What does a catfish look like?
The body length of the catfish is 1.3 - 1.5 m, weight - 15 - 20 kg. Under favorable environmental conditions, individual individuals grow up to 3 - 5 m and weigh 220 - 400 kg.
The catfish is distinguished by a large, flattened head with a wide mouth and a forward lower jaw. Fleshy lips cover many small, cone-shaped teeth.
On the sides of the upper jaw there is a pair of long, mobile whiskers of a light shade, reaching the end of the pectoral fins. The lower jaw is endowed with two pairs of short, yellowish antennae. Small, high-set eyes are moved to the corners of the mouth.
The body of the catfish is rounded at the head and compressed from the sides, closer to the tail. The dorsal fin runs through the middle, and with age acquires a thick, jagged ray at the base. The long, powerful tail is almost half the length of the body and ends in a rounded caudal fin.
The pelvic fins are shortened, and the pectoral fins are wide and mobile, helping the predator to deftly create water vortices, disorienting the potential prey. The anal fin is long, fused with the caudal fin.
The absence of scales is compensated by a large number of sebaceous glands. The intensely secreted fat covers the body of the catfish with a thick layer of mucus.
The color of the back depends on the area and can vary from light sand color to almost black. The sides are brownish-green, spotted, the belly is dirty - gray or yellowish-white. Young animals are distinguished by intense skin color, and males are more variegated in color than females.
Description of catfish and its main features
The Latin name for the fish is silurus. The Catfish family includes more than 100 species, grouped into 11 genera. This is a bottom predator whose lifestyle has not changed for thousands of years.
He has poor eyesight and relies on data he receives from his whiskers and other senses. The appearance of catfish is determined by their lifestyle.
Appearance
The body length of the catfish, depending on its subspecies, ranges from 10 cm to 5 m. The head is large relative to the abdominal and caudal sections. It has a flattened shape.
Small eyes are located on the sides. The mouth gap is wide. It contains bristly teeth. There are 2 large mustaches on top. Their length can be 7-50 cm.
On the lower jaw there are 4 more whiskers, which serve as organs of touch. These worm-like growths attract other fish and crustaceans, which the catfish feed on.
The body is covered with small scales and a thick layer of mucus, providing high maneuverability and speed in the water. The dorsal fin is poorly developed. In most species it is only 2-5 cm in length. The pectoral fins are large. They are shaped like a blade.
The caudal fin is small with rounded edges. The fish uses it to gain speed. Catfish have a wide and long anal fin that reaches all the way to the chest.
The color of the fish depends on its subspecies and habitat. It can range from light yellow to black in color. Most members of this family are brown-green with black spots on the back.
Fish with long whiskers.
Character
Most often, Catfish behave melancholy. They can remain motionless for a long time, lying in ambush and waiting for passing prey.
Description and biological characteristics
The common or European catfish is a fish belonging to the genus of catfish of the catfish family. In Latin the species is called "Silurus glanis". This is a large freshwater scaleless fish, reaching a length of five meters and weighing 400 kilograms.
Of course, these are historical data, and today it is unlikely to find an individual of this size. However, the classic of fishing literature Leonid Pavlovich Sabaneev wrote about the capture of specimens worth three hundred kilos in the 19th century. Here is a quote from his book: “...on the Oder, famous for the abundance of catfish, back in the 1830 season a specimen weighing 400 kg was caught.”
The catfish has an oblong body with a large head, partially flattened at the top, and an elongated tail half. The skin of the fish is distinguished by the absence of scales and large fins except the anal one.
The body color is dark with shades of black, green and brown, depending on the conditions of the reservoir in which a particular individual lives. The catfish's belly is light, sometimes almost white.
On a note! Sometimes, very rarely, among the general mass of individuals there are also albino catfishes.
A distinctive feature of the catfish is its powerful mustache and long anal fin.
The common catfish is distributed exclusively in Europe, including in the European part of Russia in the rivers of the basins of all our seas, including:
- Black;
- Caspian;
- Azovsky;
- Baltic.
