What Is This Fish?

[mossonthemoon]

Sorry if this isn't an oddball, or if it is a very easy to identify fish, but this is not a type I tend to recognise. I saw this fish today and wanted to rescue it from the tiny cube it was in, but it was pretty obvious that it is way out of my tank's league.

Sorry for the size. My phone takes much bigger pictures than I realised.

 

[nmonks]

It's a Walking Catfish, Clarias batrachus, a species I haven't seen in the hobby for years.

We kept these at university. They're very tough, very fast-growing fish primarily of value to fish farmers. Up until the 80s you used to see them on sale as oddball catfish, but their large size (around 50 cm under aquarium conditions) and powerfully predatory (rather than aggressive) nature makes them very difficult to house with other fish. Furthermore, as their name suggests, they're amphibious to a degree, and will try to escape from any aquarium, so weigh down the hood! Since the 80s the kinds of people who keep giant catfish have tended towards other, more unusual species like Red-Tail Cats, though one could argue that those catfish are even less suitable for home aquaria!

In any case, a great fish, if you have the space.

Cheers, Neale

 

[fluttermoth]

It's a walking catfish, Clarias batrachus.

 

[mossonthemoon]

Ah ha! Thank you! I was right about not being able to rescue him, then. Haha. We really liked the look of him a lot. Maybe he will get a home quickly.

 

[nmonks]

For what it's worth, Maidenhead Aquatics branches will usually take in unwanted fish, even big catfish. I'm not sure it's a company policy, but every branch I've ever visited has told me about this and shown off a few bizarro fish they happened to be holding onto until they could be rehomed. So, if the owner really needs to get help with this beastie, that could be an option.

Cheers, Neale

 

[mossonthemoon]

For what it's worth, Maidenhead Aquatics branches will usually take in unwanted fish, even big catfish. I'm not sure it's a company policy, but every branch I've ever visited has told me about this and shown off a few bizarro fish they happened to be holding onto until they could be rehomed. So, if the owner really needs to get help with this beastie, that could be an option.

Cheers, Neale

That's good to know for the future, thank you. This guy is at a shop, though (see my other thread from today about horrible experiences). I just hope that he gets sold soon as the tank isn't a lot bigger than him.