Pangasius (fish) : Pangasius (Scientific name: Angasianodon hypophthalmus, Formerly Pangasius hypophthalmus ou Pangasius sutchi) Is a freshwater fish of the family Pangasiidae. This fish is generally marketed under the name panga (See Panga) in Europe, but this term can also designate other species.
Although it is sometimes called "Siamese shark" (and in English "iridescent shark", iridescent shark), it is not related to sharks but to siluriformes (catfish).
It lives naturally in Southeast Asia, in the Mekong basin as well as in the Chao Phraya river basin. It is now widely reared in fish farms, including in other river basins.
It is a large fish (up to 1,30 m and 44 kg in the free state in its natural environment), migratory, omnivorous capable of finding its food in the turbid waters of large rivers but also in flooded areas. It feeds on fish, crustaceans and plant debris3. In fish farming, it is marketed when its weight reaches 900 g to 1,5 kg corresponding to a size of approximately 35 to 55 cm. A large part of its weight is included in its head shell specific to fish of the order Siluriformes.
Sometimes sold as an aquarium fish, it is now the subject of significant commercial aquaculture in Southeast Asia.
It has notably become one of the most important aquaculture species in Thailand.