The Largest and the Smallest Fish
This is the top ten of the largest and heaviest fish! 72% of the earth’s surface is covered with water, and the deepest spot at the bottom of the sea can be found at a depth of 36,200 feet (11,034 meters) in the Mariana Trench in the Pacific Ocean.
This means there is plenty of space for the scaled inhabitants of this planet in the broad expanse of the ocean. Indeed, the ocean is such a many-faceted habitat that more than 32,500 species of fish have evolved there. This brings us to the question: Which are the largest fish that are living in the sea? Which are the smallest?
The Biggest and Heaviest Fish of the World
When asked for the largest fish in the ocean, people often hurriedly name the blue whale – but this is a mammal and not a fish! The whale shark is the largest fish – although you could mistake it for a whale because of its misleading name. Yet it is a shark and is called whale shark because it can reach the size of a whale.
The Heaviest Fish
| Category | Animal | Weight |
|---|---|---|
| Heaviest cartilaginous fish | Whale shark | 15-20 tons |
| Heaviest ray | Pacific manta M. birostris | 3 tons |
| Heaviest bony fish | Ocean sunfish | 2 tons |
| Heaviest sturgeon | Beluga | 1.476 tons |
| Heaviest carp | Giant barb | 661 lbs (300 kg) |
| Heaviest catfish | Mekong giant catfish | 645 lbs (293 kg) |
| Heaviest eel | Conger | 242 lbs (110 kg) |
| Heaviest angler | Monkfish | 110 lbs (50 kg) |
The Longest Fish
| Category | Animal | Length |
|---|---|---|
| Longest Fish | Whale shark | 41.5 feet (12.65 meters) |
| Longest bony fish | Oarfish | 36 feet (11 meters) |
| Longest predacious fish | White shark | 19.6 feet (6 meters) |
| Longest ray | Giant manta M. birostris | 16.4-29.5 feet (5-9 meters) |
| Longest eel | Slender giant moray S. sathete | 13.1 feet (4 meters) |
| Longest carp | Giant barb | 9.8 feet (3 meters) |
| Longest blowfish | Giant triggerfish | 29.5 inches (75 cm) |
| Longest goldfish | Goldfish of Joris Gijsbers | 18.6 inches (47.4 cm) |
| Longest seahorse | H. abdominalis and H. bleekeri | 13.7 inches (35 cm) |
The Smallest Fish
| Category | Animal | Length |
|---|---|---|
| Smallest predacious fish | Dwarf lanternshark | 5.9-7.8 inches (15-20 cm) |
| Smallest seahorse | Denise’s pygmy seahorse | 0.5 inches (1.35 cm) |
| Smallest blowfish | Dwarf blowfish | 0.8 inches (22 mm) |
| Smallest carp | Paedocypris progenetica | 0.3 inches (7.9 mm) |
| Smallest fish | Angler P. spiniceps | 0.2 inches (6.2 mm) |
Funny Fish Records
• The Fish That Can Do the Most Tricks
Dogs are able to do a lot of cool tricks (“roll”, “play dead” etc.). But fish? They are not generally known to be very good at performing stunts. Yet, Dean Poermleau’s fantail goldfish “Albert Einstein” (USA, 2005) shows what the slippery little friends are capable of. It could eat out of the palm of somebody’s hand, swim through a ring, swim through a tunnel, swim through under a stick and play soccer (!).
• The Fish With The Most Eyes
The deep sea fish Bathylychnops exilis does not have two eyes like most animals, but four. The additional pair of eyes focuses on the ground and probably helps the fish to detect threats.
• The Fish With the Longest Teeth
We are not talking of the white shark’s set of teeth. It has an incredible number of large teeth, but in relation to its body size, the deep-sea viperfish Chauliodus sloani has got the largest teeth (Guinness Book of World Records, 2011). They are so long that they even hang over the jaw when the mouth is closed. Its head is not bigger than 0.7 inches (2 cm), but its teeth are longer than 0.4 inches (1 cm).
