Catfish: a detailed overview of where it lives, what it eats, habits, lifestyle

Catfish is a large freshwater fish of the catfish family. Scientific name: common catfish or European catfish, Latin name: Silurus glanis. Catfish is the largest in size and weight among our freshwater fish; it can reach a weight of 300-400 kg. Inhabits rivers and lakes in Europe and the European part of Russia. Catfish prefer to spend most of their time at depth, near the bottom. At the bottom of the reservoir he finds a deep hole and settles in it. The catfish does not like to swim far from its hole; it spends most of its time in it. During the daytime, the catfish lies down in its hole, rests and digests food, and as soon as darkness falls it goes hunting. Catfish feed on fish, frogs, crayfish and mollusks. Catfish is a desirable trophy for many anglers. You can catch catfish in different ways: with a donk, with a girder, with a quok, with a spinning rod and by trolling. Catfish meat has high taste, it is tender and fatty. Catfish can be fried, cooked into fish soup, made into pies, cutlets, salted, dried, baked and stewed. Let's tell you more about this interesting fish.

Appearance

Catfish cannot be called a beautiful fish. The entire appearance of the catfish and the structure of its body indicate that the catfish is adapted for life at the bottom of a reservoir.

The head of the catfish is large relative to the length of the body, wide, flattened. On the sides of the head, closer to the upper jaw, are small, widely spaced eyes that look angry. Like most other bottom-dwelling fish species, the catfish's vision is poorly developed; it mainly uses its well-developed sense of smell and sensitive whiskers to orient itself in space and obtain food.

The catfish has a huge mouth, armed with a large number of very small and sharp teeth. The catfish has bristle teeth, somewhat reminiscent of a brush; a fish caught in the catfish’s mouth has no chance of getting out. On the upper jaw of the catfish there are two long whitish whiskers. The lower jaw protrudes far forward and has four short yellowish antennae. The mustache serves as an organ of touch for the catfish.

The body of the catfish is long, powerful, rounded in the front, tapering closer to the tail. When looking at a catfish, it seems that it has no scales at all, in fact there are scales, they are just very small, pressed tightly to the body and covered with a layer of mucus. The large amount of mucus that covers the catfish’s body protects the delicate skin of the fish from damage and facilitates gliding in the water when swimming, providing the catfish with good maneuverability.

The catfish's fins are powerful, usually darker than the rest of the body, and can be almost black, dark blue or dark green. The dorsal fin of the catfish is disproportionately small. The anal fin is wide and very long, reaching the very tail. The tail of the catfish is long, making up more than half of the entire body, flattened on the sides. The caudal fin is small, with rounded edges.

The color of the catfish, depending on its habitat, can vary from light yellow to black. The upper body, back and sides of the catfish can be brown, black, brownish green, blackish green, light brown, sandy yellow or olive brown. Often there are spots along the body of the catfish, due to which the color of the catfish combines several shades at once, smoothly transitioning into each other. In young catfish, these transitions are sharper, and the color is brighter than in adult and older catfish. The belly of the catfish is lighter than the back and sides, most often it is yellowish-white or dirty gray in color. Occasionally, albinos are found among catfish.

The brown coloring of catfish allows them to be invisible at the bottom of deep holes and pools and makes it possible to hunt fish from ambush.

Old catfish look ugly, the huge head takes on an unpleasant dirty yellow color, and the whole body is abundantly covered with many aquatic worms.

Benefit

1. The product brings great benefits to the functioning of the nervous system. Doctors consider catfish meat to be a natural antidepressant. It helps to calm down during nervous breakdowns.

2. B vitamins, which are found in fish, improve cellular metabolism and have a positive effect on the functioning of the cardiovascular system.

3. By eating fish, you can quickly defeat various types of viral diseases.

4. It is important to eat catfish dishes for people suffering from diabetes. The product normalizes blood sugar levels.

5. Another beneficial property of fish is improving bone health.

6. If you eat this fish often, your hair becomes silky and smooth.

For men

Fish contains Vitamin E. It improves the production of seminal fluid. Zinc, which is also found in this product, is needed to maintain men's health. Men should eat catfish meat to prevent heart and vascular diseases.

For women

By regularly eating the meat of this fish, toxins and waste are removed from the body. This helps normalize weight. The appearance of the skin, condition of nails and hair improves. Age wrinkles appear later. Sexual desire increases.

For pregnant and lactating women

If a pregnant woman is deficient in Vitamin E, this can lead to miscarriage. This means that the expectant mother must include this fish in her diet. Due to the content of a huge amount of useful substances, a woman becomes less vulnerable to viral diseases.

It is better for nursing women to consume the meat of this fish boiled. Begin to eat it with caution to avoid allergies.

For children

If you include catfish dishes in the diet of children, this will improve the strength of the skeletal system. However, it is better not to offer fish to children under 3 years of age. Also, portions should not be too large.

