Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
Catfish (or catfishes; order Siluriformes / s ɪ ˈ lj ʊər ɪ f ɔːr m iː z / or Nematognathi) are a diverse group of ray-finned fish.Named for their prominent barbels, which resemble a cat's whiskers, catfish range in size and behavior from the three largest species alive, the Mekong giant catfish from Southeast Asia, the wels catfish of Eurasia, and the piraíba of South America, to ...
Though predatory, they are otherwise peaceful, preferring to lie on the bottom (they tend to swim when there are lots of large plants present), and make good tankmates with other species large enough to not be prey but small enough to not eat them. Some aquarists note that pleco catfish eat the slime coat off of polypterids.
Electric catfish or Malapteruridae is a family of catfishes (order Siluriformes). This family includes two genera , Malapterurus and Paradoxoglanis , with 21 species . [ 1 ] Several species of this family have the ability to generate electricity , delivering a shock of up to 350 volts from its electric organ . [ 2 ]
The eel catfish hunts both in and out of the water, having a different method for each. In water, C. apus sucks water and food into its mouth. To catch food on land, the eel catfish lifts the front of its body up, and bends its mouth down on the prey. Its specially adapted spine allows it to do so without weight-bearing pectoral fins. [4]
It is the most species-rich genus of catfish in North America, [1] native to the central and eastern United States, and adjacent parts of Canada. [2] Their fin spines contain a mild venom with a sting comparable to that of a honey bee. [1] Nearly half the species of madtom catfishes were described in a single comprehensive revision of the group.
Callichthyids are fairly small catfish, and range in size from some tiny Corydoras species that do not exceed 2 cm (0.79 in) to Hoplosternum littorale, which some sources list as growing to a length of up to 24 cm (9.4 in) TL. [3] [14] The mouth is small and ventral with one or two pairs of well-developed barbels. [4]
Lepidophagy, or scale-eating, has been reported in a range of fish, including: Chanda nama (family Ambassidae), [4] Plagiotremus (family Blenniidae), [5] Terapon jarbua (family Terapontidae), [1] a few Ariopsis and Neoarius species (family Ariidae), [6] Pachypterus khavalchor (family Pachypteridae), Macrorhamphoides uradoi (family Triacanthodidae), several pencil catfish (family ...
The walking catfish has an elongated body shape and reaches almost 0.5 m (1.6 ft) in length and 1.2 kg (2.6 lb) in weight. [3] Often covered laterally in small white spots, the body is mainly coloured a gray or grayish brown. [5] This catfish has long-based dorsal and anal fins, [5] as well as several pairs of sensory barbels.