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One day, not long ago, a young boy named Samnang was playing at the edge of the Tonle Sap Lake. It was November, and his parents and everyone in his village were busy preparing for the Water Festival. Many villagers were going to Phnom Penh to see the boat races. This year, Samnang’s village was entering a boat in the races as well! Suddenly, Samnang looked to the water and saw a huge fish. The fish bobbed its head in the water, watching him. “What are you doing, big fish?” asked Samnang. The big fish did not reply, she flipped her tail against the water and disappeared.

The big fish was preparing for a journey of her own. She was a Mekong Giant Catfish, famous through all Cambodia. She had spent many years in the Tonle Sap Lake, avoiding the nets of fishermen and the sharp teeth of crocodiles. Now fully grown, she was very large – the largest fish in the whole river and maybe in the whole world! She had to make a long and dangerous trip all the way through Cambodia. It was the dry season and the Tonle Sap River was flowing back toward the ocean again. As the lake got smaller and smaller the Giant Catfish began her adventure, swimming out towards Phnom Penh.

When Samnang arrived in Phnom Penh he was very excited to see the boat races. Early on the day of the race, Samnang went down to the river. In the morning light he saw many people fishing. Some used scoop nets, others used baited hooks and gill nets. On the Tonle Sap River north of Phnom Penh there was a row of bag nets, each as wide as a house and as long as a ship! A bustle of people took the catch away to market. As Samnang watched he saw a big fish swimming downstream. It was the same fish that he saw in his village! Samnang cried, “Big fish, are you on holiday too? Hey, watch out for the nets!” The Giant Catfish did not reply, she just flipped her tail against the water and disappeared.

Later that morning, the Giant Catfish passed by the Royal Palace. She was just in time for the boat races! Above her a dozen proud dragon boats zoomed by, with hundreds of oars splashing in the water to the beat loud drums and the excited yells of the captains and crew. She saw crowds of cheering people on the riverbank in front of the Royal Palace. It was enough to frighten all the other fish away, but the Giant Catfish was glad to be watching too. The boat from Samnang’s village had won the first race. She was happy that Samnang and his village had such good fortune.

After the boat race finished, it was time for the Giant Catfish to move away from Phnom Penh. There were chemicals and garbage floating in the water. It made it hard for her to breathe and hurt her skin. So she swam swiftly along and entered the mighty Mekong River. Many other fish joined the Giant Catfish there in the Mekong. Some of the fish came from the Bassac River, some from Vietnam, and some of the fish came from the flooded forest and rice fields. All the other fish followed the Giant Catfish, for she was the fastest in all the river.

A few months later, at the time of the Chinese New Year, Samnang went to visit his aunt in Kampong Cham. Samnang liked visiting his aunt because she had a fruit garden on the banks of the Mekong River. After helping in the garden, his cousins took him to the river for a swim. It was already very hot and the river was low. They all had fun running down the steep riverbank and jumping into the deep water. They even jumped out of a tree into the river! When Samnang climbed the tree to jump, he was surprised to see a big fish down below. “Oh! Big fish!” Samnang cried, “It’s you again. What are you doing in Kampong Cham? It’s a long way from Siem Reap!” The Giant Catfish did not reply, she just flipped her tail against the water and disappeared.

As the boys swam, the Giant Catfish rested in a deep pool. She was tired from her long journey and the deep pools were a good place to rest. She still had a long way to go. Down there she restored her energy, away from fishermen’s nets and the strong current of the river. The Giant Catfish was not alone! She shared the pool with a hundred other kinds of fish: puffer fish, sheet fish, carps, and barbs. One of the smallest fish was the silver minnow and the largest fish was the giant stingray, as big as a boat but flat and round like the wheel of cart!

A month later, Samnang went to Kratie to visit Uncle Khoan. His uncle was a monk in a big temple near Kampi Pool, famous for its river dolphins. One afternoon, after Samnang had helped his uncle with a few chores, they both went down to the river. A huge fish suddenly appeared. The monk said to his nephew, “We are very lucky. This is a giant catfish. We once saw them every year as they passed our temple. Now we almost never see giant catfish, for they are very rare. I will ask the villagers if we can set aside this small area in front of the temple for the fish and wildlife. If we are patient, the Giant Catfish will return to visit us.” Samnang was very excited and he asked, “Big fish is it true? Will you come again some day?” The Giant Catfish did not reply, she just flipped her tail against the water and disappeared.