It should be noted that catfish are rare in the Baltic, catches are random, and trophies are usually small in size.
In addition to the habitats noted above, representatives of the species are found in the Aral Sea basin, and are also induced into some water bodies of Siberia and Kazakhstan.
Body structure
The body of representatives of this species has an oblong shape with a large rounded head and a very long tail. Small fish are sometimes called "ties" because of this. There are no scales or large fins, except for the anal one. The body color is dark with shades of black, green and brown. The saggy abdomen is light in color. The body length of a catfish can reach 3-4 meters, and its weight is about 300 - 400 kilograms. Fish rarely grow to such sizes, but this does not stop individual fishermen from inventing stories about fights with giant fish.
Habits
River catfish are avid homebodies. He spends most of his life in occupied territory (within one hole); only very serious circumstances can force him to look for another place. In adulthood, it becomes a solitary predator, which tolerates the close presence of its relatives only in the cold season, since it is easier to winter together.
As already mentioned, catfish become active at dusk. At night, adults search for food by “crawling” along the bottom or waiting for prey in ambush. In warm weather, they can rise to the very surface, and it is not hunger that drives them upward, but the desire to bask in warmer layers of water. Another reason is a muddy stream after rain, from which the mustachioed man escapes in the upper horizon. Catfish under the age of 3 years are more energetic; they often go to the shallow coastal zone in search of food.
Like most other demersal (bottom-dwelling) species, this fish’s vision is poorly developed; its mustache and acute sense of smell help it navigate in space and get food.
What do catfish eat?
Catfish is a predatory fish. It traditionally goes out hunting after dark, sets up an ambush and attacks passing fish. Catfish teeth are small but sharp. This makes it possible to hold the caught prey well, which it swallows whole. If the size of the prey does not allow this, the catfish waits for it to die and begin to decompose, and then eats it in parts.
The diet of the predator varies depending on the growth stage. In the first months of life, the fry eat zooplankton, insect larvae, small crustaceans and mollusks. Young individuals eat eggs and fry of other inhabitants of the reservoir, small amphibians, crayfish, and shrimp. Adults attack birds and small mammals caught in the water.
What else does catfish eat? It is known that in nature, plant and organic waste can become food for giants. By eating dying vegetation, dead fish and animals, catfish help clean up water bodies.
Spawning, development and lifestyle
Common catfish reach sexual maturity in the third or fourth year of life. At this time, individuals reach a weight of seven or more kilograms.
Mating games begin at a water temperature of about 14 degrees Celsius, while water heated to 18 degrees is considered favorable. Individuals are first divided into groups according to size and age, then each female selects one male for herself.
Attention! Small males that accidentally swim to the spawning area run the risk of being swallowed by larger females.
Having split into pairs, the catfish find a secluded place for love games. After courtship, the female spawns eggs into a previously prepared hole. The size of this peculiar nest is up to a meter in diameter. After fertilization of the clutch with milk, the male, together with the female, guards the future offspring until the fry hatch.
Juveniles appear gradually over the course of a week under favorable conditions. At first, the catfish stay in a single flock, but after 10–15 days, they disperse throughout the reservoir.
Catfish fry are very mobile and completely repeat the body shape of their parents.
At the initial stage, the fry feed on plankton, small worms and larvae, and local mollusks. As they grow older and reach a weight of 180–250 grams, catfish switch to larger foods:
- large worms;
- leeches;
- fish;
- baby frogs.
Reproduction of catfish.
In natural reservoirs, catfish spawning begins in the summer, when the water has warmed up sufficiently. Typically, catfish go to spawn in late May - mid-June. To breed, the catfish fish looks for secluded places: quiet channels, shallow water in the reeds, not too deep, shady pools. The process of males courting a female is quite interesting to observe: the fish play “catch-up” for a long time, accompanied by noisy splashing and splashing. Most often, a female catfish chooses the strongest and largest partner from 5-6 candidates. After this, the couple leaves for the chosen place, where the female digs a hole with the help of her pectoral fins, where she will subsequently “hide” the eggs. Surprisingly, sometimes the depth of such holes reaches one meter! The fry begin to hatch after 7-9 days, and after a couple of weeks the young animals settle throughout the waters of rivers and lakes.
