Care Level: Moderate

Temperament: Semi-Aggressive

Live Plant Safe: Yes

General Description: The Payara Barracuda, also known simply as Payara or other names including the Sabertooth Barracuda and Vampire Tetra, are found throughout main river channels of the upper Amazon Basin in South America. An ambush predator with lightning reflexes, its unique flattened body shape, in addition to its wide mouth and long teeth, allow the Payara to hang motionless in the water column waiting for prey to drift by. Because of this, tank mates need to be chosen carefully and should not be less than half the body size of your Payara. Contrary to their menacing appearance, Payara are relatively non-aggressive and are too often introduced into aggressive aquariums, but they will not thrive in this kind of environment long term. This species is often misidentified as its closely related counterpart, H. armatus or the True Payara, which can grow up to 3 feet in length and are a common target for fish anglers. Only one Payara is recommended per aquarium. An adult Payara can reach a size of approximately 10″.

Diet Requirements: Payara are piscivores in nature but they do not require live fish in the aquarium to thrive long term — in fact, most live fish are of little nutritional value. However, some recently imported individuals may need to be offered live food as a precursor to recognizing dead foods or frozen foods as being edible. Great care should be taken during this period of providing live fish because this can increase the risk of introducing disease into the aquarium. Once weaned off of live foods, a diet made up of various high quality proteins are ideal, mainly frozen chunks of shrimp, mussel, silverside fish, prawn, and other white fish. Options will vary depending on the size of your specimen. Variety is the spice of life in order to maintain color, immune function and longevity of your fish. Do not feed any form of mammalian/poultry meat (e.g., beef or chicken) as certain lipids in these cannot be metabolized by the Payara and are not part of their natural diet.

Care Requirements: A minimum 90 gallon aquarium is ideal for a small Payara, but the aquarium will need to be upgraded as it grows. Payara can get skittish when they are in too confined/small of an aquarium. A tight fitting lid is also needed. Payara should not be put into a biologically immature aquarium. Biweekly water changes are encouraged to keep water parameters pristine (Nitrates < 20 ppm), as Payara are intolerable of deteriorating water parameters. Equipping the aquarium with a canister filter, or a sump system, is also suggested to maintain a healthier environment for this species, combat the amount of waste it produces as it gains size, and provide the generous water flow it needs. A Payara will be relatively indifferent to decor, but some stacked rocks to create caves for younger specimens to hide, or driftwood, may add some pizzazz to the aquarium. A lot of unobstructed space should be of priority, and the aquarium needs to be well oxygenated. Given the predatory nature of Payara, only other large growing species with similar temperament (not overly aggressive) should be considered. Tank mates introduced into an aquarium with a Payara should be at least half or equal to its size to avoid being eaten. Recommended water conditions, 76-82° F, KH 4-18, pH 6.5-7.5.

Purchase Size: Medium: 2-1/4″ to 2-1/2″

Note: Your item may not look identical to the image provided due to variation within species. Purchase sizes are approximate.