March 9, 2009

The better to eat you with, my dear

The Manila Ocean Park is Metro Manila's first ever oceanarium with an underwater acrylic tunnel. It only opened in March 2008 and I finally got to visit it last week. This is a Giant Arapaima (Arapaima gigas), whose natural habitat is the Amazon River basin in South America and is one of the largest freshwater fish in the world. I forgot to ask how big this particular one is but it looked like it was about 5 feet (1.5 meters) long. Aside from other fish, it also eats other small animals, like birds. The Giant Arapaima tank can be found in Manila Ocean Park's Agos (flow) section, featuring fish which can be found in rivers.

Giant Arapaima in Manila Ocean Park

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Odd Shots Monday

35 comments:

  1. AnonymousMarch 9, 2009 at 9:07 PM

    Looks as if it is all set to suck up evey living thing in its path.

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  2. OlivierMarch 9, 2009 at 9:12 PM

    en effet il est bizarre ce poisson, un monstre marin.
    in effect it is strange this fish, a marine monster.

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  3. Debbie Courson SmithMarch 9, 2009 at 9:22 PM

    I think he's really a clown!

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  4. skywindMarch 9, 2009 at 9:25 PM

    Oh, a big mouth, it's horrible.
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  5. TaraMarch 9, 2009 at 9:54 PM

    Look at that big mouth, ever ready to eat up...

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  6. LowellMarch 9, 2009 at 10:13 PM

    Well...eats birds? Sounds fishy to me!

    Heh. Heh.

    Got a mouth on it though.

    But what a wonderful oceanarium!

    Five feet long?

    Yikes!

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  7. ReenaMarch 9, 2009 at 10:45 PM

    ang haba!!!! so, para syang aruwana? :) i haven't been there yet.

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  8. SharonMarch 9, 2009 at 11:25 PM

    It looks like it's about to eat your camera!

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  9. JCMarch 9, 2009 at 11:26 PM

    Terrific! Has an artsy feel to it as well!

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  10. LoisMarch 9, 2009 at 11:59 PM

    What a big mouth! I would hate to see that thing coming at me!

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  11. JudyMarch 10, 2009 at 12:01 AM

    Think I'll stay out of the water!

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  12. DarylMarch 10, 2009 at 12:26 AM

    What a good catch ... scary looking ...

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  13. rafMarch 10, 2009 at 1:59 AM

    No doubt, a mouthy sort! Beautiful new facility! Thanks for the links too, Hilda.

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  14. Anil PMarch 10, 2009 at 2:49 AM

    At five feet it is certainly huge. I wonder how intimidating it must be to come face to face with such a big fish in the open ocean.

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  15. gogouciMarch 10, 2009 at 2:56 AM

    Great action!

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  16. abcMarch 10, 2009 at 4:23 AM

    It's an odd shot indeed and I must say, I don't much like this fish :-(

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  17. AnonymousMarch 10, 2009 at 4:39 AM

    Oh my goodness, that is a BIG mouth! I don't think I'd want to meet this guy in the flesh!

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  18. JoyMarch 10, 2009 at 6:42 AM

    He's lovely! I keep planning to swing by the park when I'm in Manila. But for whatever reason, I always end up running out of time. Hopefully this June...

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  19. AnonymousMarch 10, 2009 at 7:15 AM

    It does look like a very large fish with some healthy eating habits. We have some monster bottom feeders called CAT fish BECAUSE of their whiskers that are stiff and filled with bone like needles. They have a huge mouth. I suppose you might see them on line if you type in Catfish in your browser.

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  20. pennyMarch 10, 2009 at 9:30 AM

    I absolutely love your humor, Hilda. Your my kinda gal! Awesome post.

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  21. Penyamun RiauMarch 10, 2009 at 9:43 AM

    Very nice Shot Hilda...

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  22. GreensboroDailyPhotoMarch 10, 2009 at 10:14 AM

    That is one serious bite! Wonder what the fish is thinking?

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  23. BuckMarch 10, 2009 at 10:40 AM

    Love it! It's hard to get photos like this - the cool thing is that I visit an aquarium in Connecticut (4 hours' drive) and they have these fishes, too! You and I are connected by an Amazon fish! How wonderful...

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  24. AnonymousMarch 10, 2009 at 11:55 AM

    Haha I love the title! I've been dying to visit Manila Ocean Park. I love ocean parks! Is it really worth the trip? Last I heard not everything's open yet. I think I'll just go visit the park anyway.

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  25. melanieMarch 10, 2009 at 2:29 PM

    Merci de ton commentaire ! Oui il faut garder espoir dans le monde !

    Très réussi ton poisson ! Belle idée !

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  26. LayrayskiMarch 10, 2009 at 2:36 PM

    Wow, strange, I've heard of birds, gulls ripping apart marine animals but fish eating birds? That's a new one!

    And it looks yummy to me. Hehehe

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  27. angelaMarch 10, 2009 at 5:20 PM

    I wouldn't like to meet him when I'm out swimming. He may be big but he's certainly no beauty..

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  28. BergsonMarch 10, 2009 at 8:09 PM

    strange this fish, i don't eat this

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  29. GiuCeMarch 10, 2009 at 9:05 PM

    In Peru, we call it "Paiche", it's one of the largest freshwater fish in the world, this fish can measure up to three meters long... its meat is expensive and it's in danger of extinction :S

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  30. HildaMarch 10, 2009 at 9:42 PM

    Abe:
    Its mouth did remind me of a catfish, which is quite common here as a food fish. They can actually be kept in rice paddies. I hear there's a special way of making sure their innards are clear of mud before they're cooked.

    Lyra:
    The Arapaima is edible. Humans are its most dangerous predator now.

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  31. UnknownMarch 11, 2009 at 3:23 AM

    This is an amazing fish, it's huge and pre-historic! When I was visiting the peruvian amazonia I think I ate it... By that time I didn't know what I know now about the fish, but then I started seeing documentaries and I recognized it as one of the natives common meals... They put the fish's head on top of a stick and the ants clean it in just one day, then they keep the skull as a decoration item. Amazing!

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  32. marleyMarch 11, 2009 at 6:21 AM

    Big mouth!

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  33. escapeMarch 11, 2009 at 12:45 PM

    wow! nice timing. when i went there, they were just swimming around.

    capture perfect!

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  34. SarettaMarch 12, 2009 at 1:26 AM

    Eeeeeeuuuuuu! Save me!

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  35. Joe NarvaezMarch 13, 2009 at 8:46 PM

    What a big mouth! Reminds me of someone I know hahaha.

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