Arapaima
Arapaima gigas
Local / Portuguese name
Pirarucu
Scientific name
Arapaima gigas
Typical size
Can exceed 400 lbs and 10 ft — one of the largest freshwater fish on Earth.
Habitat
Oxbow lakes and slow-moving blackwater of the Amazon basin; an obligate air-breather that must surface every 5–15 minutes.
More Detail
There's no understating it: hooking an Arapaima is a full-body, adrenaline event. This living fossil has barely changed in millions of years, breathes air like a prehistoric holdover, and fights with a combination of raw size and violence that few other freshwater species can match. Landing one is a bucket-list moment for any serious angler.
We don't book trips
Ready to fish the Arapaima
We don't run trips. Our partner Infinity Angling holds the exact water, the dates and the operator — they'll build it for you.