Catfish diet
This predator prefers to lead a bottom-dwelling lifestyle, hiding in holes at considerable depths. At the same time, it is unpretentious in food and is able to feed on objects of both animal and plant origin. But given the fact that the catfish is still a predator, its diet mainly consists of animal food, and the size of the prey depends on the size of the predator itself. Its diet also includes dead animal objects, which is why it can often be seen near fishing nets. A hungry big catfish can easily pull a dog or a small calf under the water if they find themselves in the water.
Diet of catfish fry
The younger generation exhibits predatory habits from a young age. In addition to mosquito larvae, small bugs living in water, tadpoles, leeches and planktonic crustaceans, the fry are not averse to preying on the young of other species. As soon as the length exceeds 4 cm, predatory habits appear. He begins to eat not only fry, but also small fish, small mollusks and crayfish, as well as frogs.
What do average individuals eat?
Young fish of three or four years of age turn into full-fledged predators, although their growth and maturation continues. The river catfish gives preference to the inhabitants of the reservoir that have swum into its lair, but its favorite delicacy is green frogs. Medium-sized individuals are distinguished by their gluttony, which is why they often became fishing prey, flattered by a worm impaled on a hook. During growth and formation, the main diet consists of fish and the remains of living creatures.
What do adult catfish eat?
There is no doubt that the catfish is a predator or not. The adult does not disdain anything and happily eats everyone it can drag into its lair:
- crayfish, frogs and tadpoles;
- fry and fish of other species;
- large insects;
- small birds, both adults and chicks;
- rodents;
- other mammals.
Carrion is also present in the diet. As in its youth, this predator eats the remains, for which it is called a scavenger.
Catfish attacks on humans
Incredibly, catfish can also attack people, especially if they are hungry. Moreover, a person cannot oppose anything to such enormous size and power. Sometimes predators simply drag people under water, grabbing them by the leg and drowning them. Or they can turn over a boat in which a person is located, after which they attack in the water. Of course, such encounters do not always end in death, but anything can happen. For example, human remains are often found in the belly of huge fish caught. This is taken for granted, because there are simply no predators larger than catfish in freshwater bodies.
In fact, this problem is quite serious, especially considering that recently cases of catfish attacks have become more frequent. Either they don’t have enough food, or the environmental situation is affecting them, but the fact remains that catfish have begun to behave more aggressively and unpredictably. Do you have any idea what a 5-meter predator is capable of?
Interesting facts about catfish
On the Dnieper River there is the island of Khortitsa. So they say that near it they discovered a sunken ship with a large hole in one of the sides.
A five-meter catfish got stuck in this hole. Inside his stomach they found the remains of two or three people fleeing a ship in distress.
In the Netherlands there is a holiday park called Centerparcs with a large pond. There is a giant catfish there, more than two and a half meters long. According to employees, the predator feeds mainly on wild ducks nesting in the same lake. Two or three birds make up his usual daily diet.
Other members of the family
In addition to the European species, in our reservoirs you can find American or dwarf catfish.
The American catfish has a bushy mustache and a shorter body relative to its height.
Continuing the theme of the diversity of species of the catfish family, let us introduce representatives of related species.
Amur catfish
The Amur or Far Eastern catfish (Parasilurus asotus) is not afraid of slightly salty water, so it can live near river mouths that flow into the sea.
The Amur catfish reaches one meter in length with a relatively small weight of 6–8 kilograms. The head is similar in shape to other catfish: large, wide, flattened.
The body is also similar in shape to the European: it is elongated and gradually tapers towards a tail with a small fin. The body color is gray-greenish, the belly is lighter.
There are two pairs of whiskers on the head of the Far Eastern catfish.
The Far Eastern catfish loves warm waters; unlike its European counterpart, it prefers standing or slowly flowing water; it is extremely problematic to meet it on the riverbed.
