Payara

Care at a glance

Overview

The payara is a huge, fast predator that needs an enormous tank of several thousand liters with pristine, highly oxygenated water and strong flow. It is not aggressive toward fish it cannot eat and is often kept in groups, but it will swallow smaller tankmates and is easily stressed on import. This is a specialist fish for keepers with the space, filtration, and experience to match.

In the wild

Hunts in fast, open, well oxygenated water in large rivers and below rapids. It is a powerful, streamlined predator that chases down smaller fish in midwater. It roams the main channels rather than hiding among cover.

Good to know

Hydrolycus armatus is one of the largest members of the family Cynodontidae, reaching around 89 cm according to Fishbase. Its most striking feature is a pair of long fangs that jut up from the lower jaw and slot into pockets in the upper jaw. Those fangs can be several centimeters long in a big fish.

Did you know

The two dagger like fangs of the lower jaw can grow several centimeters long, which is where the vampire fish nickname comes from.

Related species

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• 

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