When losing weight

The meat of this fish is dietary. It contains no carbohydrates. It removes waste and toxins from the body, which helps you lose weight noticeably faster. The digestive organs work better.

Catfish caviar is rich in Omega-3

Dimensions

Catfish is the largest in size and weight among our freshwater fish. Catfish can reach truly enormous sizes; it’s not for nothing that there are so many legends about monster catfish.

According to historical data that has reached us, in the past in European rivers: the Dnieper, Dniester and Oder, giant catfish were caught, reaching a weight of up to 400 kg, with a body length of up to 5 meters. These data can be trusted, since the largest officially registered caught catfish weighed 306 kg, with a body length of more than 3 meters and was about 80 years old.

These days, catfish weighing more than 100 kg are very rare. Catfish weighing 100 kg can be caught in Spain, in the Ebro River, where they were acclimatized in the mid-20th century and quickly multiplied. In the Volga you can find catfish with a body weight of about 50 kg.

Fishermen consider a catfish weighing between 12-15 kg to be a good trophy, and a caught catfish heavier than 30 kg is considered a great once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

Catfish caviar - benefits and harm

1. Catfish caviar is rich in Omega-3 acids. They, in turn, have a positive effect on the body as a whole.

2. The functioning of the nervous, cardiovascular and endocrine systems is significantly improved.

3. Caviar is often used in cosmetology. Various types of creams, masks, and serums are produced from it. True, a canned product is not suitable for these purposes.

4. It is believed that catfish caviar should be eaten at least once a week.

5. It should not be abused by those who are allergic to fish and seafood. Overeating can also cause kidney problems.

Closely related species of catfish

The common or European catfish belongs to the genus Soma, family Catfish, order Catfish. The order Catfish includes 40 families. The Catfish family includes about 11-12 genera and about 97-100 species. The genus Soma includes 14 species. The closest related species to the European catfish are the Soldatov's catfish and the Amur catfish. In addition to them, on the territory of our country there are Channel catfish and American catfish, which are also included in the order Catfish, but belong to the family of Iktalur catfish.

Som Soldatova

(Silurus soldatovi) is a large fish reaching a length of up to 3 meters and a weight of up to 80 kg. Inhabits the Amur River basin, the Ussuri River and Lake Khanka. In appearance, size and color it is similar to the common catfish. Its back and sides are gray, with brown streaks, and its belly is light. Eats fish. Hunts at night. In the fall it goes to the depths, where it spends the entire winter without feeding. Reaches sexual maturity at 4 years. Spawning of Soldatov's catfish occurs in June-July, in coastal thickets. Soldatov's catfish is considered a rare fish; its numbers are constantly declining, which is why it is listed in the Red Book of the Russian Federation.

Amur catfish

(Parasilurus asotus) lives in Japan, China and Korea. In 1933, the Amur catfish was released into the rivers of Primorye, where it took root and multiplied. Found in Lake Baikal. The length of the Amur catfish is up to 1 meter, weight 6-8 kg. The body color of the Amur catfish is dark green, the belly is light. Prefers to settle in standing or bodies of water with weak currents. In summer it goes into channels, floods and the coastal zone. In autumn it goes deeper. It feeds on small fish, mollusks, frogs and crayfish. Hunt from ambush in the evening and at night. Reaches sexual maturity by 4 years. Spawning occurs from late May to July. It lays eggs on aquatic plants. The Amur catfish is widely fished; its meat is highly prized for its taste and low bone count.

Channel catfish

(Ictalurus punctatus) is a fish of the Ictaluridae family. Lives in the USA, southern Canada, northern Mexico. The body length of channel catfish is from 60 to 130 cm, maximum weight is 4.5-9 kg. The body color is bluish-olive, gray, black, with spots on the sides, the belly is light. It feeds on fish, shellfish, insects, frogs, crayfish, and small mammals.

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The most common catfish in North America, about 8 million American anglers fish for channel catfish. Since 1972, channel catfish began to be bred in Russia, in the Krasnodar Territory. From the ponds, the channel catfish entered the rivers of the Don and Kuban systems. Channel catfish are bred in ponds in the Moscow region and the Urals.

American catfish

(Ictalurus nebulosus) is a fish of the Ictaluridae family. American catfish live in overgrown, slow-moving and stagnant bodies of water with silty bottoms in North America. Introduced to Europe for breeding in ponds, spread throughout the water bodies of Belarus and Ukraine, and can be found in the western regions of Russia. The length of the American catfish reaches 1 meter. Very hardy to living conditions, can live in poor water where other fish species cannot live. Can burrow into the ground. Hunts and feeds at night. Unpretentious in food.

Cultivation and breeding

This type of fish is also quite promising for artificial breeding. Animals have the following advantages over other predators:

Wide power range.
Possibility to use ponds for breeding that are located near battles or fish processing plants.
The catfish can then be released into ordinary water to exterminate low-value fish species.
In wintering ponds after carp it is easy to organize spawning, which will benefit the species.
Hibernation makes maintenance easier.
There is no need to equip large reservoirs. There are enough channels or holes with water. The main thing is that there is a suitable hydromechanical regime.

