapore Conservation Amazing Fishy Facts About the guidebook

From A Guide to Common Freshwater Fishes of Singapore by Kelvin K P Lim and Peter K L Ng Published by the Singapore Science Centre and sponsored by BP @Raffles Museum of Biodiversity Research and Singapore Science Centre