Catfish

Posted February 24, 2009

Catfish are fish species belonging to the order Siluriformes. This order is very diverse and contains a large amount of species. Most are found in freshwater but a few live in saltwater as well (species from the Family Plotosidae and Ariidae). Catfish are found on every continent except for Antarctica.

The order Siluriformes includes a lot of species suitable for aquariums but the group also contains a lot of species that for various reasons aren’t suitable for hobby aquarists. They can for instance grow much too larger for the average home aquarium and it is therefore very important to do ones homework before buying a catfish. Examples of species that are commonly sold in pet shops but not suitable for the standard home aquarium due to their size are the Common pleco and the Iridescent catfish.

There are a lot of catfish species available in the aquarium trade that have not yet been scientifically described and these has often been given a letter number name to make it easier to label them and know which species someone is talking about. Examples of this are the L number system for plecos and the C number system for cory cats.

It is easy to recognize a catfish due to their well-known and prominent barbells. The barbells help the catfish stay aware of it surroundings and find food in dark and cloudy water. The barbells are in fact elongated tactile organs comparable to the whiskers that cats have. Unlike cats however, catfish also have taste buds on their “whiskers”. It should be mentioned that not all fish with barbells are catfish; several carps, the goatfish and a few shark species do for instance possess barbells without being catfish.

Catfish are scaleless and this makes them vulnerable toward copper and certain other types of medications. Always make sure that a medicine is catfish safe before using it in an aquarium that contains catfish. Another shared characteristic within this order is the hollow leading ray found on the dorsal and pectoral fins. The Catfish can use this ray to excrete a potent protein when frightened or annoyed. The Family Malapteruridae distinguishes itself from all other catfish families by being without this hollow leading ray and incapable of protein attacks.

Some catfish species grows very large and are obviously not suitable for normal home aquariums. Nevertheless, these species do show up in the trade every now and again so make sure you know how large a certain species can become before you make a purchase. It is some debate over which is the largest catfish species in the world as the answer differs depending on whether you look at weight or length. The heaviest Catfish species is the Giant Mekong Catfish (Pangasius gigas) which lives in Southeast Asia and can weigh close to or perhaps even in excess of 300 kg / 660 pounds. The longest species is the Wells Catfish (Silurus glanis) which can reach of size of five meters / 16 feet.

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