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Catfish are usually placed in the same reservoirs and ponds where other large fish are located. The predator increases productivity up to 100 kilograms per hectare. He clears the territory of small animals; nothing threatens his species.

The standard capacity of an industrial farm for breeding animals is 50 tons of fish every year. Some farms produce 20 and 100 tons per year. To maintain such a facility, one person working 25 hours a week is enough. The African species is bred most often.

The beginning of the production cycle is the launch of fry weighing up to 0.1-5 grams. In just six months, catfish grow to a weight of 1 kilogram. But the growth rate varies, so the crop is harvested every week and sorted by weight.

Producers are searched for in natural reservoirs and prepared in the autumn-winter period.

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For spawning, it is recommended to use special wintering carp ponds with a small area of 500-700 square meters. The nests are secured with special pegs.

The optimal water temperature with which the predator feels normal is within 20-22 degrees.
The main thing is that the number of females and males is approximately the same.
Before spawning, it is recommended to inject the pituitary gland of carp fish.
Spawning lasts 4 hours, spawning begins a day after being placed in the pond.

After the spawning process is completed, the nests are taken out of the water and then placed in Chalikov apparatuses. These are special devices with an incubation duration of up to 1760-1800 degree hours. The yield of larvae is up to 80%, fertilization rate is 80-90%.

The larvae are then kept inside the gardens, where successful incubation takes place. On the 4th day after birth, animals can be switched to a mixed diet. In fry ponds, they grow the furthest.

The survival rate will be up to 70% of individuals. Fish can be released into a feeding carp pond at one year of age.

Area

Catfish lives in rivers and lakes of Europe and the European part of Russia. The western border of the catfish's natural range is the Rhine River. In the north, the catfish's range reaches the south of Finland, in the south to Asia Minor, the Caspian and Aral Seas.

Catfish is a heat-loving fish, therefore it is found in rivers belonging to the basins of warm seas: the Black, Caspian, Azov and Aral Seas. Catfish are not found in the rivers of the Arctic Ocean basin; there are few of them in the rivers of the Baltic Sea basin, and if they are found, they do not reach large sizes here.

A large number of catfish are found in the largest European rivers: Loire, Seine, Ebro, Vistula, Danube, Dnieper, Volga and Kuban. Just a few decades ago, catfish were not found in European rivers west of the Rhine, but now they are found in very large quantities. At the same time, in Eastern European rivers, including Russia, the number of catfish is decreasing due to overfishing by local residents.

Catfish had not previously been found on the Apennine and Iberian peninsulas, but in the 19th century they were released into the Ebro and Po rivers, where they successfully took root and reproduced. The same thing happened in rivers in France, Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands and Denmark.

Catfish are found in the northern part of Asia Minor and Iran, as well as in Central Asia, in the basins of the Amu Darya and Syr Darya rivers. In Soviet times, catfish were released into Lake Balkhash, where they successfully took root.

Amur catfish live in Siberian rivers, which differ from the ordinary European catfish both in their appearance and in their smaller size.

Catfish fish

The order Catfish is one of the largest groups of bony fish. In addition to the catfish themselves, it includes 2,500 species of aquatic inhabitants, divided into several classes. These fish are also very healthy and tasty, just like the catfish itself.

The most popular fish of the family are:

Ancistrus is included in the ranking of the most beautiful aquarium fish;
Pterygoplicht brocade;
Plecostomus;
Loricaria;
Golden sturisoma;
Acicular farlovella;
Otocinclus;
Shark catfish;
Synodont;
Tarakatum.

Even ichthyologists have not figured out how many other species exist. Most species are small fish, the size of which does not exceed 10 centimeters in length, and only 2% of representatives grow up to 1 meter.

Catfish habitats

Catfish prefer to spend most of their time at depth, near the bottom. At the bottom of the reservoir, he finds a hole where a large number of sunken trees, logs and snags have accumulated, and settles in it. Catfish especially like holes with a muddy or sandy bottom.

Several catfish of the same age and size can live in one pit at once. Sometimes the catfish shares a hole with carp or burbot.

If there are a lot of catfish in the river and all the most interesting places are occupied, the catfish settle under steep banks, supports of hydraulic structures, under the shade of broad-leaved trees, some occupy beaver burrows.

The catfish does not like to swim far from its hole; it spends most of its time in it. Catfish also do not like to change their place of residence; if he has already chosen a suitable hole for himself, he will most likely spend his entire life in it.

During the daytime, the catfish lies down in its hole, rests and digests food, and as soon as darkness falls it goes hunting. At night, the catfish crawls along the bottom in search of food or waits in ambush for prey. In warm weather, catfish can rise to the very surface in order to bask in the warm layers of water. Small young catfish often come to shallow coastal areas in search of food.