For Khmer New Year, Samnang went with Uncle Khoan to Stung Treng Province to visit his grandparents. The river was very low now and they took a bus from Kratie town to Stung Treng. It was a long and hot trip. They finally arrived as the sun was going down, and Samnang was hungry and covered with dust. After eating he went down to the Mekong to wash. While he was bathing he felt something big move against his leg. It scared him! Then he saw that it was his friend the Giant Catfish. He was amazed the fish had come all the way from Kratie to Stung Treng in just a few weeks! He cried out, “Big fish, why are you swimming so fast? Why didn’t you stay home in the Tonle Sap Lake?” The Giant Catfish did not reply, she flipped her tail against the water and disappeared.

In Stung Treng Province, the Giant Catfish had to make a choice. She passed the Sekong River, the Sesan River, and the Srepok River. Which way should she go? Many of the other fish were leaving her now to swim up these three rivers. The Sekong River was for fish born in Siem Pang and Laos. The Srepok was for fish born in Kon Mum and Lomphat. And the Sesan River was for fish born in Ven Sai, Ta Veng, and Andong Meas. Fewer fish migrated up the Sesan, because a dam had been built upstream. But the Giant Catfish was a wise fish, and knew that she must continue a little further up the Mekong River to her birthplace.

After Khmer New Year, Samnang traveled with Uncle Khoan to visit the temples up-river of Stung Treng town. On the way they saw many fishermen. The rains had almost arrived and the fishing was very good. Sometimes Samnang sat and talked with the fishermen, helping them bait hooks and set traps and nets. One day, Samnang and his uncle came across a crowd of fishermen looking at a big fish caught in their net. “Oh no!” cried Samnang, “It is our friend, the big fish!” Uncle Khoan said to the fishermen, “This is a giant catfish. It is Cambodia’s royal fish, special to the Mekong River. It has come all the way from the Tonle Sap to spawn. Please let it go.” The fishermen discussed this and then decided to let the fish go, because they too believed that the fish was special and very rare.

On the day of Visha Bochea, Samnang returned to his grandparents’ house. He was tired from his long trip with Uncle Khoan, but he felt happy that they had saved the Giant Catfish. That night, as Samnang was sleeping, the rain began to fall. The rainy season had begun! Thunder boomed and strong winds whooshed through the trees. This was the moment the Giant Catfish had been waiting for! Out in the river the Giant Catfish spawned. So did all the other fish. The eggs and baby fish floated downstream with the rising waters of the river. The water flowed past Stung Treng, past the temple in Kratie, past the deep pools of Kampong Cham, past the Royal Palace in Phnom Penh, and then up the Tonle Sap River and into the flooded forest of Tonle Sap Lake. In that way, the young fish were spread throughout all of Cambodia.

Later that month Samnang returned to his home at the edge of the Tonle Sap Lake. Now it was middle of the rainy season. Everywhere Samnang looked there was water. When his parents asked him to fetch water. all he had to do was lower a bucket from the porch. One day when he was getting water, he looked down and saw the Giant Catfish! “There you are!” he cried, “Why did you journey all the way to Stung Treng and back again?” The Giant Catfish did not reply, but she smiled and looked about her. Samnang looked very closely and he understood. The Giant Catfish was surrounded by thousands of baby fish!

Fish of Cambodia

Mekong Giant Catfish, Pangasianodon gigas

Size: up to 300cm, Diet: Feeds on algae/bottom feeder
Habitat: Found in Great Lake during the rainy season, Mekong during dry season

River catfish, Pangasianodon hypophthalmus

Size: 150cm
Diet: Bottom feeder, likes deep water during the day
Habitat: Found in Great Lake during the rainy season, deep pools during dry season

Redtail pigfish, Botia modesta

Size: 25cm, Diet: Feeds on the river bottom on mollusks, insect larvae and worms
Habitat: Large numbers of fish migrate out of the Great Lake w/giant catfish in
Nov/Dec Takes cover in holes under rocks or in submerged tree limbs

Mekong shad, Tenualosa thibaudeaui
Size: 25cm, Diet: Feeds on very small organisms floating in the water (filter feeder)
Habitat: Migrates upstream in large groups
in Feb/March/April, spawns in April

