History Main / FiendishFish

* ''Franchise/WalkingWithDinosaurs'': ''Chased By Dinosaurs'' has Nigel exploring the seven most dangerous seas in history. Two of the species he encounters are giant killer fish, ''Dunkleosteus'' and ''Xiphactinus''.

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

* ''VideoGame/FarCry4'' takes place in the Himalayan country of Kyrat, so you don't have to worry about getting attacked by [[ThreateningShark sharks]]. Instead, the rivers are occupied by massive Tiger Fish(also known as [[NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast Demon Fish]]), which violently bite Ajay Ghale any time he comes near them, and can actually kill him unless he punches and stabs them off. The Tiger Fish are so violent, they even made their way into ''VideoGame/FarCry5'' and ''VideoGame/FarCryNewDawn''. And that's not even getting into the [[NeverSmileAtACrocodile mugger crocodiles]]...

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: fish.

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, catfish or tigerfish. And yet, lesser-known species can prove to be a serious threat under the right conditions: for example, the goofy-looking catfish can grow to be absolutely '''humongous''' and can be more than strong enough to drown human adults if they so wish.

* ''TabletopGame/TheDarkEye'': Snapfish, also called brabacudas, are marine fish that can grow to seven feet of length and live in large schools. They're aggressive predators, and easily spurred into feeding frenzies by creatures falling into the water or by the smell of blood. Their flesh is toxic to booth, so they're not useful as food.

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

* In ''WebComic/YokokasQuest'', Yokoka wrestles a giant [[MixAndMatchCritter koi-catfish]] in a river (between pages, though it was later [[https://yokokasquest.com/q-and-a-1-2/ shown in a Q&A]]), which is then [[GiantFood cooked and eaten]] by the party.

** 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/dand%C3%A2n Dandân]] and [[https://scryfall.com/card/xln/57/fleet-swallower Fleet Swallower]] are al good examples of this.

* ''WesternAnimation/FindingNemo'' features the barracuda that ate Nemo's mother and all the other eggs.

* ''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.

* In one update of ''VideoGame/DwarfFortress'', an ill-thought out rule caused carp to become terrifying, almost indestructible monsters.[[note]]The update made it so that any form of exercise increased a character's physical strength. The carp spent all their time swimming. Swimming counted as exercise.[[/note]]

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

* Female blue marlin from ''VideoGame/ZooTycoon 2: Marine Mania'' are large and fierce enough to pose a threat to baby pilot whales and leatherback turtles.

* In ''WebComic/YokokasQuest'', Yokoka wrestles a giant [[MixAndMatchCritter koi-catfish]] in a river (entirely off-panel), which is then [[GiantFood cooked and eaten]] by the party.

* In ''WebComic/YokokasQuest'', Yokoka wrestles a giant [[MixAndMatchCritter koi-catfish]] in a river (entirely off-panel), which is then cooked and eaten by the party.

* ''VideoGame/TheElderScrolls'': The aptly named slaughterfish are highly aggressive predators that can grow to six feet in length and will readily attack humans. They're extremely widespread, and their resistance to pollution means that they can be found in almost every body of water in the world -- and they often hunt in groups, of course. At one point, Lake Rumare was home to such a large population of the things that swimming in it was tantamount to suicide.

* ''Barracuda'' is a ''Jaws'' ripoff, released in 1978, featuring a far lesser-known species of predatory fish.
* ''Beneath'' features a rowboat full of teens that comes under assault by a gigantic and very hungry freshwater catfish.

* ''Snakehead Swamp'' is a Film/SyFyChannelOriginalMovie that also features mutant snakeheads as killer fish.

* One of the ''Literature/DidoTwite'' books features nasty fish that eat anything that gets into the water.
* ''Literature/{{Redwall}}'':
** It features several species of fish treated as dangerous due to their size relative to the TalkingAnimal characters (mostly pike and eels).
** "Doomwyte" featured a wels (a kind of catfish) living in an underground pool considered an oracle by Korvus Scurr and his snake advisor Sicariss. In fact Sicariss only pretends she can talk to the wels due to the fish constantly moving its mouth and rising near the surface after associating the crow's presence with food (as he regularly throws in small reptiles and amphibians). The wels then gets in a fight with an adder [[spoiler:and loses]].

* In the children's book ''We Don't Eat Our Classmates'', Walter the goldfish tries to eat Penelope the baby T-Rex.
* ''Literature/TheFutureIsWild'' describes the lurkfish, a massive gar-like swamp predator with frond-like growths for camouflage and the power to shock its prey into submission like an electric eel.

* ''[[Franchise/WalkingWithDinosaurs Chased By Dinosaurs]]'' had Nigel exploring the seven most dangerous seas in history. Two species are literal giant killer fish, ''Dunkleosteus'' and ''Xiphactinus''.

