They're big and they're back: Arapaima fish that can grow to 10 feet return to Milwaukee County Zoo - Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
They're big and they're back: Arapaima fish that can grow to 10 feet return to Milwaukee County Zoo - Milwaukee Journal Sentinel |
| Posted: 01 Mar 2020 01:40 PM PST CLOSE  They're growing and learning their targets during daily training and soon they will venture off to the big tank. Only 9 inches long when they arrived two years ago at the Milwaukee County Zoo, two arapaimas have been kept in separate tanks until they grow large enough to be with the big kids. Aquarium and Reptile Curator Shawn Miller said the giant fish will be introduced with the other inhabitants of the zoo's 55,000-gallon Amazon River Basin tank probably in May.  Buy Photo An arapaima swims in its tank before being integrated with other fish at the Milwaukee County Zoo in Milwaukee on Feb. 19. The Milwaukee zoo has two new arapaimas, the world's largest freshwater fish. Arapaimas can grow up to 10 feet or longer and weigh as much as 400 pounds. The fish have been kept off exhibit while they grow big enough to not be prey to other animals in the 55,000-gallon Amazon tank in the reptile building. It has been around 15 years since the zoo last had arapaimas. (Photo: Mike De Sisti / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel)For zookeepers like Miller, the day the two as-yet-unnamed arapaimas finally swim into the big tank will be nerve-wracking. Sort of like parents at school bus stops anxiously waving goodbye to their kids on the first day of kindergarten. "There's always nerves when moving an animal into an exhibit, especially a multi-species exhibit. There's definitely going to be stress factors — for both the fish and the keepers," Miller said. The zoo hasn't had arapaimas since 2004. One of the largest freshwater fish in the world, the South American natives can top out at almost 10 feet. Torpedo-shaped with dorsal fins located near its tail, arapaimas have been around since dinosaurs stomped around the planet.  Buy Photo Arapaimas are native to the Amazon River Basin and surface periodically to breathe, probably because they come from oxygen-deprived, stagnant water. The Milwaukee County Zoo last had arapaimas in 2004. The zoo's two new arapaimas will likely be introduced to the public in May. (Photo: Mike De Sisti / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel)"They're very unique. When they're on the exhibit, they'll stand out because there's nothing else that looks like them," Miller said. Their iridescent green and red scales, resembling the monster in the 1954 cult film "Creature from the Black Lagoon," were used to adorn ladies' dresses in the 1930s. One of the arapaimas has more of a golden hue, and their pretty pink tails are part of their natural coloration. It's possible the fish may change their colors a bit when they move into the new tank, Miller said. Though they have gills, arapaimas are surface breathers, occasionally poking their heads out of the water to gulp air. Miller said that's likely because they live in stagnant, oxygen-deprived waterways in the Amazon River basin.  Buy Photo Shawn Miller, the Milwaukee County Zoo's aquatic and reptile curator, works with an arapaima on target training. Miller held two targets for the fish to touch with their heads so they get used to coming on command to be examined by veterinarians. (Photo: Mike De Sisti / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel)Their numbers plummeted due to overfishing decades ago, but now sport anglers fish for them under catch-and-release rules. They're also raised in fish farms and marketed as cheaper to eat than halibut or Chilean sea bass. In the wild they're predatory eaters, dining on fish and small mammals that venture too close to the water's edge. At the zoo they snack on herring, smelt, trout, anchovies and sardines plus food pellets. Their mouths make a vacuum as they suck in their dinner, creating a popping noise. The zoo's two arapaimas are living in separate small tanks adjacent to the large aquarium that will soon become their new home. Milwaukee's newest arapaimas are now 3½ to 4 feet long. They have been kept separate for two years as they grew, otherwise two redtail catfish in the Amazon tank would have quickly gulped them down, Miller said.  Buy Photo A redtail catfish may eat an arapaima if they aren't big enough before being integrated at the Milwaukee County Zoo. That's why zookeepers have kept the two new arapaimas in separate tanks while they grow from 9 inches to 4 feet in length before joining the redtail catfish and other creatures in the 55,000-gallon Amazon River tank. (Photo: Mike De Sisti / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel)Each day Miller and the other zookeepers train the arapaimas to hit a target with their nose, dipping a plastic purple circle and yellow triangle into the water. When the fish poke their respective targets they're rewarded with food pellets. Target training is done so the fish will come to a certain spot for veterinary checkups. The zoo's new arapaimas were farm-raised and came from a California wholesale fish distributor.  Buy Photo An arapaima swims in its tank before being integrated with other fish at the Milwaukee County Zoo. (Photo: Mike De Sisti / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel)"They're one of my favorite fish," Miller said. "We're one of the few zoos with such a large tank for an Amazon exhibit. Getting arapaimas back out will be a focal point of the tank." Read or Share this story: https://www.jsonline.com/story/news/local/milwaukee/2020/02/26/arapaima-fish-can-grow-10-feet-return-milwaukee-county-zoo/4869991002/ |
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