Our planet is inhabited by many living creatures that can be dangerous to humans. There are not so many such inhabitants in the underwater kingdom. The risk of meeting with them for a person is minimal, but nevertheless it is necessary to know about them. That is why we would like to bring to your attention the top 10 most dangerous fish in the world.

1. Goonch fish

This fish is also called bagarii catfish. She lives in the Kali River, which carries its waters between Nepal and India. Why did the catfish suddenly get into the top of the most dangerous fish in the world? The thing is that this underwater inhabitant is extremely fond of taste. human meat. Locals blame goonch fish for the disappearance of people in the Kali River area.

He makes daring attacks on a person even with a crowd of people. It is generally accepted that fish began to experience cravings for cannibalism due to the customs of the local population. The Kali River has long been a place where the half-burned bodies of the dead are sent. The weight of these predatory catfish can reach one hundred and forty kilograms.

2. Vandellia, or candiru

Most dangerous fish in the world are not always gigantic. This small fish (about three centimeters in length) is shrouded in myths and legends. It feeds on blood, which it sucks from the gills of larger fish. Vandellia penetrates inside, clinging to the gills with sharp spikes, and bursts the blood vessels.

According to some sources, the fish finds its prey by the smell of ammonia, according to others, the candiru finds victims with the help of vision. The locals tell horror stories that vandellia freely penetrates the penis, vagina and even the anus of a person and feeds on blood and tissues. The person experiences excruciating pain.

However, to date, the opinion that this fish penetrates the inside of a person who is in the water is controversial. Most scientists are skeptical of him, although they do not refute such statements. But this does not mean at all that in the waters of the Amazon you can feel completely calm and not take precautions. In the waters of this river there are many other inhabitants who can cause serious trouble. Be that as it may, this small fish is in the top 10 most dangerous fish in the world.

3. Piranha

We are sure that if you ask passers-by on the street: “What is the most dangerous fish in the world?”, Most will answer without hesitation: “Piranha”. And we must admit that they will be right, but only in part. This is the most dangerous freshwater fish in the world. Despite their kinship with carps and their modest size, piranhas are real monsters for all the inhabitants of the Amazon.

This river predator is also called the toothy devil. An adult does not exceed thirty centimeters in length and one kilogram in weight. They have very sharp teeth and well-developed jaws, thanks to which they easily deal with any flesh. For humans, the danger lies in the fact that, as a rule, these predators attack their prey in huge flocks, and it is very difficult to fight them off alone.

These most dangerous fish in the world, photos of which you can see below, are able to eat even a huge crocodile. Interestingly, the most experienced of them prudently avoid meeting this fish. And if it has already taken place, then the crocodiles turn over and expose them to the most protected part of their body - the back.

Piranhas settle in reservoirs with a rich content of living creatures, since these creatures are extremely voracious. A drop of blood that has fallen into the water attracts them from several kilometers away. According to official figures, there are not very many deaths from piranha teeth, but the number of people who, after meeting with a flock of piranhas, became disabled is enormous. But even these most dangerous river fish in the world have enemies: the locals catch them with fishing rods, and in the river they are often hunted by caimans.

4. Big barracuda

The most dangerous fish in the world vary in size and weight, but they are all predators. For example, our next heroine attacks any Living being, which is smaller than it. And if you consider that the length of this fish reaches two meters, and its weight is fifty kilograms, you can easily guess that the diet of barracuda is very diverse.

The body of the fish is torpedo-shaped. On the large jaws are powerful teeth that grow up to seven centimeters. With their help, the predator easily tears off pieces of flesh from prey. This fish can also attack a person, although this happens infrequently. Predators are attracted to shiny metal objects. Therefore, there is a risk of attacking a person if the fish notices a sparkling decoration on the body.

Barracuda does not disdain and its smaller relatives. This fish prefers a solitary way of life, only the young go astray in flocks. The barracuda lives in warm waters Atlantic and Indian Oceans and the East Pacific. There are twenty types of this dangerous predator: individuals of fifteen of them are found in the waters surrounding Southern California and Mexico, as well as in the Pacific Ocean. Another five species live in the waters of the Red Sea. Prefers only areas with impeccable clean water, because it relies on sight to hunt. These fish do not attack people first, but quite often divers provoke them themselves.

5. Stingray-pintail

The most dangerous fish in the world differ not only in size and weight, but also in body shape. The pintail stingray has a diamond shape. Adult individuals reach a length of one hundred and eighty centimeters with a weight of thirty kilograms. This fish lives at a fairly great depth, so only scuba divers and researchers of underwater beauty can meet them.

