African eel catfish

Channallabes apus

Also known as Eel catfish, Gaboon eel catfish, Snake catfish

FreshwaterFish

African eel catfish (Channallabes apus) — Frank M. Greco · CC BY 3.0

Care at a glance

Temperature: 72–82°F (22–28°C)
pH: 6.0–7.5
Adult size: 13 in (33 cm)
Minimum tank: 53 gal (200 L)
Temperament: Mostly peaceful
Social behavior: Solitary
Swim level: Bottom
Difficulty: Medium
Breeding: No record
Rarity: Rare
Origin: Found in swamps and muddy waters of the Congo basin in Central Africa.
Family: Clariidae

Overview

The eel catfish is a hardy oddball, but it is a notorious escape artist that will climb out through the smallest gap, so an absolutely secure, weighted lid is essential. It is a nocturnal predator that will eat small fish and shrimp, though it ignores larger, faster tankmates, and it is otherwise not aggressive. Feed meaty foods like earthworms, bloodworm, and prawn after dark. It needs soft substrate and heavy cover in a tank of at least 200 liters.

In the wild

The African eel catfish lives in swamps, muddy backwaters, and oxygen-poor pools of the Congo basin, wriggling through mud and dense cover like an eel. It has a long, snake-like body, tiny eyes, and reduced fins, and can breathe air to survive stagnant water. Give it soft sand, plenty of wood and root tangles, dim light, and warm water at 22 to 28 degrees C, with a very secure lid.

Good to know

Channallabes apus grows to about 33 cm and belongs to the airbreathing catfish family Clariidae, with an elongated body and an accessory breathing organ. Remarkably, it can leave the water to hunt, bending its body to pin insect prey on land and swallow it, one of the few fish known to feed out of water. It burrows through soft mud in search of food.

Did you know

It is one of the very few fish that can hunt on land, lunging out of the water and arching its body downward to trap and swallow insects clear of the surface.