After heavy, prolonged rains and floods, when the water becomes cloudy, the catfish can go along the river to look for a quiet backwater where there is no turbidity.

In winter, catfish gather in schools in the deepest holes and hibernate until spring.

Principles of maintenance and care

Synodontis quickly adapt to the aquarium, the main thing is that the keeping conditions correspond to their usual habitat. Catfish need a spacious aquarium, high-quality water and shelter.

Choosing an aquarium

The aquarium is selected based on the size of the fish. The larger the species, the larger the reservoir required. For a pair of large catfish, reaching a length of 20-25 cm, a 200 liter aquarium is suitable. For smaller synodontis, a tank of 120-150 liters will be sufficient.

The aquarium must be equipped with shelters - catfish hide in them during the daytime. For each individual, 1-2 shelters are provided. Soil is poured onto the bottom. There should be no sharp edges, otherwise the catfish will damage the antennae. The best soil is round pebbles, gravel, coarse sand.

Catfish need shelters for rest, sleep, and waiting out daylight hours; they can serve as:

driftwood;
caves;
grottoes;
ceramic pots.

You can learn about the features of keeping the catfish changeling synodontis from this video:

Water parameters

For the successful existence of aquarium catfish, water with neutral acidity is needed. The well-being and life expectancy of synodontis depends on the quality of water. Change water weekly by 20% of the total volume.

Recommended water parameters:

temperature - +24...+27°С;
acidity - pH 6.5-7.5;
hardness - 4-12 ºdH.

Although catfish clean the aquarium diligently, this is not enough to keep the water clean - the soil must be siphoned regularly.

Plants

Greenery in an aquarium creates a cozy atmosphere for the fish and a beautiful picture for the viewer. Since catfish are prone to digging, it is recommended to choose plants with strong roots, or even better, plant them in separate pots.

The following plants are suitable for an aquarium with synodontis:

Anubias;
Echinodorus;
cryptocoryne;
Congo fern;
aponogeton rigidifolia;
microsporum.

Lighting and equipment

Synodontis are not demanding when it comes to lighting. Lamps of any type are suitable, the main thing is that they give dim light, since catfish prefer shaded spaces.

An aquarium with catfish requires high-quality aeration and a powerful filter. It is also advisable to install a thermostat, since African catfish are accustomed to warm water.

What does catfish eat?

The catfish's diet depends on its age. Catfish fry feed on plankton, leeches, bloodworms, tadpoles, and water beetles. Having reached a length of 4 cm, catfish already become predators and begin to hunt fry of other fish. The older the catfish becomes, the larger the share of fish in its diet. In addition to fish, catfish happily eat frogs, crayfish, and mollusks.

Large catfish are capable of preying on waterfowl, especially if they are wounded or weakened, rodents and other small mammals.

Catfish often feed on carrion that rots and decomposes at the bottom of the reservoir, but as a rule, it constitutes only part of the catfish’s diet. If the prey is too large for the catfish and it cannot eat it right away, the catfish guards it and waits until it decomposes, and then eats it. The catfish's sensitive sense of smell helps it find carrion.

The catfish is able to remember the place where the old fishing net is and constantly check it for the presence of fish entangled in it.

The catfish is voracious, even considering its size; it eats a lot. Catfish are especially voracious in the spring, after a long winter, during which catfish do not feed. The most active feeding of catfish occurs from July to the first half of September, and if the autumn is warm, then until the end of September.

In many countries of the world, many peoples have legends about cannibalistic catfish that attack people, especially children. In the 16th-18th centuries in the Danube they caught catfish in the stomachs of which they found parts of human bodies, bones, rings and parts of clothing, while it remains a mystery whether those who died were victims of catfish during their lifetime or whether the catfish ate already dead people. Most likely, the catfish ate already dead bodies; there are no reliably recorded cases of people being killed by catfish.

The catfish performs an important function in the reservoir, being a kind of orderly; it eats weakened, dead fish, and drowned animals.

Origin of the species and description

Photo: Som

Catfish belong to the ray-finned fish - the first representatives of this class appeared in the Devonian period, about 390 million years BC. Gradually they settled over larger and larger territories, and new groups and families were formed. The order of catfish is quite ancient - this is confirmed by many features of its representatives. So, among them there are species with spines on the head and fins, or with dermal teeth similar to those that sharks have.

Video: Catfish

Another important feature indicating the antiquity of catfish is the presence in the skull of some of them of a pineal opening, the same as in the lobe-finned or extinct lobe-finned Osteolepis - it is intended for a light-sensitive organ and is not typical for other fish. Catfish are related to characins, cyprinids and gymnotids - they all originated from one original genus, the division occurred in the Cretaceous period, after which this genus became extinct, and they continued to develop. Catfishes retain more archaic features.

