The predatory hydrocin is a large tiger fish. Tiger fish Goliath (lat.

The Goliath tiger fish is slightly inferior in bloodthirstiness to the piranha. It has 32 razor-sharp teeth and is rightfully considered one of the most terrible and dangerous freshwater fish in the world.

There are 5 known species of tiger fish, but the largest species lives exclusively in the Congo River basin. This predator can reach up to 180 centimeters in length and weigh more than 50 kilograms. A real killing machine.

Jeremy Wade with his catch

52-year-old Jeremy Wade, a fisherman and expert on unusual freshwater fish, and also the host of the “River Monsters” program, managed to catch the giant specimen.

For the sake of such fishing, he went to hard-to-reach places of the Congo River, where he spent 8 days waiting for fish. Luck smiled on him. He caught one of the largest specimens, weighing up to 154 pounds (about 70 kilograms) and up to 5 feet (1.5 meters) long.

The fish got its name due to the dark horizontal stripes on the sides of the body, which are somewhat similar to tiger stripes, and its size.

Hollywood smile with 32 teeth

The Goliath tiger fish is a real predator. Eats more small fish. The dessert for the African giant is kamba fish, which is abundant in the Congo River. Thanks to her power, she can calmly swim against the current. As a result, weaker fish that cannot overcome the strong flow of water themselves end up in its teeth. Its weapons are 32 huge teeth, similar in size to the teeth of a great white shark. There are cases when this fish attacked people and even crocodiles!

The fish reacts to a loud splash of water or sudden movement. It can also locate its prey using low-frequency vibrations. So the future victim cannot hide from her.

Goliath is also called the big tiger fish or the giant hydrocine. This is one of the most unusual freshwater inhabitants with the appearance of a real monster. In Latin the name translates as “giant water dog”, and it really is this river fish fits - she has the teeth of a predator, large, with sharp, huge fangs. In addition, the goliath fish has a powerful body, large size and... a brutal appetite. What is known about this creature, and is it really so ferocious?

Due to its rather decent size, keeping goliath in a home aquarium is impossible. However, any zoo or exhibition hall will not refuse to have such an original specimen in its collection that attracts visitors, and they are often found in such aquariums.

IN natural environment The length of giant hydrocines reaches one and a half meters, and their weight is 50 kg. And at first glance at this fish it becomes clear - this is not a vegetarian, with such and such teeth! Goliath is an agile, dangerous predator, similar to a piranha, only more impressive in size. Using their powerful jaws and razor-sharp teeth, they are able to rip large chunks of meat from their prey.

Of course, exotic lovers dream of such an extraordinary pet. And the goliath itself may well live in captivity. Only it requires a huge, at least 3000-liter aquarium. It is quite undemanding in maintenance, but, in addition to a spacious tank, it requires a lot of nutritious food.

Living in the natural environment

The first description of individuals was compiled in the 60s of the 19th century. Its habitat is African reservoirs, from Egyptian to South African. More often, goliaths are found in Senegal, the Nile, Congo, and Lake Tanganyika. Since hydrocin is a large fish, large ones are most suitable for it, deep rivers and lakes. Moreover, representatives of this species are not loners and lead a gregarious lifestyle with their brethren or other large predators.

Goliaths are gluttonous, insatiable and successful in hunting. Their diet includes fish, aquatic animals and even crocodiles. There are several recorded cases where they attacked a person, but experts say that the fish behaved this way by mistake, without considering the “prey”.

U local residents The goliath is known as the "mbenga" and they fish for it extensively. But, in addition to this, they offer this activity as entertainment to numerous tourists. According to the fishermen, catching such big fish It’s not easy, no matter how strong the fishing line is, it still won’t withstand such weight. Therefore, the fishing line is replaced with durable steel leads.

Scientists have been interested in these original creatures for a long time; studies have shown that they are contemporaries of dinosaurs. In nature, where hydrocines live, it is difficult to survive, so individuals actively evolved until they turned into dangerous, predatory creatures. Although goliaths have fewer enemies in nature, humans remain the greatest threat to them.

