Barracuda fish

Barracuda fish

The barracuda fish, Known and feared for its large size and fierce appearance, it is the protagonist of today's article. It is a saltwater fish that, like the Sole fish, belong to the genus Sphyreaena. He is curious to be the only one that belongs to the Sphyraenidae family. Its scientific name is Sphyreaena barracuda.

In this article we are going to explain all its characteristics, way of life, feeding and reproduction. I hope you find it interesting and want to know more about the barracuda fish.

Key features

Characteristics of the barracuda fish

This species is also known by the name of the giant barracuda due to its large size. It inhabits all tropical and subtropical oceans around the world. It can live in both warm and warm waters and it is also found in mangroves and deep reefs with a depth limit of 110 meters.

They are large fish that They are about a meter long and weigh between 2,5 and 9 kg. There are some exceptionally large specimens that weigh more than 23 kg and can measure five feet. The color that it has is grayish blue for its upper part. At the bottom it has a silvery white and chalky discoloration.

It can have darker rows in a transverse way with black spots on the lower sides. It has a characteristic color in the second dorsal fin and the anal and caudal fins and is the variation between dark purple to black and with white tips.

It is usually a solitary fish when it reaches adulthood. Especially when the night comes, they tend to wander alone after the hard day. However, during the day, you can see how the adults teach the young to hunt other specimens and learn to protect themselves against predation.

They are fish that often attack divers inflicting serious damage. If they set their mind to it, they are capable of killing quickly and destroy more species and specimens than are eaten. These are some of the reasons why it is a very feared fish, not only for its appearance, but for its behavior. Only sometimes they do not attack unless they are attacked.

Food and habits

Barracuda feeding

It is a fish capable of predating other species with great ferocity and speed. They use surprise as a weapon. It is a fairly opportunistic species that takes advantage of some weaker moments to make its appearance on the scene. When they visualize the prey, they jump on it causing a stampede of up to 43 km per hour in speed. This maneuver makes your catch percentage much higher.

When they are adults, this predation is done alone. But being young, several of them meet frequently to ensure the capture of the prey and to develop more practice and learning.

They feed mainly on other fish of equal or smaller size than themselves. Sometimes it can be seen hunting larger specimens. In order to do so, they tear the pieces of meat as they weaken the prey. They are really competitive and can be seen competing with species such as tuna, needle fish and even dolphins.

Among the variety de peces On which the barracuda fish feeds, we find groupers, snappers, small tunas, catfish, anchovies, herring and red mullet. To all it bites them in half to completely weaken them from the beginning of the hunt. It has also been seen eating some smaller prey that it uses as sporadic food when it is ahead.

Due to its great catching ability and hunting ability, there are few natural predators that barracuda fish have. Those that could most be considered their predators are the White shark, killer whales and humans, we catch it to eat.

Reproduction

Barracuda breeding

About the reproduction details are missing to know. For example, the time and place where spawning occurs is not well known. It is thought to be done in spring when temperatures are higher, while others believe they can do so year-round, except for the coldest winter months.

Spawning patterns may not be the same in all areas of the world where it is found. What is known is that it is not a species that must protect the eggs until they hatch, but they leave them adrift, where they take shape until they hatch. Normally, if they spawn near estuaries where the waters are shallower, the larvae that hatch from their eggs they go to places with shallower and weedy areas to feel protected.

At just 80mm in length, the larvae begin to move into deeper water. It is already 300 mm in diameter when they manage to move into open water and when they are 500 mm they will move out to sea, moving completely away from the estuaries.

Barracuda fish and humans

Barracuda fish and human

The fame of barracudas is similar to that of shark. They are dangerous for divers and swimmers who are near the coast. By having some scavenging habits, can confuse divers, believing that they are other larger predators and follow them to eat the remains of the prey they capture.

It is rare, but there have been cases where swimmers have reported being bitten by barracudas. Normally these attacks are usually due to the poor visibility in the water and the confusion of these fish with other larger predators.

Avoid touching with your hands or trying to catch a barracuda as they are capable of ripping your skin and ripping it off. Although these fish do not like humans as food, If we try to catch it, it will think it is prey trying to escape or outwit it and it will end up biting you.

It is used by Africans for soups and sauces and they smoke it to protect it and give it a better flavor.

I hope this article has helped you to know more about the barracuda fish.


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