Clarias batrachus
(Linnaeus, 1758)
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his is certainly one of these catfish
that you should keep "home alone" as it is a voracious
predator when it starts growing from the small cute catfish that
you bought from the local fish shop to the fast growing predator
that you see before your eyes!.
There is a few varieties of Clarias batrachus,
the normal coloured which is a slate grey to olive colouration with
a white underbelly and an albino variation which unusual to most
fish species, occurs in nature. The albino is of course
white all over with red eye's. Another much prettier one is is the
above image, piebald/pink, and has normal eye's.
It received its common name of the 'Walking Catfish' on its ability
to walk overland from pond to pond when their original habitat dries
up or after a heavy rainfall. They possess a much reduced air-bladder
and their gills are stiffened to prevent their collapse when out
of water and in a special part of the gill chamber are spongy arborecent
(tree-like) organs growing from the upper ends of the gill arches.
These and the skin surrounding them, are well supplied with blood
vessels and operate efficiently in water lacking in oxygen or when
the fish is out of water. They of course keep their gills closed
when out of water and as long as their body is kept moist they can
stay on land for a considerable length of time.
Their distinguishing features are of course
its long dorsal fin ( 62-77 rays) without a spine and its long anal
fin (45-63 rays). Both these fins usually have a break before the
small rounded caudal fin but sometimes in odd specimens the fins
of the dorsal and anal fuse to the caudal. Its pectoral spines are
very strong ( 1 spine 8-11 rays) especially the leading spine which
of course helps its odd lifestyle of moving about on dry land. It
possess 4 pair of barbels, one pair of nasal, one pair of maxillary
and two pairs of mandibular barbels.
It is native to Southeastern Asia but was
brought into the U.S. in the 1960's for fish farming and it was
out of one of these farms in Florida in the mid 60's that the first
escape occurred and the first catch of this fish was by an angler
on the 15th March 1967. The first escapees originated from
wild stock which was exported from Thailand. It is a threat to the
native fish populations in the Florida and Gulf of Mexico areas
and the only enemy of this fish (apart from the anglers) is if there
is a very cold winter and they can not survive the long cold spell.
As mentioned at the start of this factsheet, they are predators
and very good escape artists as well so if you do fancy keeping
them a tight lid is essential with large hiding places, a soft bottom
( sand or rounded gravel) and of course a large tank of 4ft or larger
and outside filtration.
The male of this species is usually more colourful than the female
with a dark spot on the rear of the dorsal fin, the female does
not possess this. This of course relates to the normal variety and
I'm not sure if this could be applied to the albino, but the larger
girth of the female in breeding condition would set them apart.
Dorsal fin 62-77 rays without a spine. Anal
fin 45-63 rays. Both these fins usually have a break before the
small rounded caudal fin but sometimes in odd specimens the fins
of the dorsal and anal fuse to the caudal. Pectoral;1 spine 8-11
rays. 4 pair of barbels, one pair of nasal, one pair of maxillary
and two pairs of mandibular barbels.
There is a few varieties of Clarias batrachus,
the normal coloured which is a slate grey to olive colouration with
a white underbelly. Albino, white all over with red eye's. Another
variety is piebald/pink and has normal eye's.
Very much a predator so would need to be
kept alone or with its own kind as in a pair.
It is reported that they engage in mass
spawning migrations in late spring and early summer. Adhesive
eggs are laid in a nest or in submerged vegetation and the males
guard the eggs. There is a breeding report published in the German
magazine DATZ (7/04, pages 12-15) by Wolfgang Ros.
Below is a short extract in English kindly supplied by Wolfgang
from his article:
"At least in the breeding time of Clarias batrachus
there seems to be a kind of pair connection. The mating altogether
takes about 20 hours. Before both partners are digging a hollow,
which has a diameter of approximately 12 inch. In some descriptions
also the building of a nest is described. I cannot confirm that.
There are some hundreds up to a thousand eggs. As soon as the
female delivered all eggs, it avoids the mating hollow. This part
is guarded only by the male, the female secures the place behind.
The embryos slipped out after approximately 30-40 hours. After
further two days both partners are no more protecting the spawn."
You can access further articles on ScotCat
of Clarias batrachus by Wolfgang below.
Final speech
for the “Walking Catfish”, Clarias batrachus
Pair behaviour of
the “Walking Catfish”, Clarias batrachus
Initiating reproduction with
the Walking Catfish (Clarias batrachus)
In its native habitat it is a scavenger and
will eat smaller fish and are opportunist feeders and so will eat
just about anything!. In the aquarium they are not fussy feeders
but fish of some sort should be on the menu but does not necessary
need to be live food.
Clarias:
Clear or shining.
batrachus: From ‘batrachus’,
a frog; frog-like.
Baensch;
Aquarium Atlas1.1989.
Ros, Wolfgang; DATZ (7/04, pages 12-15) http://wolfgang-ros.de.tt
(home page)
Top: Wolfgang Ros
Middle & Bottom : 
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| Synonyms:
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| Silurus
batrachus, Clarias magur, Clarias punctatus, Macropteronotus
batrachus, Macropteronotus magur. |
| Common
Name: |
| Walking
Catfish |
| Family: |
| Clariidae |
| Subfamily: |
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| Distribution: |
India
Pakistan
Nepal
Sri Lanka
Bangladesh
Thailand
Myanmar
Malaysia
Philippines
Indonesia:Java, Bali, Lombok, Sumatra
and Borneo.
U.S.A.(non indigenous)
Singapore, at the southern tip of Peninsula Malaysia. |
| Size: |
| 60cm (24ins) ( Should grow
to about 18ins in the Aquarium) |
| Temp: |
| 20-25°c (67-77°f.) |
| pH.: |
| 6.0-7.5. |
| Donation: |
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