Clarias catfish

[Bertie07]

I saw these at my Lfs and wanted to know some info on them. How big do they get? What was your experience with them? What tank mates did you have with them?

 

[kno4te]

Not picky with food or specific water parameters needed. Territorial and active day and night. Get over 20in easily and largest on mfk was 25in.
Will grow fast. Need large tankmates that can grow fast and large enough not to get eaten. Need a tight lid on tank with a weight on top.

thebiggerthebetter

 

[Bertie07]

What size tank would they need

 

[kno4te]

If it’s batrachus then 180g. There are other Clarius in the group that get bigger and would require bigger space.

 

[thebiggerthebetter]

Clarias is a genus. The most common species is batrachus. They are also called walking catfish. They are farm raised for food all over the world.

Look up the name on PCF, ScotCat, FishBase, SeriouslyFish and a number of other cites. There are THF articles and other serious write-ups on the fish.

There was a drying up seasonal puddle on our property about 4-5 years back and I found in it 5-6 dying walking catfish, ~4"-5". In a 55 gal, they rebounded like nothing happened but started killing each other, the bigger ones chasing and biting the smaller relentlessly, despite thickets of plastic plants to hide in. Then I've had a pair left that were rather gentle friends in that 55 gal and then continued growing in 4500 gal for a long time. They reached 18"+. A couple years ago I had to do an emergency reshuffle and placed them in a 240 gal with some other aggressive fish. I didn't catch in time and after 2-3 nights they were killed.

 

[Bertie07]

I just looked them up and they seem pretty hardy but to big for my tank which is a shame because I really liked them

 

[thebiggerthebetter]

Stinging catfish grows smaller and a bit more slender. It's not in the same genus but same family and looks and behaves similarly.

 

[Bertie07]

Ok I’ll look into them, thanks