Its historical habitat is the waters of Japan, China and Korea. In 1933, several individuals, more than two dozen, of the mother fish were released into the waters of Soviet Primorye. Then the species spread throughout the eastern territory of our country.
In the summer, the Far Eastern catfish goes into the tributaries of rivers in the coastal sea zone, and in the fall it moves into deep holes.
The mustachioed predator hunts from ambush in the dark. The diet consists of:
- small fish;
- shellfish;
- leeches;
- large worms;
- baby frogs and frogs;
- crustaceans
The catfish of the Far East mature and become capable of procreation in the fourth year of life. From the end of May to July, their spawning can be extended depending on the water temperature in each specific reservoir.
Eggs are laid on the leaves and stems of higher aquatic plants. Unlike European representatives, Amur catfish do not protect oviposition.
On a note! Fishermen annually catch over ten tons of fish of this species.
The Amur catfish is an object of sport and recreational fishing and is a valuable commercial species. The meat is tasty, low in fat with a small number of bones - this characterizes the fish as valuable from a nutritional point of view.
Som Soldatova
Soldatov's catfish (Silurus soldatovi) is listed in the Red Book of Russia; it reaches a length of up to three meters and weighs 80 kilograms. Habitat: Far East region: Amur and Ussuri basins. Also found in Lake Khanka.
Soldatov's catfish is more similar to its European brother than other species.
Appearance:
- back and sides – brownish or grayish-greenish;
- belly is light.
The diet of the Soldatov catfish is based on fresh fish, but it is also capable of catching a small bird or a rodent swimming across a river. Most often it feeds at night or twilight, and during the day it rests in pits.
In late autumn it moves to wintering pits and, like its European counterpart, loses activity until spring.
The lifespan of the Soldatov catfish is about thirty years; it begins to reproduce in the fourth or fifth year of life. The predator spawns in early summer, laying eggs in peculiar nests made of underwater grass.
African catfish
The most heat-loving fish from the catfish family. Its habitat includes almost the entire territory of Africa, and is also found in the Jordan River, in several regions of South and Southeast Asia.
Attention! The clarium catfish even inhabits the few reservoirs of the Sahara Desert!
In appearance, the clariid catfish (its second name) is similar to its ordinary counterpart. It has an elongated body, slightly flattened laterally. A distinctive feature is the ability to extract oxygen from atmospheric air. This is due to the presence, in addition to the gills, of a special organ penetrated by blood vessels. This epibranchial lung substitute allows the fish to survive in the air from fifteen to forty-eight hours, depending on the outside temperature.
Types of catfish
Despite the fact that the Catfish family includes many representatives, only the common and American catfish are found in the waters of our reservoirs. Other species are much less common.
Soldatova
This is a big fish. The length of her body is about three meters, and her weight is up to 80 kilograms. Inhabits the Amur and Ussuri river basins, as well as Lake Khanka. In terms of external characteristics, it resembles an ordinary catfish. The surface of the back and sides is gray, there are brown stains, the belly is painted in a light color. The basis of the diet is fish. Hunts at nightfall.
In autumn it lies on the bottom and overwinters without looking for food. Individuals become sexually mature at the age of four. Females spawn in the first two months of summer, in coastal areas. This is a rare fish, it is included in the Red Book of the Russian Federation.
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Amursky
Inhabits the waters of Japanese, Chinese and Korean reservoirs. About a hundred years ago it was launched into the freshwater reservoirs of Primorye. It quickly adapted to the new conditions and began to actively reproduce. Caught in fishermen's nets in Lake Baikal. The length of the body is about a meter, and the weight is about seven kilograms.
The body color is green, lighter on the belly. Inhabits stagnant bodies of water with weak currents. In the summer, it goes into channels, spills, and coastal areas. With the onset of autumn it lies deeper. The diet is based on small fish, mollusks, frogs and crustaceans. They hunt from their ambush at night and in the evening. They become sexually mature at 4 years of age. Females spawn from May to July, laying them on the surface of aquatic plants. This is an object of fishing, the meat is very valuable due to its excellent taste and small number of bones.
