THE PAYARA FISH
A variety of species occupies fresh waters. Some of these animal and plant species are nonpoisonous and as a result, can be used for food. Alternatively, a section of the plant and animal species living in fresh water is poison, and any aspect of exposure to their toxin might prove to be calamitous. Among the most notable animal species living in a freshwater ecosystem is the Payara fish. Therefore, it is essential to note that the Payara “Vampire fish” is a fish that has spines that lines its every fin except its tail. These spines are teaming with bacteria, and thus, if one gets pricked with, it would take two months or more to heal.
Scientific Name
According to Bonato (2018), the Payara fish is scientifically known as the Hydrolycus Scomberoides. The term Hydrolycus is chiefly derived from two Greek words: “hydro,” which denotes water and “lykos” that means wolf. Scomberoides is derived from the term “skombros,” that means tuna (Spitzer, 2019). The fish is part of the dogtooth tetra species of fish. Apart from being referred to as the “vampire fish,” Payara is also commonly referred to as the vampire tetra, saber tooth barracuda, or the saber tusk barracuda (Spitzer, 2019). More to the point, Covian (2019) state that it is primarily a predatory type of fish equipped with unique fangs that are curved and jut out from the fish’s lower jaw.
Habitat
The vampire fish rooms in the waters of the Amazon basin in South America (Fernandez, 2017). Therefore, it is present in Brazil, Bolivia, Venezuela, Peru, and Ecuador. They occupy Amazon’s territorial waters due to their suitability and strong adaptability to the Amazon ecosystem. Fernandez (2017) state that they mostly prefer waters that are running fast, clear, and full of currents synonymous to the Amazonian rivers. Within the rivers, their most preferential point of location is at waterfalls bottoms and where the waters are churning.
Physical Appearance
Besides, the most noticeable feature of the vampire fish is its teeth. The fish has a very sharp, pointed, and scary tooth that makes it a no match to most of its prey (Covian, 2019). Payaras are also equipped with spiky and sharp daggers along their gums (Covian, 2019). Another feature about the fish is a pair of elongated fangs that are located on its lower laws. Surprisingly, Lemopoulos (2019) state that these two fangs can grow to a level of between 4-6 inches. As a result of their large size, the vampire fish is born with the presence of holes on the upper jaws to provide space for the accommodation of the fangs.
Moreover, just like a majority of most fish, the Payara is streamlined to attain maximum speed and power. Their caudal fins are fan-shaped for adaptability to swim inside irregular water currents and rapids (Covian, 2019). More so, their faces are bony to hide their large gills. In terms of color, Fernandez 92017) confirms that the Payara fish is predominantly silver-grey or pure silver though with some darker hints on the areas near their tail and fins. The more colored marks are very fundamental because they act as the distinctive feature between the Payara and other genus members.
Size of the Vampire Fish
Besides, taming of Payaras is a reserve for a few experienced individuals. This is mostly attributed to high levels of unfriendliness exhibited by the fish and antisocial tendencies of adult Payaras. However, rearing Payaras in captivity makes them less aggressive in comparison to the natural habitat Payaras and also makes them die early (Fernandez, 2017). Additionally, Spitzer (2019) state that when they are raised in aquariums, they mostly fail to reach 12 inches and only hit between 5-10 pounds in mass. Their lifespan within captivity is also shortened.
Nevertheless, Payaras living in wild waters grow to a relatively large size. They are able of reaching a possible size of about 2-3 feet in length and weigh up to 10-35 pounds (Spitzer, 2019). Thus, Payaras are more adaptable and comfortable in the wild waters and raising them in captivity broadly inhibits their growth and lifespan.
Payara Subspecies
It is worth to note that the Payara has no subspecies. Instead, the fish shares the same genus with a variety of vampire fish. Some these fish varieties include the Hydrolycus wallacei, Hydrolycus tatauaia, and the Hydrolycus armatus (Bonato, 2018). Similar to their cousin the Hydrolycus Scomberoides, Silva (2018) confirms that these fish have canines which are pointed and silvery bodies. As a consequence, they are commonly mistaken in identification even though there is slight differentiation in their tail and fin colors that make them distinguishable.
Level of Aggressiveness
It is an indisputable fact to ascertain that Payaras in the wild are very aggressive and vicious hunters. Their high level of aggressiveness makes them be always on a constant move looking for prey, and they hardly miss out on hunting down prey when they are hungry. Payaras can bring down both medium and large sized types of fish (Malabarba, 2018). More so, they chase away large and medium-size fish to maintain clarity of water to be able to consume their captured fish prey.
Socialization
Payaras are relatively antisocial animals. They have some tendencies to tolerate their members even though in small groupings slightly. Conversely, they are primarily creatures that maintain solitude. According to Bonato (2018), their socialization or coming together is made on the assumption that the need to migrate and mate. In the case of Payaras under captivity, they mostly display antisocial behaviors until they are around 11 months (Bonato, 2018). They hate to be reared together with different fish species. Any attempt to put them or include other fish species in the same aquarium with them results into, the Payaras charging, threatening, fighting or killing the other fish.
What’s more, Lemopoulos (2019) acknowledges that the vampire fish is a temperamental and moody fish even on good days; thus, they have hatred for staying in overcrowded locations. As a consequence, overcrowding them with other types of fish makes them angry, and hence, they turn hostile and aggressive in defense of their territories.
