History Main / FiendishFish

* In ''VideoGame/BalloonFight'', flying too close to the surface will attract the Balloon Fish, a monstrous fish that will gobble up anything that comes in its range. It also reappears on the Summit stage in ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBrosBrawl'' and ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBrosUltimate'', swallowing every fighter that stays in the water for too long and instantly [=KOing=] them.

** Arrokuda and Barraskewda from ''VideoGame/PokemonSwordAndShield'' are barracuda-like fish who, when hungry, will react to every single movement in the vicinity. Arrokuda will bite anything that resembles food, while Barraskewda will just proper itself with its tail and [[RammingAlwaysWorks try to pierce the prey]].

* ''Barracuda'' is another ''Jaws'' ripoff, released in 1978, featuring a far lesser-known species of predatory fish.

* ''Film/DevilFish'' is a ''Jaws'' ripoff that replaces the shark with an non-descript mutant fish-cepholopod hybrid.

* ''Series/WalkingWithMonsters'' features the giant carnivorous fish ''Hyneria'', which is portrayed as a PrehistoricMonster in its quest to hunt down our amphibian ancestors. It's an apex predator which is large enough to [[AlwaysABiggerFish scare off sharks]], and powerful enough to drag itself onto a beach in pursuilt of prey like a killer whale.

* ''Film/LeonardPartSix'' features a stealth assassin fish.

* In ''Series/RiverMonsters'', Jeremy Wade tries to hunt down the aquatic creatures responsible for RealLife accidents, human deaths and/or legends around the globe. And you'll soon find out that many, ''many'' fishes can be dangerous.
* ''Series/WalkingWithMonsters'' features the giant carnivorous fish ''Hyneria'', which is portrayed as a PrehistoricMonster in its quest to hunt down our amphibian ancestors. It's an apex predator which is large enough to [[AlwaysABiggerFish scare off sharks]], and powerful enough to drag itself onto a beach in pursuit of prey like a killer whale.

When you think about dangerous underwater creatures, you would probably think [[ThreateningShark sharks]], {{Giant Squid}}s or [[PiranhaProblem piranha]] in river waters. But sometimes, the menace comes from far less romanticized menaces: fishes.

Not that sharks and piranha aren't fishes themselves, but for some reason, those are far more (unjustly) widespread as vicious all-devouring monsters in culture than, say, catfishes or tigerfishes. And yet, lesser-known species can prove to be a serious threat under the right conditions: for example, the goofy-looking catfishes can grow to be absolutely '''humongous''' and can be more than strong enough to drown human adults if they so wish.

When you think about dangerous underwater creatures, you would probably think [[ThreateningShark sharks]], {{Giant Squid}}s or [[PiranhaProblem piranha]] in river waters. But sometimes, the menace comes from far less romantized menaces: fishes.

Examples of these shall go on the respective pages.

Understandably quite frequent in UnderTheSea settings, where [[AquaticMook they can make quite the basic enemy to be faced]], especially in video games. They may also be one of the hazards of an EldritchOceanAbyss.

* ''Film/{{Frankenfish}}'' is a monster movie set in Louisiana about a group of mutant swamp fish terrorizing a small village and fishing community in the bayou.

See also SeaMonster. Compare FeatheredFiend ("general" evil bird trope), GiantEnemyCrab and TentacledTerror for scary non-fish aquatic animals.

See also SeaMonster. Compare FeatheredFiend ("general" evil bird trope), GiantEnemyCrab and TentacleTerror for scary non-fish aquatic animals.

Understandably quite frequent in UnderTheSea settings, where they can make quite the basic enemy to be faced, especially in video games. They may also be one of the hazards of an EldritchOceanAbyss.

See also SeaMonster.

!!Examples

[[folder:Fanfics]]

--->"A tiny deep sea fish investigated the probe from up close, startling Ami by filling the screen with a set of fangs that even Rabixtrel would have envied."

[[folder:Film -- Animated]]

[[folder:Film -- Live-Action]]

* ''{{Literature/Redwall}}'' features several species of fish treated as dangerous due to their size relative to the TalkingAnimal characters (mostly pike and eels).

[[folder:VideoGames]]

* ''Series/WalkingWithMonsters'' features the giant flesh-eating fish ''Hyneria'', which is portrayed as a PrehistoricMonster in its quest to hunt down our amphibian ancestors. It's an apex predator which is large enough to [[AlwaysABiggerFish scare off sharks]], and powerful enough to drag itself onto a beach in pursuit of prey like a killer whale.

* ''Film/AustinPowers'': PlayedForLaughs. Dr. Evil asked his henchmen for a SharkPool with FrickenLaserBeams attached to their heads, but they had to settle for "ill-tempered mutant seabass". He gets his wish in later movies, however.

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!!Indices: TheseTropesAreFishy, ScaryAnimalsIndex, AquaticAnimalTropes

** Fish are a distinct creature type in-game, and many grow huge and monstrous -- the [[https://scryfall.com/card/leg/50/devouring-deep Devouring Deep]], [[https://scryfall.com/card/tsb/19/dandân Dandan]] and [[https://scryfall.com/card/xln/57/fleet-swallower Fleet Swallower]] are al good examples of this.
--->''"Catch good today. Start replacing crew tomorrow."'' —'''Faysal al-Mousa, fisher captain''', FlavorText for Dandan.

Adopted by Morgenthaler.
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