He is engaged in mass catching of these fish, poisoning chemicals coastal vegetation, pollutes aquatic environment, which leads to a steady decline in the population of giant hydrocines. This state of affairs has attracted the attention of local authorities, environmental services and environmental organizations, who are trying to save such unique river inhabitants from extinction.

Appearance of individuals

Despite the fact that from the lips of boastful fishermen you can hear about 5-meter-long goliaths caught with your own hands, the size of these river inhabitants is still impressive. For a river inhabitant, one and a half meters in length is already a lot. In captivity, individuals are not grow up more than 75 cm. Individuals live from 12 to 15 years. The description of the individuals is as follows:

torso oblong, strong;
fins small, pointed, orange or reddish in color;
head large, with a wide mouth, equipped with large, sharp teeth - 32 in total;
With their teeth, fish grab and tear prey without chewing. These fish have teeth replaced by new ones throughout their lives;
the body is covered with large scales of silver color with a golden tint.

Difficulties of content

Goliath is not an aquarium option, or rather aquarium enthusiasts cannot afford it. But it does well in a commercial or species tank. Although some people decide to keep young of these fish in a home container, but due to their rapid growth, the question arises - what to do with such a giant pet?

Diet

In their natural environment, tiger giants most often eat fish and small mammals, although they do not refuse plant foods and detritus. With such size and needs, they have to eat a lot often, so goliaths can be called omnivores. When keeping an aquarium, it is recommended that the hydrocin diet consist of the following products and feeds:

live fish;
minced meat and fish;
shrimp;
fish fillet.

Initially, until the individuals have fully adapted to the new conditions, they feed only on live food. However, later they happily eat frozen food and even artificial food. Young animals do not refuse flakes, but as they grow older, pellets and granular formulations are introduced into their diet.

But if pets are constantly given live food in sufficient quantities, they may become more picky and picky, refusing other foods. Therefore, it is recommended to stick to a mixed menu.

Aquarium content

All the requirements of goliaths are mainly related to their impressive size:

several individuals require a tank with a volume of at least 3000 liters;
filtration is necessary, and the system must be powerful, capable of creating an intense flow - the goliath in nature prefers to live in fast-flowing rivers, and its habit of tearing food into pieces leads to rapid water pollution;
These are freshwater fish, so there is no need to add salt to the water;
Large driftwood, stones, sand can be used as decoration;
You can do without landscaping the aquarium; in addition, hydrocin needs room for swimming.

Who do goliaths get along with?

Goliaths are not very aggressive per se, but they will hunt any living creature that may be suitable for them as food. It is best to keep individuals of only one species in one tank or add large, protected fish, for example, arapaima, to them.

Sexual dimorphism

There are no obvious signs, but in a school of goliaths, males can be recognized by their larger, more massive build.

Getting offspring

It is impossible to breed large tiger fish fry in an aquarium. The bulk of the babies are caught in natural reservoirs and raised. In nature, goliath spawning lasts only a few days during the rainy season. To continue the race, individuals migrate from their usual home to small tributaries, where the female lays a huge number of eggs in small, overgrown areas. When the fry appear, they immediately fall into warm water with abundant food base, and as they grow older, the current carries them into large bodies of water.

Goliath fish attracts the attention of tourists and zoo visitors. This amazing creature lives on earth for several million years, has gone through centuries of evolution and can withstand many unfavorable factors... But today it depends on the person whether such an extraordinary fish will disappear or will exist.

Goliath fish photo

Video about goliath fish

Huge brindle goliath It is rightfully considered one of the most terrible and dangerous freshwater fish in the world: in terms of bloodthirstiness, it is second only to the piranha. Armed with a set of 32 large teeth major representatives This species, native to Africa, even attacks crocodiles.