The order includes the catfish family, which includes about a hundred species. The most characteristic of them is considered to be the common catfish - it will be discussed further. It was described by Calus Linnaeus in 1758, the scientific name is Silurus glanis.

Interesting fact: Legends about man-eating catfish are associated with the finds of human bones, as well as rings and parts of clothing in the stomachs of giant individuals. Most likely, the catfish simply ate already dead bodies that ended up in the river - there are no reliably recorded cases of them killing people.

Reproduction

Catfish become sexually mature at the age of 4-5 years. At this age, the weight of the catfish reaches 3 kg, with a length of 60 cm. Spawning of catfish begins when the water temperature reaches 16-18 ° C. Depending on the region, this can occur from early May to early July.

For spawning, catfish choose a place in the coastal zone among aquatic vegetation, with a weak current or its complete absence. In those places where there are a lot of catfish, they chase each other and entangle themselves like snakes, all this is accompanied by splashes and rolling blows heard from a great distance.

Each female catfish is followed by 3-4 males, from which she chooses one. The female chooses a male that matches her in age and size. Then the resulting pair drives away the remaining males and builds a primitive nest in the form of a hole in the ground and remnants of vegetation. Spawning occurs at night or early in the morning. The female lays eggs in the nest and the male remains to guard it. Catfish eggs are large, the diameter of each egg is 2-3 mm, the total number of eggs ranges from 11 to 480 thousand eggs and depends on the size of the female. For every kilogram of the female’s mass there are 30 thousand eggs.

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The female catfish leaves immediately after spawning, and the male remains to monitor the nest and drive away other inhabitants of the reservoir from it. Juvenile catfish emerge from the eggs on about 10 days. They are 6-8 mm long, at first they stay in the nest and feed from the yolk sac. After 7-10 days, they begin to swim and look for food, but do not move far from the nest. The male stays close to them all this time and protects them from enemies. Four weeks after hatching from eggs, young catfish disperse from the nest, keeping in groups of several individuals.

Having fulfilled his parental duty, the male, following the female, returns back to his favorite hole.

Spawning

The search for a convenient place to spawn begins in early spring. During spring floods, the process enters its most active stage. If spring itself is early, then caviar may appear as early as May. The most favorable temperature for this is 14-16 degrees.

Most catfish reach sexual maturity by the third year of life. The ability to reproduce appears with a length of 60 centimeters and a total weight of 3 kilograms. Fish of each age category gather in their own groups. It is by age and size that individuals look for each other.

Males that are too small may be swallowed by females.

The law prohibits catching catfish during spawning. Violators are fined tens of the minimum wage, and then their fishing equipment is confiscated. The ban is valid for 20 days; during this time you cannot fish even with one tackle from the shore.

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Places for spawning are selected as carefully as possible. Catfish like aquatic plants that are located in the coastal zone. It’s good if the current is weak or absent altogether.

At this time, catfish can go to thickets of grass and algae, to flooded meadows and reeds.

If the body of water is deep enough, animals can find pools or flooded ravines.

The eggs are held together by the mucus with which they are covered. This allows you to stay on the surface. For one week, the nest is carefully monitored to prevent predators and other dangerous animals from reaching it.

After spawning, the fish go for food only 1-2 weeks after rest.

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Lifestyle

In late autumn, before freeze-up, catfish gather in pits in small groups of 5-10 catfish. All winter the catfish is not active and does not feed.

With the onset of spring and the beginning of the flood, catfish, sensing warm water, awaken from their winter sleep, leave their holes and rise up the river, entering flooded floodplains and floodplain lakes. Fishermen call this period in the life of catfishes the spring run of catfishes. A month passes from the moment of awakening from hibernation to spawning. All this time, the catfish feeds intensively, making up for the lack of nutrition in winter and preparing for spawning. After the end of spawning, catfish undergo post-spawning feeding, which lasts from the end of June to September.

Catfish gives the impression of being a large, slow and clumsy fish, but in reality it is an agile and aggressive predator. Catfish hunt at night and can search for their prey near the bottom or rise to the surface for it.

Coming out of its hole at night to hunt, the catfish first walks around its hole in circles, then rises upstream in search of food. A hungry catfish in search of prey can go quite far from its native hole, but by morning it will definitely return to it.

A catfish can swim straight into a school of small fish and, opening its mouth wide, draws them in along with the water. Catfish hunt larger prey, bream or pike perch, from ambush. The color of the catfish's skin blends with the color of the river bottom, so it is difficult for the prey to notice it. When the prey approaches the catfish at a close distance, the catfish suddenly and sharply attacks it, stunning it with a powerful blow of its tail. If the victim managed to dodge and escape from the catfish, the catfish does not pursue it for a long time, as it tries not to waste its energy.

With age, the catfish becomes more and more slow, and it requires more and more food. Large catfish spend more and more time searching for food and it becomes more and more difficult for them to feed themselves. That is why the largest catfish hunt fish less and less and feed more on carrion, frogs and mollusks.

