Catfish | Siluriformes | Catfish facts and how to take care of them

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Catfish belong to the bony fish order Siluriformes. The name catfish refers to the long barbels - which is a fleshy filament growing from the mouth or snout of a fish - these are present about the mouth of the catfish and resembles cat whiskers. Most species of catfish do not have scales like the typical fish, albeit some species are covered with heavy plates of hard, armored skin. Catfish tend to be strong and a few of the species survive for some time when they are out of the water, this is because their skin is kept moist by an outer layer of mucus. All catfishes have at least one pair of barbels, mainly on their upper jaw; they may also have a pair on the snout and additional pairs on the chin. 

Today catfishes constitute 35 families spread out about nearly 2,900 species. The majority of species populate in freshwater, but a scarce number of them, belonging to the Ariidae and Plotosidae families, are marine. Catfishes are generally bottom dwellers, that is they live and feed on the bottom of a water body. They are more active at night than day. Most of them are scavengers and feed on almost any kind of animal or vegetable matter. All catfishes are egg-laying species and may showcase various types of parental care. 

They have a variety of body shapes, though most have a cylindrical body with a flattened ventrum allowing them for benthic feeding. Some catfishes have a mouth that can expand to a large size. They typically have no incisor teeth; therefore they generally feed through suction or swallowing rather than biting and tearing prey. Catfish has one of the greatest size ranges within a single order of bony fish. 
Catfishes make an excellent supplement to any aquarium by keeping them clean. Aquarium catfishes are somewhat different from their wild counterparts. While they do feed off of algae and other decaying organic material that settles to the bottom of the aquarium floor, they still need additional food to live and must be fed the same way as other pet fish. 

Catfish Facts 

  1. One of the biggest catfish ever recorded weighed in at nearly 700 pounds (or 317.5 Kg), while the smallest species of catfish is just one centimeter in length. The size of a catfish depends on its species and the environment it lives on. 
  2. A catfish has about 100,000 taste buds, and their entire body is covered with them that is used to respond to touch and can detect chemicals present in the water. The majority of the catfishes develop 4 pairs of whiskers where their greatest concentration of sensory organs is located. 
  3. Some species of catfish can produce poison in the glands (in the skin that covers the dorsal fin). And in the case of danger, catfish will release toxins that can induce serious (even deadly) injuries in humans. 
  4. They can survive from 8 to 20 years in the wild, depending on the species. 
  5. They can produce different types of sounds and also have well-developed auditory reception (response of an organism’s aural mechanism, the ear, to a specific form of energy change, or sound waves) used to discriminate between sounds with different pitches and velocities. 
  6. Some species of catfish can breathe through their skin, which explains why most species of catfish are lacking scales and have smooth, mucus-covered skin. 

How to take care of them 

Many pet catfish species tend to do well in batch or small schools and they even fit well with some of the more aggressive species of fish, like betta fish. Your aquarium size should generally depend upon the type of catfish you buy the other fishes that you wish to add. For example, the Cory catfish, which grow to be about 4 inches long, can live in a 5 to 10-gallon tank. Larger catfish require at least a 30-gallon tank. Catfishes require warm water that’s between 74 and 78 degrees Fahrenheit (or 23-26 °C). Most Catfish are bottom feeders and they need plenty of hiding places. Therefore the aquarium must be of the appropriate size to accommodate them. Provide proper filtration to maintain health. Daily check filter, water temperature, and other equipment. Check water quality at least once a week. Introduce new inhabitants to the aquarium gradually so that your catfish would get comfortable with them.

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