The
giant barb or
Siamese giant carp,
Catlocarpio siamensis (Thai: กระโห้ or กะมัน), is the largest species of
carp in the world. These migratory fish are found only in the
Mae Klong,
Mekong and
Chao Phraya river basins. This fish is a desirable food fish, which may have caused a serious decline in its numbers.
[ ]Distribution and Habitat
They are usually seen in the big pools along the edges of large rivers, but will seasonally enter smaller
canals,
floodplains and flooded forests. Young barbs are usually found in smaller
tributaries and
swamps, but can acclimatize to living in
ponds,
canals and
swamps.
The fish generally live in pairs.
These are migratory fish, swimming to favorable areas for feeding and breeding in different parts of the year.
These slow-moving fish subsist on
algae,
phytoplankton and
fruits of inundated
terrestrial plants, rarely (if ever) feeding on active
animals. In the lower
Mekong basin, young giant barbs have been reported as occurring primarily in October.
Physical Characteristics
thumb|right|Barb captured in a fishing boat.The head is rather large for the body. There are no
barbels.
The giant barb ranks among the largest freshwater fish in the world and is probably the largest fish in the family
Cyprinidae.
[Nelson, Joseph S. (2006). Fishes of the World. John Wiley & Sons, Inc. ISBN 0471250317] Few individuals are under 1½ m (5 ft) and 45 kg (100
lb). Large examples of this species can be 3 m (10 ft) and 300 kg (660 lb).
Among the
carps, only the
Mahseer reached comparable dimensions, but large
mahseers have only been recorded in centuries past.
This fish is actually
tetraploid, meaning that it has four of each chromosome (as opposed to
diploid, the normal number in animals).
Conservation Status
These fish have been reported as heavily depleted, mainly because they are locally regarded as a delicacy. Few barbs, whether due to human predation or natural predation, live to maturity. However, they are not listed as in the
IUCN Red List.
. Only ten fish were caught in 2000, according to the
Mekong River Commission.
