Barracuda, Swamp

This elongated, olive fish has a thick set of jaws with a prominent underbite, and its body is covered in a layer of thick algae.

ECOLOGY

Environment temperate or warm marshes
Organization solitary, pack (2–5), or school (6–11)
Treasure none

These carnivorous fish have long, writhing bodies and pointed heads. Their overdeveloped pectoral fins and widely separated dorsal fins make them swift swimmers, and their powerful jaws promise a quick and brutal death for any prey they might catch. Their tails serve as potent secondary weapons, which they use to bludgeon particularly hardy opponents before tearing them limb from limb.

Swamp barracuda thrive in tropical waters. While they normally hunt alone or in small groups, during their migratory season, massive schools of swamp barracuda can be spotted traveling down the coastline, where they feed on small whales as well as terrestrial creatures that wander too close to their waters.

While swamp barracuda are most often found in the wild, particularly daring hunters sometimes capture them to serve either as food or pets. Swamp barracuda can survive for a long time outside their preferred climates, but often grow lax and weak if their owners fail to feed them properly or don’t take care of their holding tank. Some gangs and criminals use swamp barracuda as a coercion technique against wealthy patsies as well as borrowers who fail to make a payment on time.

An average swamp barracuda is about 6 feet long and weighs over 60 pounds, though specimens up to 12 feet long have been spotted in particularly remote locations.