Pintail stingrays are peaceful creatures, but if by negligence you stumble upon this fish, it will certainly scream with a poisonous sting located on its tail. At the same time, the person experiences pain shock. This usually happens when someone steps on a fish that is bottom-dwelling and well camouflaged. If the sting of a stingray hurts an arm or leg, then it can be survived, but when it hits the torso or head, the person may die.

6. Brown puffer

These are the most dangerous and poisonous fish in the world. Brown puffer, or puffer fish, is used in national cuisine Japan. It belongs to the pufferfish family. It is not a meeting with this fish that is dangerous for a person, but eating it.

Danger of poisoning

Fugu has tender and tasty meat. But organs such as the liver, skin or caviar are poisonous: they contain great amount toxins that cause paralysis and death. In Japan, there was an ancient custom: the cook had to eat a piece of fish he cooked or make hara-kiri if one of the guests was poisoned by his dish.

Antidotes for the toxins of this fish have not yet been found, help is only in maintaining respiratory and cardiac activity. Fish get the poison with their food, and recently the Japanese have learned to grow harmless fugu. Interestingly, she did not become popular. According to restaurant owners, gourmets prefer to tickle their nerves, so today a dangerous dish is sold at a higher price.

7. Stone fish

The most dangerous fish in the world are often perfectly camouflaged. This fully applies to stone fish, which is considered one of the most poisonous in the world. It is named so because of the similarity with the stone. The wart prefers a sedentary lifestyle and you can accidentally step on it on land, where the fish is thrown out during high tides. It is almost impossible to notice among the coral reefs and pitfalls.

On her back are twelve sharp spikes, which she raises at the slightest danger. With them, she pierces the most durable shoes. The person experiences this unbearable pain that some victims ask to cut off the stung limb.

First aid to the victim

If a meeting with this fish occurred in the water, then the pain shock often leads to the fact that a person chokes under water. If he manages to get out on land, the applied tourniquet and heating of the bite site will slightly weaken his torment, since this destroys the poison. But without qualified medical care a person dies, and recovery after meeting with this fish takes months.

8 Electric Eel

The most dangerous fish in the world, the photos of which we posted in this article, have practically no enemies. For example, only young caimans can attack an electric eel due to inexperience. Such an attack ends with disastrous consequences for them.

The organs of this creature, which produce electricity, occupy two-thirds of the length of its body. At the right time, they allow you to hit the victim with a discharge from 300 to 1300 volts. An adult can stun a horse with its blow. For a person, such a blow can be fatal.

Electric eels reach a length of three meters and weigh up to forty kilograms. The Indians learned to catch them by first launching a herd of large cattle to their habitats. This fish is very unpretentious and feels quite comfortable in swamps with stagnant water, from time to time swallowing air from the surface.

9 Great White Shark

Perhaps the most famous and large predator in our ranking. The size of an adult varies from four to five meters. The largest officially recorded shark was 6.1 meters long. In terms of bite strength, this fish loses to a crocodile, but the sharpness of its teeth and the special structure of the jaw allow it to tear off pieces even from a prey that has big sizes than herself.

The hunting tactics of this predator is an unexpected attack and bite. After that, the shark waits until its prey weakens. These fish also attack people, although there is a theory that they do it rather out of habit of biting everything that they do not understand. Cases have been recorded when this shark attacked small vessels.

I must say that a person more than paid off with these predators for all one hundred and thirty-nine attacks that were recorded in twenty-one years. Nowadays, the number of white sharks has declined, and in some countries they are protected by the state.

10 Bull Shark

Before you - the most dangerous fish. A photo of this monster is unlikely to give a complete picture of how terrifying the bull shark looks, or, as it is often called, the blunt shark. The habitat of these sharks is very wide. They can be found in all oceans, with the exception of the Arctic, as these predators prefer warm tropical and subtropical waters. In addition, they are found in the mouths of the rivers - Mississippi, Zambezi, Ganges and even in very small rivers in Africa, Asia, America and Australia. A bull shark has even been recorded in Lake Michigan (North America).

The body length of this fish reaches four meters, weight - four hundred kilograms. Her body is painted steel gray, sometimes with a brownish tint. The back is a little darker, and the belly is light. There are no pronounced spots or inclusions on the body of the shark, but there is one amazing feature. She is able to slightly change the color of the body from light to darker, depending on the habitat. This allows the bloodthirsty predator to be less noticeable on the hunt.