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Duct
It is a representative of the Iktaluraceae family. Inhabits water bodies of America, Canada, Mexico. The body length is on average one meter, the maximum body weight is 8 kg. Body color is blue with olive, gray, black, there may be spots on the sides.
The diet is based on small fish, mollusks, insects, frogs, crustaceans, and small mammals. This species is most common in North America. It is also bred artificially in ponds in the Moscow region and the Urals.
Pixabay.com
African
Representative of the Iktaluridae family. It lives on the silted bottom of African freshwater bodies. Found in ponds in Belarus and Russia. Body length – 1 meter. Quickly adapts to new living conditions. It can live in bad water and burrow into the ground. Hunts at night. Not picky about diet.
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Best biting period
July August. It is best caught soon after spawning, which usually occurs at a temperature of 18-22 degrees. The best fishing time during the day should be considered from dusk to dawn. But even during the day, the possibility of his grip cannot be ruled out if the bait passes close to his mouth.
How weather affects catfish and where to look for it
Many fishermen, knowing approximately where catfish are found, begin active fishing. However, after a while it turns out that the desired results were not achieved. The reason is that weather conditions play a big role, which affect the habitats of catfish.
After the end of winter, with the arrival of warm days and an increase in water temperature to +8 degrees Celsius, predators begin to leave their pits, showing obvious activity and moving to those places where it is warmest and most comfortable. These may be some shallow water areas where finding fish is not a problem. In such areas, catfish do not stay long, because as soon as the water warms up enough, they go to the bottom again in search of prey. This usually happens in late spring. During this period, the fish are actively preparing for spawning, so it is better not to touch them, because they will not respond to any bait, therefore, fishing is still useless.
In the summer, the predator is also located in the bottom areas, but given that the spawning period is already over, it will be somewhat easier to get it. The only problem is that in hot weather, catfish go as far as possible to the thickets, hiding in them until nightfall. Experienced fishermen go hunting at night, armed with night flashlights, in the hope of catching a predator. At night, the chances of a successful catch increase, since the fish themselves come out to hunt. It is not uncommon to see it close to the shore or in shallow water.
You can also fish well before a thunderstorm begins, when the catfish begins to be active again. At this time, fishing can begin. Many fishermen are lucky and manage to collect trophies even before the rain starts.
Some fishermen know where catfish are found with the arrival of autumn, or rather, where it is possible to find them. At the end of September - beginning of October, these predators gather on the shallows to hunt excellently before frost. Experienced people know that after this the fish will go to their wintering holes and then it will be almost impossible to get them.
Important! When the water temperature drops below +8 degrees Celsius, the fish goes into a kind of hibernation.
During this period, it is better to hunt for some other fish, because catfish hide in small holes that are difficult to find. Despite this, there are fishermen who want to fish the predator out of its “home”, doing everything possible to do this. What is possible is to choose a good bait that will make the fish react. Although experts in the field of fishing recommend not to count on this too much, since the river inhabitant becomes uninitiative. It is best to wait until spring arrives, when the fish come out to bask in the sun.
Behavior in the warm season
In spring, summer and autumn, catfish prefer to live in pits. During the daytime he sleeps and becomes active at nightfall. The fish's vision is not very well developed, so it relies on its sense of smell and three pairs of long whiskers around its mouth to find food.
Behavior in winter
During the cold season, the fish hibernate at the bottom of wintering pits. In winter, in the pits, you can see the following picture: a huge catfish surrounded by smaller fish. In a state of suspended animation, irreconcilable enemies become friends.
Methods of catching catfish
“ On Zherlitsy” - often used on the Volga River. A thick fishing line is taken and tied to a pole, which is driven into the ground at an angle above the water. Next, the scaffold is wound around a wooden slingshot and pulled into a split made on one side. At the end of the tackle there is a weight hanging - about 200 grams, a leash - 20-25 centimeters with live bait strung on it. You need to take a larger hook - from thirty and above. They throw the zherlitsa at night, as if into a nest where the catfish is, and wait until the morning. At dawn the device is checked. It happens that a predator drags the fishing line between snags. Here you need to be patient: the fish will swim out on its own, and then you’ll have to fish hard.