Catfish prefer to lead a solitary lifestyle. The exception is young catfish, which, if there is a lot of food until the age of 3-4 years, can stick together. When they reach this age, catfish need more food, so they cannot feed themselves while staying together and they have to separate, settling in new sections of the river. Each adult catfish must have its own area from which it will feed; it will not tolerate strangers in its area.

Lying in ambush at the bottom, the catfish is able to use its whiskers as bait for catching small fish, depicting a crawling worm with its whiskers, it lures them closer to its mouth.

Catfish can sometimes be seen on the surface of the water, basking in the sun. Catfish float to the surface and lie belly up, exposing their dark, slippery sides to the rays of the sun. There is a popular belief that catfish basking on the surface of the water means inclement weather. Catfish also float to the surface of the water before a thunderstorm; when moving on the surface of the water, a smooth trail is left behind them; the splash created by the catfish differs from the splashes created by other fish and experienced fishermen immediately distinguish it.

Catfish love warmth very much; all species of the Catfish family come from regions with a tropical climate, so catfish stop their active lifestyle early. With the first cooling of the water, in September, catfish go to their wintering grounds. From October-November, depending on the region and water temperature, catfish stop hunting and settle in a hole for the winter. The catfish buries its head in the silt and falls into a sleepy state, becoming harmless to other fish, therefore, next to it in the same hole, other species of fish, for example: carp or bream, can overwinter. During the long winter, the catfish loses most of the fat that it accumulated during the warm season, so as soon as it wakes up from hibernation, it immediately begins to actively feed, trying to replenish lost reserves.

Catfish are long-lived among freshwater fish, they live up to 30-60 years, the largest catfish caught were 70-80 years old. The first 5-6 years the catfish grows quite quickly, then its growth slows down. A catfish at the age of 7 years weighs almost 18 kg.

Final Thoughts

Catfish are not only a fairly large species of fish, they are often the most cunning. Their whiskers can be used as bait, as other fish often think of them as worms. When prey is spotted, water is drawn inside by the predators along with the bait.

This animal is often so strong and large that it attacks a person. But with the right approach, it is a worthy object for fishing and an interesting species for breeding. Almost every fan finds something interesting in this type of large fish.

Catching catfish

Catfish is the largest fish among the inhabitants of our freshwater bodies. Catfish is considered one of the most coveted trophies; catching a large catfish is the dream of many anglers. Among them there is even a separate group of fishermen who specialize exclusively in catching catfish, they are called somyatniki.

The best time for catching catfish is a warm summer night, without wind and a clear starry sky. Catching catfish during the day is purely random, with the exception of the spring months, when catfish can be purposefully caught during the day.

You can catch catfish in different ways: with a donk, with a girder, with a quok, with a spinning rod and by trolling.

Donka

Bottom tackle is the oldest and still the most common method of catching catfish. A classic donka consists of a reel, fishing line, lead sinker and hook. For donkey use a strong monofilament line with a diameter of 0.5-0.6 mm, a sinker weighing 80-100 grams, a hook number 12-16 according to domestic numbering. Donks are placed in the evening in a promising place with an interval of 25-30 meters, the fisherman stays next to the donks all night, checking them every hour and a half.

Catfish prefer large baits of animal origin. The best baits for catfish are: crawlers, mole crickets, frogs, live bait, leeches, crayfish, poultry seared in a fire, meat or offal, sliced fish, shellfish, grasshoppers or locusts. The bait must be firmly held on the hook; it must not fly off the hook when it hits the water when casting. As a last resort, you can secure the bait on the hook with regular thread. Catfish are picky about bait, so the angler has to experiment and try different options to please the taste of the catfish.

Kwok

Catching catfish with kwok is an old and popular way of catching this fish. Kwok is a special device made of wood or modern composite material, which, when hitting the surface of the water with its cup-shaped part, produces a specific sound that attracts catfish.

The process of fishing with a quok is as follows: the angler alone, or better yet together, slowly floats a boat with the current, pulls the bait, which is located 2-3 meters from the bottom and hits the surface of the water with a quok. Hearing the sounds of the quok, the catfish rises from its hole, sees the bait and takes it.

The gear for catching catfish with a quok consists of a strong fishing line that can withstand a breaking load of 100 kg, a 1 meter long leash made of monofilament with a diameter of 0.5-0.8 mm, a large and strong hook and sinker. The line can be spooled on a reel or a short side rod with a powerful reel can be used. A piece of fish, a mole cricket, or a bunch of crawling worms can be used as a bait.

When nodding, you need to make 3-5 blows on the surface of the water, then pause for 10-15 seconds, then make the next series of blows.

Fishermen pass along one promising section of the river several times; if there is no bite, they should either change the bait or swim to the next promising place.

