Catfish is a large freshwater predator that lives in lakes and rivers. Belongs to the family of carp fish. This is one the biggest fish in Lithuania in terms of size and weight. In favorable conditions, it reaches a weight of 400 kg. whose body length reaches up to 5 meters.

Catfish appearance

Catfish can hardly be called cute, because it has a rather scary appearance. By the structure of the body, you can understand that it is a bottom-dwelling fish. He has a huge head and a disproportionate body. There are small black eyes on the sides of the upper jaw. Catfish, like most bottom-dwelling fish, cannot boast of good vision. It uses its sense of smell and antennae-like whiskers for orientation. With their help, possible victims are sensed. The upper jaw has two side whiskers and the lower jaw has four. The catfish has an impressive mouth. Inside the mouth are thousands of small but sharp teeth. The teeth are more like a stiff brush.

The largest catfish looks like an underwater torpedo. It has a powerful, almost round body that tapers towards the tail. Thanks to this shape, it gains excellent maneuverability while swimming in the water. At first glance, it looks like it has no scales. But they are there, small, dense and covered with a rich layer of mucus.

The color of the catfish changes depending on where it lives and serves as camouflage. The upper part of the body is yellow to black. The belly is white or beige. It is dotted with small spots of various shades. Young individuals have a brighter color, with age it fades.

Catfish subspecies

Common catfish

Common catfish is a real monster from the whole category of catfish, because it can weigh several hundred kilograms. It stands out for its brown color with green-brown splashes. The belly is white, sometimes yellow. Lives in the eastern part of the Eurasian continent. Leads a sedentary life, spends all the time in one hole and goes out only to hunt.

Marble catfish

Marbled catfish - lives in Africa and some Middle Eastern countries. It survives in swamps and even in swamps that dry up during drought. It is unique in that it has both gills and lungs, allowing it to survive for two days without water, breathing simple air. If necessary, it crawls on land and can overcome a distance of up to one kilometer. The body is yellow or olive with brown spots, the belly is light. Lives up to eight years and reaches 60 kg.

American catfish

American catfish lives in frozen and silted lakes in North America. It was recently brought to Europe, where it took off well. A very hardy and tenacious specimen that can live in dirty water where other fish die. Picky and omnivorous. It rarely exceeds one meter in length and gains a mass of 10 kg.

Amur catfish

Amur catfish are native to China, Korea and Japan. It grows up to one meter and weighs up to 8 kg. The body is dark green and the belly is light yellow.

What does catfish eat?

Catfish is a scavenger and feeds on the corpses of other inhabitants of the reservoir, so it is considered a natural cleaner of the water body. They feed differently - they feed on zooplankton, leeches, worms, leeches, tadpoles and water beetles when they are young. After reaching 4 centimeters, it becomes a full-fledged predator and switches to fry. As an adult, it eats other fish, but does not give up frogs, crustaceans and molluscs. Large catfish catch rodents, geese, ducks and other waterfowl.

How to reproduce

The fish prepares for reproduction from mid-spring, when the temperature warms up to 18°C. Spawning lasts until July. To spawn, catfish swim to shallow areas with weak currents and lay their eggs in algae. During the mating season, males chase females.

Each female is accompanied by 4 males. She will choose from the group the same size as herself. The pair builds a nest in which the eggs are laid, which the male guards until the fry emerge. During the spawning period, the female produces 100-450 thousand eggs. On the tenth day, the fry emerge and feed on the yolk sac. After a month, they disperse around the pond in small groups.

Catfish in cooking

Catfish meat is tasty, juicy and fatty. It is very nutritious - 100 grams of the product contains ~115 kcal. It does not differ from sturgeon in terms of calories. Despite the fat, it is considered dietary because it is quickly absorbed. Because of its taste, catfish are caught and farmed in ponds.

It is rich in potassium, making it ideal for people with heart disease. It has practically no bones, so it is allowed to be used by children and the elderly. Only 3% of cartilage, skin and ligaments in the carcass, the rest is pure meat. Catfish meat is stewed with vegetables is being baked, boiled, dried, salted and served with various sauces. They make wonderful meatballs.

Sometimes the fish smells like mud, put it in salted water for half an hour before cooking, which neutralizes the smell. Smoked catfish needs its own separate article. It has a unique aroma and taste that is difficult to describe in words.