Clarias batrachus (Linnaeus, 1758)

Walking catfish

Catalog of Fishes (gen., sp.) | ITIS | CoL

Classification	Actinopterygii \| Siluriformes \| Clariidae
Synonyms	Silurus batrachus, Clarias assamensis, Clarias punctatus, ... more
Common names	Philippine catfish, Thai hito, Freshwater catfish, ... more

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Main reference

Rahman, A.K.A. 1989. (Ref. 1479)
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Size / Weight / Age

Max length : 47.0 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 40637); common length : 26.3 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 12193); max. published weight: 1,190 g (Ref. 40637)

Environment

Demersal; potamodromous (Ref. 51243); freshwater; brackish; depth range 1 - ? m (Ref. 2854)

Climate / Range

Tropical; 10°C - 28°C (Ref. 2060); 29°N - 7°S

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) (Ref. 1739). Several countries report adverse ecological impact after introduction.
Countries | FAO areas | Ecosystems | Occurrences | Introductions

Short description

Dorsal spines (total): 0; Dorsal soft rays (total): 60 - 76; Anal spines: 0; Anal soft rays: 47 - 58. Body compressed posteriorly. Upper jaw a little projecting. Spine of pectoral fins rough on its outer edge and serrated on its inner edge (Ref. 4792). Occipital process more or less triangular, its length about 2 time in its width (Ref. 27732); distance between dorsal and occipital process 4-5.5 times in distance from tip of snout to end of occipital process (Ref. 43281). Genital papilla in males is elongated and pointed (Ref. 52012).

Inhabits lowland streams (Ref. 57235), swamps, ponds, ditches, rice paddies, and pools left in low spots after rivers have been in flood (Ref. 2854, 57235). Usually confined to stagnant, muddy water (Ref. 1479). Found in medium to large-sized rivers, flooded fields and stagnant water bodies including sluggish flowing canals (Ref. 12975). Undertakes lateral migrations from the Mekong mainstream, or other permanent water bodies, to flooded areas during the flood season and returns to the permanent water bodies at the onset of the dry season (Ref. 37770). Can live out of water for quite sometime and move short distances over land (Ref. 4833). Can walk and leave the water to migrate to other water bodies using its auxiliary breathing organs. The Lao use this fish as lap pa or ponne pa. Feeds on insect larvae, earthworms, shells, shrimps, small fish, aquatic plants and debris (Ref. 6459). An important food fish (Ref. 4833) that is marketed live, fresh and frozen (Ref. 9987). Recently rare, due to replacing of introduced African walking catfish (Ref. 57235).


IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 57073)	Threat to humans
Not Evaluated	Potential pest (Ref. 4690)

Human uses
Fisheries: commercial; aquaculture: commercial; aquarium: commercial


More information
Countries FAO areas Ecosystems Occurrences Introductions Ecology Diet Food items Food consumption Ration	Common names Synonyms Metabolism Predators Ecotoxicology Reproduction Maturity Spawning Eggs Egg development	Age/Size Growth Length-weight Length-length Length-frequencies Morphometrics Morphology Larvae Larval dynamics Recruitment	Other references Biblio Aquaculture Aquaculture profile Strains Genetics Allele frequencies Heritability Diseases Processing	Collaborators Pictures Stamps Sounds Ciguatera Speed Swim. type Gill area Otoliths Brains Vision

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Internet sources

Estimation of some characteristics with mathematical models

Resilience (Ref. 69278)

High, minimum population doubling time less than 15 months (K=0.7 (in aquarium); tm=1; Fec=2,300-13,400)


Vulnerability (Ref. 59153)	Price category (Ref. 80766)
Low vulnerability (24 of 100)	Not marketed/unknown

Entered by Froese, Rainer

Modified by Ortañez, Auda Kareen

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Page last modified by : elaxamana, 15 July 2009

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