The largest fish, both in weight and in length, is, of course, a whale shark. This giant sea giant has no competitors for this title. It safely lives in the waters of the world ocean and to this day. The whale shark feeds exclusively on plankton, which includes crustaceans, squid and small fishes. Usually she swims with her mouth open, collecting her prey along the way and filtering her through a special seedling machine, which is also found only in giant and large-sized sharks. This giant is very slow, he is known for his apathetic and lethargic temper. For humans, the whale shark is absolutely safe. Experienced divers are very fond of these calm and balanced giants, often touching them with their hands or swinging on their backs. Whale sharks reach a length of 23 meters, their mass - about 18-20 tons.
With the largest sea fish, of course, everything is clear, its leadership is undeniable. But with freshwater species, not everything is so unambiguous. Among the applicants for this title are the common catfish, the giant arapayma, the beluga, the Mekong catfish. So who of them is the record holder by weight and length? If to refer to historical facts, the largest fish living in fresh waters was caught in the XIX century. It was an ordinary catfish weighing 336 kg and a length of 4.6 m. Nowadays, a fish weighing up to 90 kg, and a length of 1.5 m, can already be called a large fish.
Another large fish that deserves attention is the Mississippi panzirnik, or, as it is also called, the alligator pike. This species lives in fresh water, but many scientists insist that these fish occasionally enter salty sea water. There are shells in Central and North America. They can be seen on the beach, where they breathe air and bask in the sun. Externally, the alligator pike looks very unusual. In front of her body is a huge "beak" with strong powerful jaws, which can easily damage even a crocodile. The body of the fish is protected by thick diamond-shaped scales. The greatest length of the shellfish reaches three meters, but there are unofficial data that specimens of up to five meters long have been caught.
Another contender for this title is the moon-fish. The shape of her body resembles a circle. This is a large fish of the bone type. Its length is more than three meters, the weight reaches 1.5 tons. In the Guinness Book of Records, a case of catch on the Australian shores in 1908 of an individual weighing 2235 kg was recorded. The trunk of the moon-fish is short and at the same time high. This gives it a very strange and original appearance. Zadneprokhodny, tail and dorsal fins are connected to each other. The skin of these extravagant fish is very thick. Experienced sailors talk about cases when a sharp harpoon launched into the moon-fish jumped off from it, without causing harm. Therefore, it rarely becomes the prey of such large predators as sharks and killer whales. You can meet her in the waters of the Pacific, Atlantic and Indian oceans. The moon-fish is also the record for fertility. At one time, it lays up to 300 million eggs. As for the diet, it feeds on plankton and fish fry.
The largest fish, both freshwater and marine, despite their impressive size, are very vulnerable and require careful treatment. Only their future depends on the person.