After the bite, the fisherman should not rush to hook; he needs to wait until the catfish properly swallows the bait. When landing a catfish, you should first reel it out and only then pull it to the boat. A catfish caught and brought to the boat is lifted into the boat with a hook.

Spinning

Catfish can be caught using a spinning rod. To catch catfish, you should use a strong and powerful heavy class rod, with a large cast, about 2 meters long. It is better to use a marine multiplier reel, or a spinning reel, but of appropriate power. A strong braided line with a diameter of 0.4-0.5 mm should be wound on the reel. It is convenient to use a boat to catch catfish. A catfish, after dragging a boat with a fisherman for some time, weakens and is easier to pull ashore.

To catch catfish using a spinning rod, I use silicone baits, oscillating spoons and wobblers. Catfish are bottom-dwelling fish, so jig fishing with silicone baits, which can be fished close to the bottom, shows good results. To catch catfish, twisters and vibrotails 15-20 cm long are used. Good results are shown by using baits made of edible silicone, in the shape of a crustacean. The load is selected depending on the depth of the pit where fishing is carried out, often the weight of the load is 30-40 grams. To catch catfish, step jigs are used.

You can read more about what a jig is, its advantages and disadvantages, what fish can be caught with a jig, the correct gear for jig, and all the main types of jig fishing in our article Jig

Sometimes, if conditions allow it, it is useful to drag the bait along the bottom, lifting mud from the bottom; such wiring attracts the attention of the catfish. After the catfish bites, you need a powerful hook. The fisherman must be prepared for long and persistent resistance.

Catfish can be caught using large, oscillating spoons. Oscillating spoons often have a wide surface, so it is difficult to perform slow retrieving with them in the current. Good results are shown by fishing with spoons in holes where there is no current or it is weak. The best spoons for catching catfish: Storling, Atom, Kuusamo Rasanen.

Some anglers catch catfish using wobblers. To catch catfish, floating or sinking deep-diving wobblers are used. The size of the wobbler should correspond to the size of the intended prey. For fishing, choose wobblers of bright, acidic colors, which are clearly visible at great depths. It is desirable that a wobbler designed for catching catfish has a built-in noise chamber; such wobblers are capable of attracting fish from a great distance.

Zherlitsa for catfish

In many regions of our country, girders are traditionally used to catch catfish. A catfish fishing rod is a wooden flyer with a thick fishing line wound around it. The end of the fishing line is inserted into a split made at one end of the flyer. A sinker weighing 200 grams, a leash 20-25 cm long and a strong large hook are attached to the fishing line. Live bait is placed on the hook. The zherlitsa is installed at night, right on the catfish pit. Zherlitsa is checked early in the morning. Catfish often drag the fishing line into snags; the angler must show great patience when fishing.

Fairytale aquatic - giant catfish

Old story, isn't it? The catfish dragged the man away and ate him. Let's find out what we hear about it on the Internet...

Catfish is the largest freshwater predator. Everyone knows this giant - an inhabitant of whirlpools and littered river holes, some from stories and books, and some who were lucky enough to catch, if not a record-breaking, but still a catfish! And sometimes this fish weighs up to 300 kg! Such giants, scientists believe, are usually 80-100 years old! True, I haven’t heard of any fishermen being so lucky. More often you come across catfish weighing 10-20 kg.

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Of course, fishermen who specialize in catching these amazing fish - somyatniks - still catch very large specimens - up to 100 kg. In terms of its external characteristics, catfish are easily distinguished from all other fish. It has a huge, blunt head, a large mouth, from which extend two large whiskers, and four chin antennae. Whiskers are a kind of tentacles with the help of which the catfish finds food even in the dark. And what’s surprising is that with such large dimensions, the eyes are very small. The tail is long and not much like a fish. The color of the body is variable - almost black on top, but the belly is usually dirty white. His body is naked, without scales.

The food of catfish is very diverse; it feeds on mollusks, worms, crayfish and other living creatures. The main one is the fish, which it attacks from shelters and ambushes, masquerading as the background of the bottom (it is incapable of long-term pursuit of its victims). If a waterfowl or animal is gaping, then they too can become its victim. Catfish especially readily feast on green frogs. Catching it “with a kwok” is based on the use of this predilection. Like the pike, the catfish is an excellent orderly for water bodies: it eats weakened, dead fish, drowned animals, etc. Sexual maturity of catfish occurs in the 3rd - 4th year of life; spawning begins when the water warms up to 20 degrees. Usually spawning is in pairs. The female spawns eggs in shallow areas with little or no current into a hole dug in the ground. Males guard the eggs until the fry emerge. After spawning, catfish migrate to summer camps and begin to actively feed. The post-spawning zhor is the most active. It continues almost until mid-summer, then gradually decreases, and at the first night frosts the catfish completely stops feeding.

