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Frants Lehmann (1 stamp)

Habitat: Found in lakes, swamps and rivers. Avoids salt water. Spends nearly the whole of the daylight hours in crevices of rocks and is therefor seldom seen and lives and feeds on or near the bottom. Adults exclusively piscivorous. Preys on small fish, particularly Alestes spp, or Chrysichthys auratus as in Lake Kainji; also feeds on insects, crustaceans, mollusks and vegetable matter. Efficiency of catching prey catfish is maximised by face to face attack, avoiding damage by dorsal and pectoral spines of the prey. Reproduction: There is some indication that the species comes to shallower water to breed with the spawning season extending from April to July. The parents build and guard the nest, which is like a flat disc with a central hole where the eggs are dropped. The size of the nest and the central hole depend on the size of the fish. Males become up to 7 years old, females 8 years. Mean sizes and weight of males are less than those of females from the same age. Aquarium Care: This is an aggresive catfish and would need to be housed in a large tank. If keeping with tankmates they would need to be as large or kept on its own. Diet: Fish, trout and carp pellets. Etymology: The genus name Bagrus: latinisation of bagre, which, according to Marcgrave (1648), is a Portuguese word for catfish used in Brazil (possibly first applied to the marine ariid Bagre bagre). The specific name bajad: local name for this catfish along the Nile River in Egypt (also spelled bayad). Remarks: An important food fish and the flesh is good eating and of economic importance, and commonly sold as food. Reputed to reach 100,000 g. On the Red List but of least concern and no major threats impacting the whole population (2006).

Bayad

Silurus bajad, Porcus bajad, Porcus bayad, Bagrus bayad, Bagrus bayad bayad, Porcus docmac bayad, Bagrus bayed macropterus Pfaff, 1933, Bagrus bayad macropterus Pfaff, 1933.

Bagridae

Africa: Lakes Chad, Mobutu and Turkana; Nile, Niger, and Senegal rivers. Type locality: In Nile.

70.0cm (28ins)

22-28°C (71-83°F)

6.5-8.0.

Baensch, H.A. and R. Riehl 1995 Aquarien Atlas. Band 4. Mergus Verlag GmbH, Verlag für Natur- und Heimtierkunde, Melle, Germany. 864 p.
Froese, R. and D. Pauly. Editors. 2009. FishBase. World Wide Web electronic publication. www.fishbase.org, version (11/2009).
The ETYFish Project Fish Name Etymology Database © Christopher Scharpf.