Very large fish are fairly common in salty ocean waters, but not many are found in rivers, streams or lakes. So when a pike or salmon weighing from 30 to 80 pounds is caught by a freshwater fisherman, it makes news.
However, in South America a freshwater fish by the name of arapaima sometimes grows more than twice as long as a man is tall, but those usually caught are no longer than 10 feet and weigh around 250 pounds. That’s still a pretty big fish! The arapaima lives in several South American lakes, but most live in sluggish streams or swamps that are part of the Amazon River system, where large quantities of small fish provide ample food for their huge appetites.
The arapaima’s body is covered with olive-green scales on the front, with the color turning to light red toward the back and deep red before reaching the tail. It has a long, two-foot fin atop its body from the tail forward and another one the same size underneath from the tail forward. This fish has an unusual need - a supply of fresh air often since the water in which it lives does not have enough oxygen for the needs of its large body. This need of additional oxygen brings it to the surface every 10 or 15 minutes to inhale air.
Fishermen catch these large fish in various ways - sometimes with a huge hook and line made out of strong rope, at other times a net, and some catch them with a bow and arrow or spear them with a harpoon. After catching one and hauling it out of the water, a fish this size is too big to carry on mountain trails in one piece. The natives cut them up into small pieces to carry to their homes or to the markets.
Arapaima is a popular food considered by many as tasty as trout or salmon, and delicious steaks are frequently cut from them. Their tongues are tough and rough and are dried and used as files on the woodwork of the native homes.
This unusually large fish is just one more, among thousands of others throughout the world, that reminds us of the Creator’s pleasure in creating many varieties which He brought forth on the fifth day of creation, as told in Genesis 1:21-2221And God created great whales, and every living creature that moveth, which the waters brought forth abundantly, after their kind, and every winged fowl after his kind: and God saw that it was good. 22And God blessed them, saying, Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let fowl multiply in the earth. (Genesis 1:21‑22). As our opening verse states, He always keeps a watchful eye on them, providing for all their needs. But His thoughts toward each of us are even greater. The Bible tells us, “The Lord is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble; and He [knows] them that trust in Him” (Nahum 1:77The Lord is good, a strong hold in the day of trouble; and he knoweth them that trust in him. (Nahum 1:7)). Do you trust in Him?
ML-02/11/2001