Catfish characteristics, habitat, reproduction, feeding

4770
Basil Manning

Catfish is a genus of fish widely recognized for its striking, cat-like whiskers. This group of fish is also known as catfish and they are abundant both in the sea and in continental waters.. 

Catfish belong to the Siluriformes order and the Pimelodidae family. They are actinopterygian fish that are recognized by their large whiskers, similar to those of a cat, called filamentous barbels. These filaments are used as a sensory organ, to easily track the prey that they are going to consume.. 

Catfish. Franklin Cirino Ribeiro [CC BY-SA 3.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)]

This group of fish are found in tropical and subtropical water bodies and can be found at a depth of 0 and sometimes up to 50 meters. It is generally found in rivers (with an average depth of 5 meters) and in lakes. 

The reproduction of the catfish depends on the size of the body, therefore, when an individual reaches a length of 25 cm, it is considered sexually mature. The reproduction of this group of fish is highly dependent on environmental conditions. 

Catfish feeding varies depending on the habitat; those that inhabit rivers generally feed on organisms brought by the current, while those that inhabit the sea feed on smaller fish and crustaceans. 

Article index

  • 1 Features
  • 2 Habitat and distribution
  • 3 Playback
  • 4 Food
  • 5 References

Characteristics

The morphology is variable according to each species of catfish, since you can find small species 2.5 cm long such as Parotocinclus variola, while other species exceed 2 meters and can weigh up to 300 kg, such as the Mekong catfish. 

However, the characteristic that distinguishes this group of fish are the whiskers or filamentous barbels, which are found on each side of the upper jaw, and in some species they can also be found on the lower jaw.. 

Marine catfish (Galeichthys bahiensis). Francis de Laporte de Castelnau [Public domain]

Most catfish have thin lips and a large mouth armed with numerous small teeth. Some subgroups within this group have a flattened head and bony plates that cover the body; these plates are under a smooth skin devoid of scales. 

They also have fins at the dorsal level that are armed with spines, and in some cases they can be poisonous. The coloration is variable among the individuals of this group, some with striking colors such as the tiger catfish and others with opaque colors such as the toad catfish or black catfish.. 

Most catfish species spend most of their time in the mud of rivers, waiting for food washed away. According to this, these fish are not excellent hunters, but rather they behave as opportunists and scavengers, thus managing to invest very little energy to find food.. 

Habitat and distribution

Fishes belonging to the genus Catfish are located in seas and oceans of tropical and subtropical regions, such as the American, African, Australia, and Asian continents. 

Altitude, the fish in this group are distributed from 500 to 1500 meters above sea level. On the other hand, 40% of the catfish species in the world are found in the American continent, making it the most diverse region of this group.. 

In this sense, catfish are generally found in large bodies of fresh water, such as large rivers and lakes. However, it is possible to find a member of this group in small streams and in small ponds. The depth with which it is distributed in these bodies of water is around 0 to 50 meters.  

An example of ecological interaction is the walking catfish (Clarias batrachus), which is host to a wide variety of helminth parasites, such as trematodes (Opegaster), which can infect the intestine and gallbladder.

The study of parasites in these fish could indicate the functioning of aquatic ecosystems, since for example the walking catfish is a predator of the food web and feeds on other organisms, and also provides nutrients to the marine ecosystem through secretion. of nutrients.   

Reproduction

These types of fish reproduce sexually and are oviparous; breeding usually takes place during the spring and summer period. This is because the development of the eggs is strongly related to the temperature of the water.. 

Male catfish can fertilize several females and the responsibility for the development of the eggs falls on them; since they are the ones who determine the place where the nest will be for the female to spawn. Spawning occurs once a year. 

For example, female striped catfish (Pseudoplatystoma tigrinum) vary in maturation according to each area, even in the same region. Likewise, the reproduction of this species also depends on the circumstances of the river, since a greater reproductive process has been observed when the river recovers its flow..

In this case, the sexual maturity of the female P. tigrinum it begins when it reaches 65 cm in length, and is completed when it reaches 70 cm. Similarly, it has been shown that older females spawn earlier than younger females.. 

Regarding the sex ratio of P. tigrinum it has been found that there are two females for every male, and that the females are larger than the males. 

Feeding

According to stomach content analysis, catfish feed primarily on crustaceans, small fish, and detritus. For example, the diet of Cathorops melanopus it is generally based on copepods, amphipods, and detritus. In this case the detritus constitutes the most important food source. 

Meanwhile, the diet of Ariopsis felis It is mainly made up of fish and decapods, and in the background the diet is made up of plants and detritus. 

Ariopsis felis syn. Arius felis. Source: wikimedia commons

On the other hand, the candirú (Vandellia cirrhosa) is a parasitic fish and feeds on the blood of other fish. When this fish locates a host, it heads towards the gills, where it enters forcing the operculum.

Once inside, the candirú grabs on the dorsal or ventral arteries, where it feeds on the blood that reaches its mouth by blood pressure and not by suction. 

References

  1. Barbarino, A. 2005. Biological and fishery aspects of striped catfish Pseudoplatystoma fasciatum (Linnaeus 1766) and P. tigrinum (Valenciennes 1840) (Siluriformes: Pimelodidae) in the lower part of the Apure and Arauca rivers, Venezuela. Report of the La Salle Foundation for Natural Sciences, 163: 71-91.
  2. Lara-Rivera, A.L., Parra-Bracamonte, G.M., Sifuentes-Rincón, A.M., Gojón-Báez, H.H., Rodríguez-González, H., Montelongo-Alfaro, I.O. 2015. Channel catfish (Ictalurus punctatus Rafinesque, 1818): current and problematic state in Mexico. Lat.Am. J. Aquat. Res, 43 (3): 424-434.
  3. Pérez, A., Castillo, O., Barbarino, A., Fabré, N. 2012. Reproductive aspects of striped catfish Pseudoplatystoma tigrinum (Siluriformes, Pimelodidae) in the Apure river basin, Venezuela. Zootechnics Trop. 30 (3): 251-262.
  4. Rainey, S. 2018. Clarias batrachus. Taken from: animaldiversity.org
  5. Newtoff, K. 2013. Vandellia cirrhosa. Taken from: animaldiversity.org
  6. Kobelkowsky, D.A., Castillo-Rivera, M. 1995. Digestive system and feeding of catfish (Pisces: Ariidae) from the Gulf of Mexico. Hydrobiological, 5 (1-2): 95-103.

Yet No Comments