Crocodile Catfish

Bagarius suchus

FreshwaterFish

Care at a glance

Temperature: 64–73°F (18–23°C)
pH: 6.5–7.5
Adult size: 27.6 in (70 cm)
Minimum tank: 660 gal (2,500 L)
Temperament: Aggressive
Social behavior: Solitary
Swim level: Bottom
Difficulty: Difficult
Breeding: No record
Rarity: Very rare
Origin: Thailand, Laos, Cambodia
Family: Sisoridae

Overview

This is a solitary, aggressive predator that needs huge space, on the order of 2500 liters, with cool water in the high teens to low 20s C and a near-neutral pH. It stays on the bottom and hunts at night, eating fish and crustaceans. It is not a community fish and is hard to keep, so it is really only suited to experienced keepers with the right setup. House it alone.

In the wild

Crocodile catfish come from fast, rocky rivers in Thailand, Laos, and Cambodia, where the current runs hard and the water is cool and well oxygenated. They flatten against the bottom and grip the substrate to hold position in the flow. This is not a normal aquarium fish. Recreating that means a very large tank with strong current, high oxygen, and a temperature on the cool side.

Good to know

This is a large sisorid catfish in the family Sisoridae, reaching around 70 cm. It is a bottom-dwelling ambush predator built for life in torrents, with a flattened body that helps it stay anchored. There is no home breeding record for it, and wild populations face pressure from dams and habitat change.

Did you know

It needs cold, oxygen-rich, fast-moving water, which is exactly what most tropical setups cannot provide. That gap between what it needs and what a typical tank offers is the main reason it rates as difficult and often does poorly in captivity.