The small eyes of the fish have a nictitating membrane. The main weapons are powerful jaws and very sharp teeth. On the upper jaw, they are triangular in shape with a lateral bend; the lower jaw is equipped with teeth curved inwards. The blunt shark has massive pectoral and dorsal fins.

Since the predator feels quite comfortable in fresh water, it often inhabits water bodies located near densely populated areas, which makes such a neighborhood extremely dangerous. A person is sometimes deceived by her slowness, and sometimes by seeming clumsiness. But this is a delusion - if necessary, the bull shark develops tremendous speed.

The force of her bite is the greatest among sharks, but before using her jaws, she also stuns her prey with a blow from her powerful head. If we add unpredictable behavior and aggressiveness to this, we can understand what danger this fish poses to humans.

And these are not poisonous fish that inject their toxins into the body of the victim, but mainly those that attack and infect living beings. physical strength and powerful bite. So what are the most dangerous fish in the world?

Candiru


Candiru penetrates a person and extends the short spikes on the gills to gain a foothold inside the organs and suck up blood. This leads to inflammation, hemorrhage and even death of the victim. Fish is difficult to remove from the body, even with surgery.

tiger fish


The tiger fish is the most dangerous fish in Africa; it is a predator with large sharp 5 cm teeth and dark vertical stripes on the body. They hunt in packs for large animals, destroy prey in a couple of seconds. Two largest species this fish is an ordinary tiger fish, which reaches a mass of up to 15 kg and lives in the rivers of Africa: Lualaba and Zambezi; Tiger goliath fish, which reaches up to 2 meters in length, more than 50 kg in weight and lives in Lake Tanganyika and the Congo River;

Tiger goliath fish - extremely fast in pursuit of prey, her speed is 100 km/h. She has good long-range vision and excellent hearing, which makes it easy to find prey from several kilometers.

The largest predatory fish in the world

The great white shark is the largest predatory fish in the world, which lives in cool coastal ocean waters. Adults grow up to 4.5-6.4 m in length and weigh 700-1100 kg. They have massive jaws, gray bodies and a white underbelly (hence the name), powerful tails that help them reach speeds in excess of 40 km/h. White shark has an extremely precise sense of smell and special body to discover electromagnetic radiation from animals. They are even able to detect minimum quantities blood from a distance of up to 5 km.

The great white shark has more than 300 sharp teeth 8 cm long, which are aligned in several rows and combine to form a scissor bite.

These ferocious carnivorous fish eat sea ​​lions, seals, whales, sea ​​turtles. The unprovoked and often fatal attacks of the white shark on people are known, which is the reason for its other names - “man-eating shark”, “ White death". Of the more than 100 shark attacks that occur each year, between one third and half are great white shark attacks. The great white shark inflicts one bite on its prey and then retreats.


The electric eel is a long, flattened-headed predatory fish that lives in the Amazon, Orinoco, and other freshwater rivers in South America. It grows up to 3 meters in length, weighs up to 22 kg, has a gray-brown color and yellow on the underside. The electric eel lives in murky, stagnant water, coming to the surface every few minutes to breathe through its mouth.

This fish is very dangerous because it produces an electric current (hence the name of the fish) up to 600 volts to protect against predators or to stun food. This charge of electric current is sufficient to kill a person or other living creature (horse, crocodile, etc.).

Prey on invertebrates, fish and small mammals. Defeat electric shock causes temporary paralysis, respiratory or heart attack which can lead to drowning.

The most dangerous fish in the world


Piranha is the most dangerous fish in South America and in the whole world because of strong sharp triangular teeth, powerful jaws and group hunting. Piranha is found in the Amazon basin, and is also common in the Orinoco and other South American freshwater rivers. There are more than 60 types of piranha, most of which grow up to 50 cm in length, weigh an average of up to 1 kg and vary in color from silver with an orange underbelly to black.

Piranhas attack crustaceans and other fish; dangerous to people. These predators go hunting in schools of about 100 fish to catch large prey. A flock of piranhas destroys an animal weighing 50 kg in a couple of minutes. These ferocious aggressive predators are also capable of killing deadly fish and even whales. The bite force of a piranha is 25-30 times its body weight. Piranha stings cause severe bleeding and pain.

If you find an error, please highlight a piece of text and click Ctrl+Enter.