Payaras Life Span
Moreover, Payaras don’t live for a relatively long lifespan. Those that manage to live for long can hit around two years or slightly two and a half years. However, Covian (2019) states that a majority of Payaras only live between half a year and a year. The death of Payaras is, to some extent, surprising. The fish does not display any symptoms of its impending death but instead dies suddenly.
More to the point, scientists strongly believe that Payaras short lifespan is principally attributed to excessive nitrogenous waste buildup in their bodies and tanks (Malabarba, 2018). This is because they consume a lot of food and as well as eject large amounts of waste. Hence, it only takes a minimum time for nitrogenous waste to hit toxic levels.
Payaras Threats and Predators
Until presently, it still yet to be established which fish species predates on Payaras. Even though it is feasible for Payaras to be predated by more ferocious species such as the caiman, however, there is no reliable information to back up this assumption. As a result, Payaras remain to be mostly a mysterious fish species with more concealed secrets yet to be unfolded.
The Diet of Payaras
As earlier noted, these fish species are carnivorous and therefore; they mostly feed on other types of fish (Spitzer, 2019). According to Silva (2018), they have a preferred choice of small fish such as the trout, minnows, shrimps, and the tetras. They, however, do not exclude bigger fish species on their menu and quickly go after larger preys. Certified research of their stomach contents has disclosed that these fish are capable of consuming close to half of their total body weight on a single day. Surprisingly, Fernandez (2017) confirms that Payaras prefer to eat piranhas, yet piranhas are also considered to be a major threat to other types of fish. Piranhas highly fear them, and any slight proximity to piranhas sends all piranhas away for fear of being devoured.
Hunting Techniques
The mode of hunting employed by the Payaras mostly involves darting into a large school of fish (Silva, 2018). In the darting, the Payaras takes down their victim since an element of panic and confusion takes on the school of fish. Payaras use their fangs as spears and deploy them in holding, stabbing, and grabbing of prey (Covian, 2019). Their large size enables them to entirely swallow some small prey while the medium and large sized prey are usually ripped apart by the use of the dagger-shaped Payara teeth (Covian, 2019). Another option involves the Payaras holding some of their victims behind their fangs before moving them to a different location where they feast on them.
Swimming Ability
The vampire fish is an agile and strong swimmer. According to Lemopoulus (2019), this is rubberstamped by the fact that they mostly occupy dangerous river locations characterized by currents that are fast moving and the bottoms of waterfalls. Therefore, their hazardous river locations expose them to hard exercises and navigation capabilities even as they swim in chopping waters. They have large caudal fins which they use in propulsion, and the nimble pectoral fin used in the changing of direction as well as to make hasty strikes in a hunting expedition (Malabaraba, 2018).
Furthermore, the fish is not regarded among the “jumper fish” however, Spitzer (2019) confirms that it is endowed with the ability to go after its prey even on the water surface and launch a ferocious attack on its prey with a deadly aerial momentum. Such a move leaves several fishers frightened when not in expectation of such an attack on prey.
Breeding of Payaras
It is shocking to affirm that there is almost no reliable and evidence-based data about the reproductive cycle of Payaras. This is because it is difficult to determine the time when they reach sexual maturity, the exact time the breed, the total number of eggs that they are capable of laying and if a told they nest (Silva, 2018). In essence, the limited breeding information about Payaras is based on the fact that it is exceedingly complex to breed this type of fish in captivity. Additionally, Bonato (2018) indicate that there are no historical records of individuals who were able to produce this fish species successfully. It is still unknown as to why Payaras fail to reproduce in captivity unless they are in their natural habitats, thus, limiting their breeding information.
Poisonous level of Payaras
It is worth to note that Payaras are not classified as carriers of diseases (Spitzer, 2019). However, they have been proved to spread both parasitic and bacterial infections. The fact that they feed on live prey leaves them exposed to their victim’s disease (Fernandez, 2017). As a consequence, if anyone gets pricked with a Payara’s spines which line along its fins, it would take up to 2 months or more for the person to heal.
In winding up, it is also fundamental to note that Payaras are mostly not edible even though some South American Amazon tribes feed on them (Silva, 2018). Payaras are also migratory fish, and they mostly move upstream in search of breeding and new food grounds during raining seasons. All in all, it is imperative for more research to be conducted about Payaras to reveal the mystery behind the fish and individuals should be careful with them due to their ability to cause bacterial infection when pricked.
References
Bonato, K. O., Silva, P. C., & Malabarba, L. R. (2018). Unrevealing Parasitic Trophic Interactions—A Molecular Approach for Fluid-Feeding Fishes. Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution, 6, 22.
Fernandez, L. A., & Andreoli Bize, J. (2017). Trichomycterus alterus (Marini, Nichols & la monte, 1933) and t. corduvensis weyenberg 1877 (Siluriformes: Trichomycteridae): New records from the high Andean plateau.
Lemopoulos, A., & Covain, R., (2019). Biogeography of the freshwater fishes of the Guianas using partitioned parsimony analysis of endemicity with a reappraisal of ecoregional boundaries. Cladistics, 35(1), 106-124.
Spitzer, M., (2019). In Search of Monster Fish: Angling for a More Sustainable Planet. University of Nebraska Press.