Tambaqui

Language English

Onglets

Description

Distinguishing features

The tambaqui, also known as blackfin pacu, is a tropical fish found mainly in the Amazon and Orinoco river basins. One of the largest members of the Serrasalmidae family, which also includes piranhas, it stands out for its stocky build and its more rounded head.

Its body is deep and laterally compressed. It is generally dark in colour, ranging from grey-brown to black. Its strong, molar-like teeth are adapted for crushing hard seeds, such as nuts. This feature, which is unusual among Amazonian fish, is crucial to its ecological role.

Reproduction

The tambaqui swims upstream, sometimes over long distances, to spawn in groups. Its reproduction is still not well understood, but it appears to be closely tied to the Amazon’s annual flood cycle.

During the rainy season, rising waters trigger spawning migrations toward flooded forests. These areas are rich in food for newly hatched fish.

Females can release hundreds of thousands of unfertilized, free-floating eggs that are carried by the current. The eggs hatch quickly in the warm tropical water.

Diet

It eats seeds and fruit that fall from trees, mainly in flooded forests. The rubber tree and many species of palm are among its favourites.

As an opportunistic omnivore, the tambaqui becomes strongly fruit-eating as an adult. Its diet shifts as it grows: juveniles feed mainly on zooplankton and small invertebrates, while adults eat mostly fruits, seeds, and other plant material that falls from trees in flooded forests.

This distinctive diet makes the tambaqui one of the Amazon’s most important seed-dispersing fish. It helps spread the seeds of more than 100 species of plants, trees, and lianas from flooded forests, including large-fruited species.

Predators

Adults have few predators thanks to their impressive size. Medium-sized fish, however, are still vulnerable to large aquatic hunters such as arapaima, river dolphins, and caimans.

Juveniles are smaller and often travel in schools, making them easy prey for many fish-eating species, as well as some birds that frequent flooded areas.

Intensive fishing is also affecting tambaqui populations in several regions. In the wild, both the number of fish and their average size have declined. In fact, the tambaqui is among the most heavily harvested fish in central Amazonia, accounting for about 45% of catches.

Habitat

The tambaqui prefers calm, often turbid waters in rivers, floodplain lakes, oxbow lakes, and especially seasonally flooded forests. These habitats provide a wide variety of fruits and seeds during the rainy season.

Its distribution shifts dramatically over the course of the year. During the dry season, it stays mainly in large rivers, then disperses widely into flooded plains as water levels rise.

Occasional escapes from fish farms have also led to the tambaqui being introduced in places such as Florida, California, and Texas. Although it has become established only to a limited extent, these introductions raise concerns about competition with local species.

Ecology, behaviour

The tambaqui is a migratory species that times its movements with the seasonal flood cycle. This mobility allows it to take advantage of temporary food resources in flooded forests, where it actively searches for fruit.

It is also gregarious, especially when young, and may form groups of several dozen individuals.

The tambaqui plays a major role in floodplain forests. By swallowing and dispersing large quantities of intact seeds, it helps renew and maintain vegetation in floodplains. This “ecosystem engineer” role is well documented and makes the tambaqui a key species in plant–fish interactions, a hallmark of the Amazon.

French name

Tambaqui

Scientific name

Colossoma macropomum

Phylum

Chordata

Class

Osteichthyes (bony fish)

Order

Characiformes

Family

Serrasalmidae

Size

Length: up to 1 metre Maximum recorded: 1.0 to 1.08 m

Weight

30 to 40 kg Maximum recorded: 40 to 45 kg

Status

Near Threatened (highly fragmented population)

At the Biodôme

You can watch it swimming calmly in the lake in the Tropical Rainforest ecosystem. We feed it fruits and vegetables, along with romaine lettuce, capelin, shrimp, and trout pellets.

The tambaqui shares its habitat with other fish, such as the redtail catfish, tiger catfish, and ripsaw catfish. Swimming capybaras may also share the space.

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Tambaqui

Onglets

Distinguishing features

Reproduction

Diet

Predators

Habitat

Ecology, behaviour

French name

Scientific name

Phylum

Class

Order

Family

Size

Weight

Status

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