Zebra Lionfish

Lionfish zebra - predatory fish that live in the tropical waters of the Indian and Pacific Oceans off the coast of China, Japan and Australia. They are one of the most beautiful fish in the world. Their body length is about 30 cm, weight reaches 1 kg. The lionfish has long ribbons of dorsal and pectoral fins, in which sharp poisonous needles are hidden. The injection with this needle is very painful. A sharp pain is followed by a deterioration in the condition, which ends with paralysis of the skeletal and respiratory muscles. If the victim is not immediately pulled ashore, he will drown.


The electric eel is a fish (despite the name) that inhabits rivers in northeastern South America, as well as tributaries of the Amazon. They are found in countries such as Brazil, French Guiana, Guyana, Peru, Suriname and Venezuela. The average length of adults is 1–1.5 m, the largest known specimen reached almost three meters in length. Average weight - up to 20 kg (maximum - 45 kg). An electric eel is capable of generating a discharge of current with a voltage of 300–650 V and a force of 0.1–1 A. Such a voltage is not capable of killing a person, but it will be very painful.


Big tiger fish - a species of large freshwater predatory fish that live in central and western Africa, in the basin of the Congo and Lualaba rivers, as well as in lakes Upemba and Tanganyika. This fish grows up to 1.5 m in length and reaches a weight of 50 kg. In the Congo, there have been cases of attacks by large tiger fish on humans. According to local residents, this is the only fish that is not afraid of crocodiles.


Bagarius yarrelli is a species of large fish found in the rivers of South Asia. They are found in countries such as Bangladesh, India, China (Yunnan Province) and Nepal. It grows up to 2 m in length and weighs over 90 kg. In three villages on the banks of the Sarda River in Nepal and India, between 1998 and 2007, cases of attacks on people by these fish were recorded, which often ended in death.


The sixth place in the list of the most dangerous fish is occupied by the Brown Snakehead - a species of large freshwater predatory fish living in the waters of Vietnam, Indonesia, Laos, Thailand, Malaysia and India. Grow in length up to 1.3 meters and weigh up to 20 kg. They are quite greedy and aggressive. Prey is ambushed.


In fifth place on the list of the most dangerous fish in the world is the wart, a predatory sea fish with poisonous spikes on its back. The average length of the wart is 35–50 cm. It lives in coral reefs at depths of about 30 m in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. Considered the most poisonous fish in the world. Its venom causes severe pain, shock, paralysis and leads to tissue death. For humans, a large dose of poison can be fatal.



Piranha - freshwater predominantly predatory fish (more than 50 species) that live in the rivers and reservoirs of South America. Reach a length of up to 30 cm and a weight of up to a kilogram. Approximately 30–35 species of piranhas feed on aquatic plants and fruits that have fallen into the water, while 28–30 species are typical predators. They have powerful jaws with sharp teeth. They attack fish and other animals, including humans. The structure of the lower jaw and teeth allows piranhas to snatch large pieces of meat from prey. A flock of piranhas in a few minutes is capable of completely destroying an animal weighing about 50 kg.


Brown puffer - view marine fish from the pufferfish family. They live in sea and brackish waters northwestern Pacific Ocean. Grow up to 80 cm in length. Its insides (especially the liver and ovaries) are extremely poisonous and contain tetrodotoxin, which, even in small doses, is deadly to humans. Despite this, it is from this fish that they are most often prepared. a traditional dish Japanese cuisine- Fugu. Between 2004 and 2007, 15 people died and about 115 people were hospitalized after eating the delicacy.


The most dangerous fish in the world is the mackerel hydrolic or "vampire fish" - a species of predatory fish that lives in the Amazon and Orinoco river basins in Venezuela. They can grow up to 117 cm in length and weigh 17.8 kg. Most known feature vampire fish is its aggressiveness and two long fangs protruding from the lower jaw. These fangs can reach a length of 10–15 cm. The mackerel hydrolic feeds on almost any fish that smaller size, including piranhas and their own kind.

As a rule, a significant proportion of these swimming vertebrates do not pose a great threat to humans. There are also fish that can attack a person. Unfortunately, there are situations when people, when meeting with certain types of fish, can be seriously injured or even die. What are the deadliest fish?

Tiger fish Goliath

This fish is found in the rivers Central Africa. The demon fish or giant hydrocine can grow up to 2 meters in length. The fish weighs 50 kg. This representative of the African tetra family has 32 sharp teeth, which can be without special efforts tear flesh. This predator has excellent hearing. A goliath is able to attack a person or a crocodile if it gets very hungry.


Despite their inactive lifestyle, these small fish very aggressive. Stone fish or wartfish can be found in the shallow waters of the Pacific and Indian oceans. On the back of this representative of the scorpion family there are several poisonous spikes. The poison of the stone fish destroys red blood cells, and also affects nervous system person.


