Freshwater fish begin to appear at the understory level and continue throughout the rainforest to the aquatic level River exhibit.
 
Colorful discus live with the anacondas in the River’s Edge; Red-bellied piranhas and Pacus are in the waters of Crocodile Cove; and Silver arowanas share the Flooded Forest with stingrays and turtles. The intriguing Electric eel has its own micro-exhibit.
 
The 200,000-gallon River exhibit is home to several species of freshwater fish. Several species of catfish such as large Red-tailed, Shovel-nosed and Fork-snouted are abundant throughout the River. Smaller, Black-banded leporinus use their speed to avoid predators.
 
The prehistoric-looking fish, with its upward-turned mouth and protruding eyes is the Arapaima. It is one of the largest freshwater fish in the world and is a major food source in its native Amazon River Basin. Listed as Appendix II (CITES), current farming techniques in some South American countries are proving instrumental in the recovery and management of this very important food source.
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