PlanetCatfish.com - Clarias batrachus (Clariidae) Cat-eLog

Mottled or Piebald form
Mottled Colour Form
Video
Wild caught
Dorsal view - mottled colouration
Close-up of head
Wild caught
Male
Female
Pair at the spawning site
Courtship
Courtship
Male (foreground) and sub-dominant female
Courtship
Courtship
Air breathing at water surface
Nest digging
Nest digging
Nest digging
Nest digging
Spawning embrace
Spawning embrace
Spawning embrace
Spawning embrace
Spawning embrace
Male at its favourite place in front of a cave
Spawning
Spawning
Spawning
Eggs in spawning pit
Female immediately before spawning
Female immediately after spawning
Newly hatched fry
Older fry, note barbles
Male guarding fry
Defending the nest
Eggs
Oscars are good tankmates
Three albinos!
Feeding at night on cichlid sticks
Close-up of male genital area
Close-up of female genital area
Stamp
Adult - Normal Colouration
Stamp
Male piebald
Female albino
Laying eggs
Dorsal view (male)
Dorsal view (female)
Heavily gravid female
Video

Cat-eLog Data Sheet
Scientific Name	**Clarias batrachus** (Linnaeus, 1758)
Common Names	Common Walking Catfish Clarias Catfish, Albino Walking Catfish, Piebald Walking Catfish, Vandremalle (Denmark)
Type Locality	Java, vicinity of Bandung, Indonesia.
Synonym(s)	Clarias betrachus, Clarias punctatus, Clarius bartrachus, Clarius batrachus, Silurus batrachus
Pronunciation	klar ee ass - bat rah chus
Etymology	Clarias: From the Greek chlaros, meaning lively; in reference to the ability of the fish to live for long periods out of water.
Articles	- Shane's World Reproduction Successful spawning of the wonderful WanderWels, Clarias batrachus - CotM 2000 June - Shane's World Reproduction Triggering reproduction with the Walking Catfish (Clarias batrachus)
Species Information
Size	470mm or 18.5" SL. Find near, nearer or same sized spp.
Identification	Clarias species are characterized by having an elongated body; a soft rayed dorsal fin extending to, or nearly to, the caudal fin base; a soft rayed anal fin extending from just behind the anus to the caudal fin base; pectoral fins each with a serrated anterior bony spine; head depressed, covered largely by firmly sutured, surface sculptured bony plates forming a protective helmet; four pairs of flagellate barbels (nasals, maxillaries, inner and outer mandibulars); air breathing organs derived from the 2nd and 4th epibranchials within a superbranchial chamber. Shown above are the mottled or marbled colour variety and also the more commonly available pinky-white form. From time to time you also see the ''original'' brown with white belly wild form.
Sexing	Mature males have small spots along the dorsal fin; it is not known if this also applies to the albino colour variant.
Habitat Information
Distribution	Asia: Mekong and Chao Phraya basins, Malay Peninsula, Sumatra, Java, Borneo. Reported from Sri Lanka; popular for aquaculture in its native range but not regarded as such in other Southeast Asian countries. Trade restricted in Germany (Anl.3 BArtSchV). Several countries report adverse ecological impact after introduction. Sri Lanka Waters (click on these areas to find other species found there) Indian waters (click on these areas to find other species found there) Myanmar Waters (click on these areas to find other species found there) Thailand Waters (click on these areas to find other species found there) Bangladesh Waters (click on these areas to find other species found there) Indonesian Waters (click on these areas to find other species found there) Pacific, Malaysia Waters (click on these areas to find other species found there) Login to view the map.
IUCN Red List Category	Least Concern , range map and more is available on the IUCN species page. Last assessed 2019.
pH	5.6 - 8.0
Temperature	20.0-26.0°C or 68-78.8°F (Show species within this range)
Other Parameters	Unimportant, the fish will prosper in a wide range of PH and water hardness.
Husbandry Information
Feeding	Anything; this fish is totally omnivorous and will gorge itself on most offerings. User data.
Furniture	Very well rooted plants and large structures that provide some shade. Appropriately sized clay pipes seem to provide a readily accepted, if less cosmetically pleasing, hideaway for these fish.
Compatibility	Keep with large robust fish; anything small enough will be eaten. These should be fast growing or introduced as semi-adults. The walking catfish grows very fast indeed and although purchased at a ''safe'' size for it's co-inhabitants, this ratio will rapidly change to the danger of the smaller fishes.
Suggested Tankmates	Large Cyprinids (Silver Sharks, Tinfoil or Spanner Barbs for example) or Central American Cichlids.
Breeding	See Shane's World article.
Breeding Reports	There is but a single breeding report, read it here.
Further Information
Reference	Systema Naturae, Ed. X v. 1, pp 305.
Registered Keepers	There are 53 registered keepers, view all "my cats" data.
Wishlists	Love this species? Click the heart to add it to your wish list. There are 4 wishes to keep this species, see who wants what.
Spotters	Spotted this species somewhere? Click the binoculars! There are 8 records of this fish being seen, view them all.
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	LFS label creator ARN ref:1.6.8.90
Last Update	2020 Oct 24 04:48 (species record created: 2001 Apr 25 00:00)