This fish lives in the waters of South America. Freshwater stingray weighs 900 kg. The body length of the fish is 5 meters. The animal has a whip-shaped tail, at the end of which is a poisonous sting. A person can die from the poison of this fish. Despite their awesome size, freshwater stingray is a fairly peaceful animal and rarely shows aggression towards people.


This fish lives in the waters of South America. Electric eel weighs 40 kg. The fish grows up to 3 meters. The animal has a very elongated body. This predator uses an electric shock to kill its prey. 600 volts released by a freshwater eel would be enough to kill a human.


These insatiable and very aggressive fish can be found in the Pacific, Atlantic and Indian oceans. Moray eel has a serpentine-shaped body. The animal has a length of up to 1.5 meters. This fish weighs up to 50 kg. Moray eels prefer to hunt at night. There were cases when these fish bit off the fingers and toes of divers.

zebra fish


This beautiful fish is found in the waters of the Indian and Pacific Oceans. Zebra fish or striped lionfish weigh up to 1 kg. The 30-centimeter body of the animal is covered with bright light stripes. This representative of the scorpion family has sharp poisonous needles on its fins. Lionfish venom is quite dangerous for humans.


It is not for nothing that the white shark was called the cannibal. This shark is one of the largest predatory fish that live on Earth. This ferocious predator can be found in almost all waters of the oceans. The fish weighs up to 3200 kg. The length of this shark is 5 meters. The white shark is capable of killing a person. The animal mainly eats marine mammals, crustaceans or birds.


These predatory fish live in the waters of South America. Piranhas prefer to hunt in packs. These animals quickly pounce on their prey. Only the bones remain of the victim. Piranhas, although they have a bad reputation among people, but there have not yet been cases of human death from the bites of these small predators.


This fish lives mainly in the waters South-East Asia. Snakeheads are quite aggressive and hardy predators. The head of this animal is similar to the head of a snake. The fish has powerful jaws. Snakeheads brought from Asia cause great damage to the local ichthyofauna of North America.


This fish lives in subtropical and tropical waters of all oceans. The blunt shark can survive in both freshwater and sea ​​water. This representative of the gray shark family has a difficult temper and an exorbitant appetite. Scientists have found the most unexpected objects in the stomachs of these animals. For example, household waste or metal products. From the bites of a blunt-nosed shark suffered a lot more people than from white shark attacks.

Electric eel is a fish from the hymniform order, the only species of the genus Electrophorus. Despite resemblance, not related to true eels. They inhabit the rivers of the northeastern part of South America and the tributaries of the middle and lower reaches of the Amazon.

Interesting in the structure of electric eels are the electric organs, which occupy about 4/5 of the length of the body. The eel generates a discharge with a voltage of up to 1300 V and a current of up to 1 A. The positive charge is in the front of the body, the negative one is in the back. Electric organs are used by eels to protect themselves from enemies and to paralyze their prey, which are mainly small fish. There is also an additional electric organ that plays the role of a locator. An electric shock from an adult electric eel can stun a horse.

The tiger fish is the most dangerous fish in Africa. This is a predator with large sharp 5 cm teeth and dark vertical stripes on the body. They hunt in packs for large animals, destroy prey in a couple of seconds. The two largest species of this fish are the common tiger fish, which reaches a mass of up to 15 kg and lives in the rivers of Africa: Lualaba and Zambezi; Tiger goliath fish, which reaches up to 2 meters in length, more than 50 kg in weight and lives in Lake Tanganyika and the Congo River

Piranha is the most dangerous fish in South America and the whole world due to strong sharp triangular teeth, powerful jaws and group hunting. Piranha is found in the Amazon basin, and is also common in the Orinoco and other South American freshwater rivers. There are more than 60 species of piranha, most of which grow up to 50 cm in length, weighing an average of up to 1 kg. Piranhas attack crustaceans and other fish and are dangerous to humans. These predators go hunting in schools of about 100 fish to catch large prey. A flock of piranhas destroys an animal weighing 50 kg in a couple of minutes. These ferocious aggressive predators are also capable of killing deadly fish and even whales. The bite force of a piranha is 25-30 times its body weight. Piranha stings cause severe bleeding and pain.

Candiru penetrates a person and extends the short spikes on the gills to gain a foothold inside the organs and suck up blood. This leads to inflammation, hemorrhage and even death of the victim. Fish is difficult to remove from the body, even with surgery.