“Poking” is an interesting way of fishing. A “poke” is a pole driven into the bottom. At the top, a small cut is made in the pole, 6-7 centimeters deep. Like the pole, it is attached to the shore, the fishing line passes through the slot of the pole and falls into the water. The fish grabs the bait and gets hooked, begins to panic and tries to free itself. The pole does not let the catfish in, it quickly gets tired and gives up.
“On a log” is a passive method of fishing for catfish. Here you need to prepare a log and tie a leash with live bait to it. The length should be such that it does not reach the bottom of the pit. Then the log is tied with a rope and fixed on the shore to a tree or stone, etc. If there is a current, then it is worth making bindings from a thin fishing line so that the catfish tackle does not wash to the shore. An active bite indicates that a catfish has been hooked. The fish will try to free itself, but the tied log will not allow it.0020After some time, you can pull out the prey.
“On the kwok” - people have long noted that the catfish reacts to various sounds. Fishermen figured out how to catch catfish this way. Kwok is a curved plate in the shape of a knife, with a metal snout at the end. There are also wooden beaters. The quok is struck on the water several times, with a pause. The catfish hears gurgling, rises to the surface, sees the bait and rushes at it.
Catching catfish from boats
Catfish live in deep water and rarely hunt prey near the shore. Therefore, catching them from a boat is considered the most effective in lakes and rivers. In this case, it is important to keep the bait motionless and so that it moves away from the bottom by 30-40 cm, and this is difficult when there is no steering partner. Hence the popularity of pair and group fishing for dangerous predators.
Useful properties of catfish
Catfish meat is almost boneless (backbone), fatty, soft and tender with a sweetish taste. It is usually fried or poached before consumption.
Catfish contains macro and microelements such as calcium, magnesium, sodium, potassium, phosphorus, chlorine, sulfur, iron, zinc, iodine, copper, manganese, chromium, fluorine, molybdenum, cobalt, nickel. Catfish meat contains vitamins A, B1, B2, B6, B9, C, E, PP. It also contains large quantities of fats and proteins, which are sources of energy for the human body.
Catfish meat contains all the amino acids and is valued higher than vegetable protein. By consuming approximately 200 g of fish meat, you can meet your daily requirement for animal protein, because the proportion of essential amino acids in fish is very high. Its content of the amino acid lysine is especially high, but it is low in grain crops, so fish is especially well suited as a supplement to foods containing grains.
The body of fish contains only 2% connective tissue (bones, ligaments and skin), while beef and pork contain 8 to 10%, and sometimes more. Due to the low content of connective tissue, fish is easier and faster to digest than the meat of mammals, which is important for people leading a sedentary lifestyle. Fish is useful for both children and young people who have a great need for protein during growth, as well as for the sick.
Catfish meat is good for the health of the skin, mucous membranes, nervous and digestive systems, it perfectly regulates blood sugar, and also contains an antioxidant.
Catfish also accumulate their fat in their innards—the fat-rich livers of cod and burbot are best known. Fatty fish cannot be stored for long periods of time because the fat goes rancid quickly.
Holds the record for the presence of iodine and cobalt
Composition of catfish meat
The pulp of catfish is airy, soft, almost boneless. Contains many vitamins, including: A, group B, E, PP and C. Minerals include: calcium, manganese, phosphorus, iron, a lot of iodine, cobalt and many others. etc. (almost the entire periodic table!). This composition makes catfish very valuable. Its benefits to human health are difficult to overestimate. But there is practically no harm from eating the product.
Important! Catfish meat contains a huge amount of amino acids, especially lysine. Therefore, 200 grams of this product can replace a person’s daily intake of animal protein.
Dangerous properties of catfish
There are no special contraindications for catfish, however, it should be taken into account that this fish, like any other, can be an allergen, which is why individual intolerance is possible.
