This up to 2.5 metres long giant is certainly no typical aquarium fish. Nevertheless the small number of specimens recently imported from Nigeria by Aquarium Glaser were literally snapped up like hot cakes!
This really is a very extraordinary creature. One reason is, of course, its gigantic size – this predator can attain a weight of up to 160 kg! Then it is euryhaline, and hence can move freely from fresh to salt water and back again. And it has accessory respiration via its swimbladder, enabling it to survive in oxygen-depleted waters. The tarpon is truly a prime example of evolutionary success and is found on both sides of the Atlantic.
There is only one other species, M. cyprinoides, which remains significantly smaller (maximum length reported is 150 cm, but usually the fish reaches only 30-40 cm in the wild) and inhabits the Pacific. Aquarium Glaser was now able to import this second species also in small numbers.
Although at first glance the tarpon resembles a clupeid, it actually has very little in common with the herring family. Its larvae are much more like those of the eels! They are so called leptocephalus larvae, which resemble the elongate-oval leaves of a willow tree. In the aquarium Megalops require fish as food and can consume astonishingly large pieces.
The most fascinating fact is that these large predators are in no way shy and never panic in the aquarium. The observer always has the feeling that a Megalops reflects its actions and studies carefully everything that goes on outside its tank. After only a few weeks Megalops become acclimated to frozen feeder fish (smelt), which they will take from forceps. They are fascinating and elegant predators!
For our customers: Megalops atlanticus has code 148302 on our stocklist, M. cyprinoides code 148353. Please note that we exclusively supply the wholesale trade.
Lexikon: Megalops: from ancient Greek, means “of big appearance”. atlanticus: Latin, means “deriving from the Atlantic ocean”. cyprinoides: Latin, means “similiar to a carp-like fish”.
Common names: Megalops atlanticus: Atlantic Tarpon, M. cyprinoides: Pazific Tarpon
Text & photos: Frank Schäfer
| Angaben zum Tier | |
|---|---|
| Herkunft | Nigeria, Taiwan |
| Verfügbare Größe in cm | 12 - 20 |