(Total 12 photos + 1 video)

1. The fish is popular as a sport fishing object in Africa. 52-year-old Jeremy Wade, a fisherman and expert on unusual freshwater fish, and also the host of the “River Monsters” program, managed to catch a large specimen.

2. For the sake of such fishing, he went to the hard-to-reach places of the Congo River, where he spent 8 days waiting for fish in the company of his assistants.

4. Jeremy caught one of the largest specimens - weighing up to 154 pounds (about 70 kilograms) and up to 5 feet (1.5 meters) long.

7. The fish got its name due to the dark horizontal stripes on the sides of the body, which are somewhat similar to tiger stripes, and its impressive size.

8. Goliath tiger fish is a real predator. It feeds on smaller fish. The dessert for the African giant is kamba fish, which is abundant in the Congo River.

9. Jeremy Wade with the catch.

10. Goliath tiger fish is a real predator. It feeds on smaller fish. The dessert for the African giant is kamba fish, which is abundant in the Congo River.

11. Thanks to her power, she can calmly swim against the current. As a result, weaker fish that cannot overcome the strong flow of water themselves end up in its teeth.

12. This fish is also known in the aquarium hobby; it is kept in exhibition aquariums with shelters and powerful filtration.

International scientific name

Hydrocynus goliath Boulenger,

Security status

Area

It is found in Africa - in the Congo River basin, the Lualaba rivers, lakes Upemba and Tanganyika.

Description

Reaches 1.33 m in length and weighs 50 kg. Predator, has 32 teeth, resembling fangs. The fish is popular as a sport fishing object in Africa.

Known in the aquarium industry. It is kept in exhibition aquariums with shelters and powerful filtration.

Water temperature 23-26 °C, water pH - 6.5-7.5.

Notes

Links

Drawing in the Biological Encyclopedic Dictionary (tab. 33, no. 7)

Hydrocynus brevis

Hydrocynus brevis (lat.) is a species of predatory ray-finned fish from the family of African tetras of the order Characinidae.

Hydrocines

Hydrocines, or tiger fish (lat. Hydrocynus) is a genus of large ray-finned fish of the African tetra family. The name of the genus comes from the ancient Greek words ὕδωρ (“water”) + κύων (“dog”). Endemics of Africa. The genus contains five species, all popularly known as "African tigerfish" due to their ferocious predatory behavior and other characteristics that make them excellent sport fishing targets. Representatives of the genus Hydrocynus are the only freshwater fish capable of grabbing birds flying over water. They reach lengths from 25 cm (H. tanzaniae) to 133 cm and a weight of about 50 kg (large tiger fish).

Goliath (disambiguation)

Goliath is a Philistine giant warrior in the Old Testament.

Goliath is the name of several fictional comic book characters published by Marvel Comics.

Goliath is a 2016 Amazon Video legal drama television series.

"Goliath" is an ultra-long wave radio station in the Nizhny Novgorod region.

"Goliath" - German ground tracked self-propelled mine during the Second World War.

Goliath is an elephant tortoise considered to be the largest land turtle in the world.

Goliaths are a genus of very large beetles from the subfamily of bronze beetles.

Goliath is the world's largest frog.

The Goliath tarantula is a genus of Theraphosa in the family True tarantulas.

"Goliath" (Goliath) is a German automobile company that existed in the years 1928-1959.

Hydrocinus Goliath - "big tiger fish", a species of large predatory fish from Central Africa.

HMS Goliath - British ships, named after Goliath.

Goliath is a special type of very heavy and strong rails, used on the railways of Belgium at the end of the 19th - beginning of the 20th centuries, but, despite a number of advantages, due to the high cost of production and installation, it never became widespread.

Goliath is a character in the American television series Knight Rider and computer games"Knight Rider: The Game" and "Knight Rider 2".

Goliath is a combat bipedal robot walker from the computer game StarCraft;

Goliath is a semi-autonomous armed drone from the game Homefront.

Goliath is a tank from the computer games Unreal Tournament 2004 and Unreal Tournament 3.

Goliath is a socket for E40 type lighting lamp.

