SCOTCAT.COM

your internet guide to all things catfish

Silonia silondia (Hamilton, 1822)

Image contributors to this species:

Nonn Panitvong (2) Kamphol Udomrittiruj (2) Jian Ruilong (1) Andrew Rao (2) Abhisek Mishra (2)

ScotCat Sources:

Other Sources:

Relevant Information:

Habitat: Inhabit rivers. Occur in shoals. Adults ascend from estuaries into large rivers for breeding during monsoons. After the water level recedes, they often get stranded in small pools. Reproduction: Oviparous, eggs are unguarded. Spawns in the rainy season and is said to migrate upstream to the area of the upper tributaries. Aquarium Care: These fish can grow big and have some gnarly teeth especially visible when they grow big. Again being an ailiid puts them in the sensitive zone which makes them very difficult to keep alive in home aquaria (Mishra, A). Diet: Large specimens have abundant curved teeth in their jaws and feed on fishes. Smaller specimens feed on invertebrates. Remarks: Silonia silondia is still listed in Fishbase as being in the Schilbeidae family but it is updated in Eschmeyer's Catalog of Fishes as in the current status of the Ailiidae family.

Common Name:

Silond catfish

Synonyms:

Ageniosus lurida, Pimelodus silondia, Silonia lurida, Silundia gangetica

Family:

Ailiidae

Distribution:

Asia: Northern India, Bangladesh, Myanmar and Nepal. Type locality: Gangetic estuaries.

Size:

160cm. SL (63ins)

Temp:

23-26°C (73-79°F)

p.H.

6.5-7.2.

Reference:

Burgess, W.E. 1989 An atlas of freshwater and marine catfishes. A preliminary survey of the Siluriformes. T.F.H. Publications, Inc., Neptune City, New Jersey (USA). 784 p.
Froese, R. and D. Pauly. Editors. 2008.FishBase. World Wide Web electronic publication. www.fishbase.org, version (07/2008).
Mishra, A. pers comm. 2022.
Talwar, P.K. and A.G. Jhingran, 1991. Inland fishes of India and adjacent countries. Volume 2. A.A. Balkema, Rotterdam.

Family: Ailiidae Back to Ident-A-Cat Click on Thumbnails

Silonia silondia
Juvenile-showing mouth structure

Silonia silondia
Juvenile

Silonia silondia
Adult showing curved teeth.

Silonia silondia

Silonia silondia
Head view showing gnarly teeth

Silonia silondia

If you would like to contribute to the monthly factsheets with an article, information or photos, please e-mail me. You will of course be credited for your work.

If you would like to donate any denomination of monies to the site just click the above link button. All proceeds will go to running the site and hopefully to keep it going for a few years yet.