Some of the species you may catch in the fishing parks of Pattaya. Click on any photograph to enlarge it.

Striped Catfish also known as the iridescent shark (Pangasius hypophthalmus)(ปลาสะวาย / plaa sawai). These are in almost every fishing pond in Thailand, usually 1kg up to around 18kg. The fish pictured below is around 7-8kg.

Mekong Giant Catfish (Pangasianodon gigas)(ปลาบึก / plaa buek). The eyes are set noticeably lower on the head and they have different colouration to the striped catfish. In Pattaya Fishing Park they range from 10kg up to 85kg (allegedly, according to park staff 🙂 ) They can grow to 300kg, the specimen below is approx 25kg.

Siamese Carp also known as the Giant Barb (Catlocarpio siamensis)(ปลากระโห้ / plaa kraho). The one pictured below weighed in at 22kg, they grow to well over 100kg.

Rohu or Indian Carp (Labeo rohita)(ปลายี่สก / plaa yeesok) usually 1-3kg in the fishing parks but can grow to 110kg according to Wikipedia. They are good fighting fish for their size and are considered good eating, but I find they have far too many small bones.

Pacu (plaa jaramet), a fish native to the Amazon and closely related to the piranha but can grow to 25kg. Has a very strong bite for crushing nuts. Keep your fingers out 🙂

Java Barb aka Silver Barb (Barbonymus gonionotus)(ปลาตะเพียน / plaa taphian)

The Thais call this species plaa jin, I’m not sure if they are silver carp or bighead carp.

Nile Tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus)(ปลานิล / plaa nin). This fish is farmed extensively in Thailand and is great to eat. Handle carefully as it has some sharp spines.  You will often see them at roadside barbecues covered in salt and stuffed with lemongrass and ginger.

The walking catfish (Clarias Batrachus)(ปลาดุก/plaa duc) usually less than 1kg. So named because of their ability to “walk” on land with their pectoral fins. Tasty when barbecued.

Catla Carp (Catla catla) (ปลากระโห้อินเดีย / plaa kraho India). Distinguishable from the Siamese carp by it’s elongated dorsal fin and smaller lighter slightly green coloured scales rather than large dark brown scales seen on the Siamese carp.

Arapaima, also known as the pirarucu (arapaima gigas) (ปลาช่อนอะเมซอน / plaa chon Amazon) are large carnivorous fish native to the Amazon and Orinoco rivers in South America. They can grow to around 200kg and 4.5m in length although as as result of overfishing they are rarely found over 2m in the wild.