Giant carp, Catlocarpio siamensis
Size: up to 300cm, Diet: Algae, fruits of the flooded forest. Habitat: The giant carp
lives in the deep pools of the Mekong River. The small numbers that live in
the Tonle Sap Lake migrate downriver with the giant catfish in October - December

Flatheaded catfish, Bagarius yarrelli
Size: 200cm, Diet: Feeds on shrimp/fish, Habitat: Rests on the river bottom,
even in swift water. Spawns just before the rainy season

Salmon catfish, Pangasius krempfi

Size: 100cm, Diet: Feeds on forest fruit. Habitat: Common in Vietnam,
migrates to Cambodia and into Laos and Thailand.

Mouse catfish, Helicophagus waandersii
Size: 50cm, Diet: Feeds on snails/mollusks at the river bottom and migrates
in large schools, Habitat: Found in Mekong River (Probably spawns April/May)

Mekong silver carp, Henicorhychus siamensis
Size: 15-20cm, Diet: Feeds on algae and on small organisms floating in the water
(filter feeder) Habitat: Found in mid-water and bottom of Mekong, and in the
Great Lake during the rainy Season. Travels in large groups, incredibly abundant
from October-February around Phnom Penh.

Isok barb, Probarbus jullieni
Size: 100cm, Feeds on snails/mollusks in gravel/mud at the river bottom
Found in the Mekong on sandy/gravel bottoms

Large silver carp, Cyclocheilichthys enoplos
Diet: Feeds on insects and fish. Habitat: Common in Cambodia, This species
migrates out of the Tonle Sap River from October to December. The fish probably
spawns during the rainy season.

Small striped catfish, Pangasius macronema
Size: 20cm, Diet: Feeds on aquatic insects. Habitat: Common in Vietnam, Migrates
with many other species like carp and catfish (very common around Stung Treng
in mid-April). Migrates in large groups

Sanitwongsei’s catfish, Pangasius sanitwongsei
Size: 250cm
Diet: Feeds on fish, meat. Habitat:Common above Khone Falls,
Probably migrates from Cambodia to Laos. Spawns in mid-April,

Tiger fish, Datniodes microlepis
Size: 40cm, Diet: Voracious predator of prawns, fish, and worms. This fish does
not school, but is common as , single individual throughout Cambodia.

Drawf botia, Botia sidthimunki
Size: 5cm
Diet: Feeds on aquatic insects. Habitat: Found in slow flowing water (near river bank or flooded forest) Active by day and schools some distance from the bottom.

Giant snakehead, Channa micropeltes
Size: 100cm, Diet: Feeds on fish. A very popular eating fish in Cambodia, This fish
is caught when small and then cultured. in cages around the Tonle Sap Lake and
elsewhere in Cambodia.

Clown knifefish, Chitala blanci/ornate
Size: 90cm,
Diet: Feeds on small fish, crabs, and insects. Habitat: Found in rocky areas
of the Mekong and flooded forest during the rainy season.

Mekong Croaker, Boesemania microlepis
Size: 50cm, Feeds on shrimp and small fishe.
Found in the deep pool areas between Kratie and the Cambodia/Lao border.

Giant stingray
The fish can apparently grow as big as 500kg, making it the largest fish in the Mekong. Size: 200cm, Diet: bottom dwelling snails/insects. Habitat: Occurs on
sandy river bottoms. This fish is a true giant of the Mekong.

Dwarf Archerfish, Toxotes microlepis
Size: 15cm, Diet: land insects. This amazing fish shoots water out of its mouth to knock insects out of Overhanging branches.

Great white sheetfish, Wallagonia attu
Size: 200cm. Diet: Voracious predator of small fish.
Habitat: Common in Mekong River and Great Lake (rainy season)

Siamese rock catfish, Leiocassis siamensis
Size: 15cm, Feeds on insect larvae
Diet: Found among rocks in Mekong, Spawns in May/June.

Glass sheetfish, Kryptopterus cancila/Kryptopterus bicirrhus
Size: up to 15cm, Diet: Feeds on very small fish and aquatic insects. This fish is almost transparent and is very hard to see!. Habitat: Found in floodplains and sometime in areas of slow moving water in the Mekong.