PlanetCatfish.com

I'm not planning to get one, but my book calls Wallago attu the 'Helicopter catfish.' Why is called that? Because of the famous scene in Apocalypse Now?

I am taking a long shot here, but the name probably comes from the fact that the fish spends almost all of its time hovering in midwater (although almost all silurids do that).

My guess is that it's because the dorsal fin looks a bit like a helicopter rotor.

Dinyar

If you watch the last pic in David Sands' booklet (a fishkeepers' guide to African and Asian catfishes) it's overall shape strongly reminds me about a Cobra-chopper or one of those Vietnam things (Lynx wessex or something?). Just add a bit more green, put a propeller on top....
Maybe I watched too many war movies!
btw I think -but I may be wrong- that pic is some kind of Ompok and not a Wallago; the head doesn't seem to match...

btw I think -but I may be wrong- that pic is some kind of Ompok and not a Wallago; the head doesn't seem to match...

Oh, it's a Wallago alright. 'Cept that it's not <i>W. attu</i> but <i>W. leerii</i>. Another example of why an Asian catfish book for aquarists is so badly needed.
I've submitted a piece on <i>W. leerii</i> for an upcoming CoTM. Watch for it...

If im not mistaken these are the fish that are shaped like a ghost knife only a little longer. So it could bebecause they are shaped like a helicopter blade. Or propeller.

I have had several of W. leeri -- the largest measuring about 30" or more. It generally hovered in the middle of the aquarium and did sort of resemble that of a helicopter. It was a huge eater too! A juvenile Ompok bimaculatus can be mistaken for a juvenile leeri I suppose (by someone not real familiar with it I guess) but it is a completely different fish entirely. I expect to get more W. leeri and W. attu in the near future. They are both popular fish.

Here is a pic of W. leeri that I found on another site:

I expect to get more W. leeri and W. attu in the near future. They are both popular fish.

Hey Ted, good to see you posting again! Will you be expecting any Wallago miostoma, as well?
How about any Bagarius bagarius sp. (B. yarelli and B. suchas). Any expected to come in? I'm interested in getting one. Lmk.

Thank you.

Jack

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Email: arowanaOne@aol.com