Walking catfish

Clarias batrachus

FreshwaterFish

Care at a glance

Temperature: 68–79°F (20–26°C)
pH: 6.5–8.0
Adult size: 23.6 in (60 cm)
Minimum tank: 600 gal (2,270 L)
Temperament: Mostly peaceful
Social behavior: Social
Swim level: Bottom
Difficulty: Medium
Breeding: No record
Rarity: Very rare
Origin: Southeast Asia
Family: Clariidae

Overview

The walking catfish is a big, hardy, air-breathing fish that is calm with large tankmates but highly predatory toward anything it can swallow, so keep it only with sizeable, robust companions. It can be kept alone or with its own kind given plenty of room. Its most important need is security, because it breathes air, is a powerful escape artist, and can wriggle out of an open tank and even move across the floor, so a tight, weighted lid is essential. Feed meaty sinking foods such as pellets, prawn, mussel, fish, and earthworms, and avoid overfeeding this greedy fish. It grows large and needs a very big tank of around 2270 liters or larger.

In the wild

The walking catfish is native to Southeast Asia, where it lives in still and slow-moving shallow water such as swamps, ditches, ponds, and rice paddies, often in warm, muddy, low-oxygen conditions. Keep it from around 20 to 26 C with a pH between 6.5 and 8, and it tolerates a wide range of water. A large tank with a soft substrate, strong filtration, and hiding places suits it. Leave an air gap at the surface so it can breathe, and cover the tank securely, since it readily climbs and escapes.

Good to know

The walking catfish belongs to Clariidae, the airbreathing catfishes, and is a large, elongate fish that commonly reaches 30 to 50 cm. Behind its gills sit tree-shaped accessory breathing organs that let it take oxygen straight from the air, so it can survive out of water and travel overland using stiff pectoral spines and side-to-side wriggling. It breeds readily in the wild, guarding eggs in a nest, and has become a damaging invasive species where released. The common aquarium form is an albino.

Did you know

The walking catfish can breathe air and haul itself across land on its pectoral spines to reach new water, sometimes travelling well away from any pond. Released outside its range, it has become a serious invasive pest, notably in Florida.