The Payara Hydrolycus scomberoides is a
remarkable characin, but it is not your typical tetra. This is a member
of the Cynodontidae family which are called Sabre Toothed Tiger Fish,
Dogtooth Characins or Dogteeth Tetras. The Hydrolycus genus consists of four species and collectively they are called Pirandirá, as well as Payara.
Payara are fast and aggressive feeders. One look at the mouth of this
fish and there will be no doubt that the Payara is a vicious carnivore.
This incredible fish has two large fangs on its lower jaw. These fangs
can be 4 to 6 inches long. These two main lower teeth are so long that
there are holes in the upper jaw for them to fit into. The Payara are
mainly known as a game fish and are prized by fisherman for their
fighting ability.
These fish usually swallow their prey whole, but will sometimes chop
them into smaller, bite-sized pieces. They get large too, so if you want
to keep one as a pet, be prepared to have a very high feeder fish bill.
This fish can reach up to about 4 feet (117 cm) in length with a weight
of up to 40 lbs (18 kg), though aquarium specimens usually reach only
about 12 inches. Its appearance and behavior of this have led to the
common names of Vampire Tetra, Vampire Characin, Payara Characin, and
Sabre Toothed Tiger Fish.
The Payara can be kept in a large aquarium, but it takes a lot of
work by a very advanced hobbyist to accomplish this. They are
occasionally available and will readily adapt to aquarium life, but they
are most often short lived. They often only survive for six months to a
year, with just a few having been reported to live up to two years.
Their diet and their need for a top quality environment play into this.
The Vampire Characin needs to have a varied diet to provide the
necessary nutrients, so just feeding goldfish is inadequate. Sometimes
Payara also refuse to feed and it seems that once they reach about 12
inches they mysteriously die.
It takes an extremely large aquarium to support a school of Payara.
Young specimens will loosely school with their own kind in the aquarium.
Adults are voracious predators and should be kept alone. Although they
school loosely in the wild, they become less tolerant with a crowd. They
are also not good community fish when mature. As a matter of fact, in
nature the bulk of their natural food is the Piranha.
Payara also need optimal water conditions in captivity. In the wild
these fish seem to have different environments, depending on their age.
Younger fish will avoid areas where there is strong water flow, but
mature specimens seem to move into waters with faster water currents. So
providing different environments as they age, as well as a large
variety of prey, takes the right type of dedicated hobbyist.
