Chinese longsnout catfish

Care at a glance

Overview

This is a large, cool-water catfish that grows to around 70 centimeters, so it needs a very big tank, on the order of 1000 liters or a pond, and is a project for experienced keepers only. It is a slow, mostly peaceful fish by temperament, but anything small enough to fit in its mouth will be eaten, so tankmates must be large and calm. Keep it singly, as it is not a social species. It is nocturnal and appreciates dim light, sunken wood, and open floor to cruise at night. Feed meaty sinking foods such as large pellets, earthworms, mussel, and pieces of fish. Its size and its need for cool, clean, oxygen-rich water put it well beyond a normal home aquarium.

In the wild

It is native to the Yangtze basin of China, living in the cool, flowing main channel and larger tributaries over sand and mud. That means roomy, well-filtered, oxygen-rich water that stays on the cool side, around 16 to 26 C, and soft to neutral in chemistry near pH 6.0 to 7.5. A large footprint matters more than height, with a sand bed and a few big pieces of wood for shade. Wild stocks have declined from dams, pollution, and overfishing.

Good to know

Leiocassis longirostris, also listed under the name Tachysurus dumerili, is a bagrid catfish in the family Bagridae. It reaches roughly 70 centimeters and a weight of several kilograms, with a pale pinkish body and the long, pointed snout its species name, longirostris, describes. It is a demersal, nocturnal river fish. Aquarium breeding is not recorded, but it is bred commercially in Chinese fish farms on a large scale.

Did you know

In China this is a celebrated food fish, prized for its flavor and now farmed on a large scale, with a maximum recorded weight of around 15 kilograms in the wild.

Common questions

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