* ''TabletopGame/MagicTheGathering'':
** 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/dand%C3%A2n Dandân]] 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 Dandân.
** While leviathans -- some of the largest monsters in the seas -- are a distinct creature type, some, such as [[https://scryfall.com/card/war/58/kioras-dambreaker Kiora's Dambreaker]] and the [[https://scryfall.com/card/m15/80/stormtide-leviathan Stormtide Leviathan]], resemble monstrous fish of immense size.

* 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'' (despite it being based on ''VideoGame/IceClimber''), swallowing every fighter that stays in the water for too long and instantly [=KOing=] them.
* Several fish species like Finleys are aquatic creatures in ''VideoGame/DonkeyKongCountryTropicalFreeze'' that act as enemies, damaging the Kongs on contact.

* In ''VideoGame/FeedingFrenzy'', the ocean is basically a giant hellhole where every single fish that is bigger than you are wants you ''dead'' and in their bellies - not that different from RealLife oceans, mind you - and you yourself have to gobble hapless, smaller fishes to grow bigger than the rest.
* ''Franchise/{{Kirby}}'' has the Blipper and their variations, one of the most common underwater enemies in the series. They are little more than fishes with diving goggles, and usually do harm Kirby on contact. There is also Fatty Puffer, a boss in ''VideoGame/KirbysReturnToDreamLand'', which is a spikeless blowfish.

** Gyorg, the boss of the Great Bay Temple in ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaMajorasMask'', is a giant purple fish with a scary set of huge teeth. It is responsible for the murkiness and the dangerous warming of the Great Bay waters, threatening the local Zora population.
** There is also Morpheel, the boss of the Lakebed Temple in ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTwilightPrincess'', a disgusting mix of a cyclopean eel and a coelacath with scary anemone-like tentacles around its maws to boot.

* Several enemies in the mostly underwater ''VideoGame/TheLegendaryStarfy'' series are fish species.
* Cheep Cheeps are the basic underwater enemies throughout the ''Franchise/SuperMarioBros'' franchise, looking like round red fishes with feathered pectoral fins and a yellow mowhawk-like dorsal fins.. They have many, ''many'' subspecies and some individuals acted as bosses in the series, like Cheepskipper in ''VideoGame/NewSuperMarioBros'' and the Big Cheep Cheep in ''VideoGame/PaperMarioStickerStar''.

* ''VideoGame/SunlessSea'', in addition to the expected {{Threatening Shark}}s, has "regular" fish baddies, namely the Beloved and the Behemoustache. Beloved are rather inoffensive flatfishes that only attack as retaliation, and the Behemoustache are slightly more aggressive, looking like giant fishes with huge teeth and mostly an ''amazing looking'' moustache that entrances everyone who looks at it because of its sheer magnificence.
* Additionnally from the Balloon Fish cited above, ''Super Smash Bros. Brawl'' has the Feyesh, an enemy in ''VideoGame/TheSubspaceEmissary'' mode that is a goldfish with a giant, single eye for a head and electric tentacles.
* ''VideoGame/CardCityNights'': There is a card called [[https://ludosity.fandom.com/wiki/Magical_Fisher_Agnes?file=Demon_Fish_Card.PNG "Demon Fish"]] depicting a fish.
* ''VideoGame/MagicalFisherAgnes'': One of the "fish" that are the enemies of the game is a fish, instead of a frog, an eel, or a jellyfish.
* ''VideoGame/TheElderScrolls'': The aptly named slaughterfish are highly aggressive predators that can grow to six feet in length and will readily attack humans. They're extremely widespread, and their resistance to pollution means that they can be found in almost every body of water in the world -- and they often hunt in groups, of course. At one point, Lake Rumare was home to such a large population of the things that swimming in it was tantamount to suicide.

** 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 propel itself with its tail and [[RammingAlwaysWorks try to pierce the prey]].
* ''VideoGame/EpicBattleFantasy'': In the fourth and fifth games, there are robot fish enemies in the Waste Disposal Plant and the Iron Fortress, respectively.

* ''VideoGame/{{Chantelise}}'': They have PaletteSwap versions of red, yellow, blue, and green, and appear in multiple places, mainly in the Aquan Ruins:
** In the first area, the Wetlands, there's red and yellow fish in the water, that are part of the KillEnemiesToOpen lock on the next area.
** In the Silent Church, a fish about as long as Elise is tall, must be fought to get Silver Gauntlets from the treasure chest revealed after. The fish is revealed after [[spoiler:breaking all the candles]].

* Discussed in ''WesternAnimation/TheLoudHouse'' episode "A Novel Idea" when Lincoln pretends the fish in the dentist's office is a savage beast to pass the time.

** 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]], 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.

* ''Beneath'' features a rowboat full of teens that comes under assault by a gigantic and very hungry freshwater catfish.

* ''Beneath'' features a rowboat full of teens that comes under assault by a gigantic and very hungry freshwater fish.

* ''Literature/TheFutureIsWild'' describes the lurkfish, a massive pike-like swamp fish with frond-like growths for camouflage and the power to shock its prey into submission like an electric eel.