Editing Arapaima (section)

==Life history/behavior==
===Reproduction===
Due to its geographic [[range (biology)|range]]s, arapaima's lifecycle is greatly affected by seasonal [[flood]]ing. Various pictures show slightly different coloring owing to colour changes when they reproduce.<ref>"Fish Warrior: Amazon Giant." http://natgeotv.com/. National Geographic. Web. 
<[https://web.archive.org/web/20110507081037/http://natgeotv.com/ca/fish-warrior/facts]>.</ref> The arapaima lays its [[egg (biology)|eggs]] when water levels are low or beginning to rise. They build a nest about {{convert|50|cm|abbr=on}} wide and {{convert|15|cm|abbr=on}} deep, usually in muddy-bottomed areas. As the water rises, the eggs hatch and the offspring have the flood season from May to August in which to prosper, such that yearly spawning is regulated seasonally.

=== Breeding ===
The arapaima male is a [[mouthbrooder]], like the related ''[[Osteoglossum]]'' genus, meaning the young are protected in his mouth until they are older. The female arapaima helps to protect the male and the young by circling them and fending off potential predators.

In his book, ''Three Singles to Adventure'', naturalist [[Gerald Durrell]] reported that in British [[Guyana]], female arapaima had been seen secreting a white substance from a gland in the head, and that their young were seemingly feeding on the substance.