Goliath - twin-engine heavy bomber Farman F.60 Goliath, designed in 1918 under the direction of engineer Fiche at the Farman factories.

Congo (river)

Congo (Zaire, Lualaba) is a river in Central Africa, mainly in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (partially flows along its borders with the Republic of Congo and Angola), the deepest and second longest river in Africa, the second most water-rich river in the world after the Amazon and the most deep river in the world. IN upper reaches(above the city of Kisangani) is called Lualaba. Largest river crossing the equator twice. The annual flow is 1318.2 km³, which is more than 5 times less than the annual flow of the Amazon.

Mbenga

Mbenga (island) (Beqa) - island in the Pacific Ocean

Mbenga (Pygmies) (Mbenga) - a group of pygmy peoples of West Africa

Mbenga (language) (Mbenga) - the reconstructed substrate language of the pygmies from the Mbenga group, who later switched to the Aka and Baka languages

Mbenga (fish) - same as Great Tiger fish

Didier Ilunga-Mbenga - Belgian basketball player originally from the Democratic Republic of the Congo

Nile crocodile

The Nile crocodile (lat. Crocodylus niloticus) is a large reptile of the family of true crocodiles. The largest of the three species of crocodiles found in Africa, and the second largest in the world, after the saltwater crocodile. It occupies the top position in aquatic and semi-aquatic ecosystems in Africa. Adults are able to cope with such large and strong beasts like black rhinoceros, hippopotamus, giraffe, African buffalo, eland and lion. In addition, due to its habitat, size and strength, Nile crocodile notorious as a man-eating crocodile. In ancient times it was an object of fear and worship. To this day it remains, perhaps, the most known species family of real crocodiles. The numbers of this species are relatively high and stable, although populations in some countries are endangered.

Common tiger fish

Common tiger fish (lat. Hydrocynus vittatus), in the Congo it is called mbamba - a species of predatory ray-finned fish from the family of African tetras of the order Characinidae. Reaches a length of up to 105 cm and a weight of up to 28 kg. The body is covered with cycloid scales. It has large canine-like grasping teeth. Maturation occurs at 8 years of age. Prefers warm, oxygen-rich water of large rivers and lakes.

Sanga (forest)

Sanga (Sangha) - a tropical forest And national park, located on both banks of the African Sanga region, a tributary of the Congo River. The forest is located on the territory of three countries: the Republic of the Congo in the east, the Central African Republic in the central part and Cameroon in the west.

The forest includes three national parks:

Lobeke in Cameroon, has park status since 2001, area is 2178.54 km².

Dzanga-Sanga in the Central African Republic has had park status since 1990 and is divided into two parts: the northern with an area of 495 km² and the southern with an area of 1,220 km². These two parts nature reserve separated by the Sanga River.

Nubale-Ndoki in the Republic of Congo, with an area of 3865.92 km², has had park status since 1993. In 2000, an agreement was signed on cooperation between the three countries in the creation of a biosphere reserve, and in 2007 the institute was founded national park Sanga. In 2012, it was listed as a World Heritage Site with a total area of 7542.86 km² and a buffer zone of 17879.5 km². The international name of the park is Sangha Trinational (can be translated as “Sangha of the Three Nations”).

Mackerel hydrolic

The mackerel hydrolycus (lat. Hydrolycus scomberoides), also payara, is a species of ray-finned fish from the cynodont family (Cynodontidae). It lives in the upper reaches of the Paragua, Churun Rivers and other rivers of the Orinoco River basin in Venezuela. It is an object of sport fishing.

Widely distributed in the Amazon basin, where it is commercial fish. The popularity of the payara among sport fishing enthusiasts is due to the fact that it is one of the most difficult to catch freshwater fish and desperately resists when trying to pull it out of the water. This feature is due to the fact that favorite places The habitat and hunting of this fish are rapids and waterfalls.

It can reach a length of 117 cm and a weight of 17.8 kg. Ichthyophage, eats many piranhas.

The most notable features of the fish are the two pairs of fangs that are found in its lower jaw. A couple of them are visible, but the second is in the jaw when folded and is invisible in photographs. In large individuals, the fangs on the protruding lower jaw reach a length of 10-15 centimeters, giving them a terrifying appearance, for which this animal received the nickname “vampire fish”. However, the vampire fish does not drink the blood of its victims. There are special holes in the upper jaw, thanks to which the two longest fangs located on its lower jaw do not pierce the upper jaw.

The mackerel-like hydrolik feeds on almost any fish that smaller in size, including piranhas and their own kind. It attacks its prey from above, piercing it with its fangs, and then swallows it whole. Payara is capable of devouring prey that is half its own size. In Venezuela this fish is called "cachorra". The world record for catching this fish is 39 pounds or approximately 18 kilograms.

Residents of the Amazon and Orinoco basins highly value the meat of this fish. Its zoological description was first published in 1816. IN last years payara gained popularity as aquarium fish. She loves to eat live goldfish. For this reason, aquarists recommend housing the payara only with large species of fish that are large enough not to become its prey.

IN underwater world, just like on our heavily inhabited planet, you can meet truly amazing and unique creatures. One of them is the goliath tiger fish.

Large tiger fish - photo

Tiger fish - goliath belongs to a group of fish, the class ray-finned fish, the subclass new-finned fish. Pisces is the goliath of families - African tetras and the genus Tiger fish. Large tiger fish - or otherwise huge hydrocyn (lat. Hydrocynus goliath) hydrocynus - dog, giant goliath which can be translated as Gagan water dog, locals call this fish mbenga - this fish is the most dangerous predator African river Congo. Due to the horizontal dark stripes on the sides, the predator is similar to a tiger and is called a tiger. And because of the impressive dimensions of the body, people gave the nickname “Galiath”, who, as is well known, was a great and powerful warrior of a huge 3-meter height. These fish have a very strong, powerful body of an oblong shape. The body of the goliath fish is covered with large scales that have a tint of silver and sometimes gold. The fins of individuals of this genus are small, pointed and bright orange or red. Representatives of large tiger fish, they have impressive dimensions; an adult individual can reach 1.80 meters in length and have a mass of 50 kg. Males are larger in size than females.

Goliath fish is a real monster appearance which makes one shiver, fish of this genus have large sharp fangs and a huge mouth, often tiger fish are compared to piranha; they are very similar in their gluttony and bloodthirstiness. The goliath fish, with the help of its 16 large and sharp fangs, 8 fangs each on the lower and upper jaw, calmly tears out entire pieces of flesh from the carcass of its victim. Throughout its life, the predator's old teeth are replaced by new ones. live river monsters from 12 to 15 years.

You can find this fish all over Africa. Tiger fish are most often found in rivers such as the Congo, Senigal, Omo and Nile. Goliath fish loves big rivers and lakes and prefers to swim with its relatives or live with other predators of rivers and lakes. Individual tiger fish have excellent hearing, thanks to which they can hear low-frequency vibrations emanating from the prey. This voracious predator hunts various mammals that inhabit rivers and lakes, mainly the Kambu fish, of which there are countless numbers in the Congo River, but sometimes, in bouts of debilitating hunger, even crocodiles. This fish feeds not only on animal food, but also on plant food; having such a huge size, the tiger fish does not disdain anything. The most powerful predator, hydrocinus, can calmly swim against the current, and less powerful inhabitants who are not capable of this will calmly fall into its mouth. In Africa, there have been cases of goliath fish attacking people, but this was most likely done by mistake.

In African countries, fishing for tiger fish among tourists and local residents is extremely popular and is comparable to bear hunting in the forests.

Hydrocynus goliath can be kept in an aquarium big size from 3 thousand liters with a powerful water filter that can recreate a restless seething current. Therefore, keeping this fish in the house is not possible. But in exhibition aquariums and zoos galliath is found.

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