Som is a homebody. Usually he spends his entire life in one hole, unless extraordinary circumstances force him to look for another place. The catfish leads a solitary lifestyle; only some aggregation can be observed in wintering pits. For the first 2 - 3 years, young catfish also prefer to stay together; this is usually observed in places rich in food. Catfish are predominantly nocturnal, and if they move, it is mostly at dawn. On hot days they can come to the surface of the water. They are very sensitive to cold. But catfish are more mobile.

At night, in search of food, they go to shallow places on the banks... Catfish are predominantly nocturnal, and if they move, it is mostly at dawn. On hot days they can come to the surface of the water. They are very sensitive to cold. But catfish are more mobile. At night, in search of food, they go to shallow places on the banks. The catfish does not like muddy water, and therefore in rainy weather, when muddy water enters the river, it tends to leave the hole towards the surface. The same behavior is observed before a thunderstorm. Being large fish, catfish easily reveal themselves: they leave a characteristic mark when moving in the water, make sounds and splash. When searching for food, catfish are largely guided by their sense of smell. Therefore, ingredients singed on fire are added to the bait, which is used as all kinds of food waste, chopped entrails of domestic animals, etc.

Many fellow fishermen claim that catfish really like the smell of burnt feathers, wool and felt. Live fish are also used as bait: crucian carp, tench, white bream, squint, gobies, ram, etc. It is almost impossible to catch a catfish with weak tackle and thin fishing line, because it will break thin fishing line or weak cord without much effort. Catfish is a very strong fish. If it is hooked by an angler, it is not so easy to pull it out.

Catfish is the most voracious predator of fresh waters, it eats not only fish, but does not disdain frogs, small waterfowl, devours various food waste that falls into the river, swallows large mollusks, etc. Small little catfish is caught by a worm when catching other fish .

The body structure of the catfish is adapted for bottom life; it rarely rises to the upper layers of water. Its head is large, wide and flattened, its mouth is huge with numerous small teeth. There are two long antennae on the upper jaw and four short ones on the lower jaw. There is an incongruously small fin on the back, while the anal fin, wide and long, is connected to the caudal fin, which makes the catfish very powerful. The skin is bare, without scales. The eyes are small and very “evil”.

The catfish is primarily a nocturnal predator. During the day, he stays in his camp, under cover, where he lies in wait for his prey; at night, in search of food, he goes out into shallow places, walking near water thickets, where he feasts on gaping frogs.

In our rivers it is possible to catch catfish weighing about 50 kg.

The best time to catch catfish is July-August. It is best caught soon after spawning, which usually occurs at a temperature of 18-22 ° C. The best fishing time during the day should be considered from dusk to dawn. But even during the day, the possibility of his grip cannot be ruled out if the bait passes close to his mouth. The bait for catching catfish is spoons in proportion to the size of the expected catch and fresh fish, planted on a fishing point. Given the energetic and strong resistance of catfish when caught, it is necessary to install hooks of the appropriate size and strength.

When fighting large fish, which also occur at night or twilight, you need to be careful and make sure that the line does not get caught in your hand, otherwise you can cut it badly. The technique of catching catfish with a spinning rod has not yet been sufficiently mastered, but by using conventional fishing methods, you can count on success.

Catfish are not just fish. The merman rides on it, and the catfish carries drowned people to him. That's why they call him "the devil's horse." How many fishing stories and “horror stories” about catfish!

Catfish drown and eat ducklings, goslings and adult waterfowl. Eyewitnesses claimed that they saw a catfish swim up to the trees bent over the water and, with a blow of its tail, knock down not only a nest with chicks, but also some daydreaming crow.

They say that huge catfish drowned dogs and calves and attacked people, especially children. In Siberia there is a legend about a catfish that drowned a bear swimming across the river.

In the early 80s, the magazine “Science and Life” published the story of a collective farmer who was grabbed by the leg by a catfish and the poor guy beat the fish on the head with a sickle for a long time to free himself.

On July 16, 1982, in the Khopyorsky Nature Reserve, in front of the huntsman, forester and researcher at the biological station, a catfish attacked a young deer and pulled it under water.

Nowadays, in one of the lakes of the Dutch recreation park “Centerparcs”, tourists are struck with fear, mixed with curiosity, by a catfish 2.3 meters long.

The main diet of Big Momma, as the locals call the catfish, consists of ducks, who inadvertently choose its lake for rest. According to park employees, the underwater monster eats two or three birds a day. In addition, he already has several large and small dogs.

The Dutch catfish has already scared away all the local ducks, who have moved to other lakes, away from its mouth. However, Big Mom does not have to starve, since several random birds always fly to the lake, unaware that a monster is waiting for them in the calm water.

According to Centerparcs biologist Jean Hanks, Big Mom was able to grow to such a size because the lake has unusually clean water, plenty of food around, and is very calm.

In order not to scare away tourists, the authorities initially hushed up the incident, but nevertheless the news became public knowledge. Currently, swimming in the reservoir is prohibited due to the high probability that there are other man-eating fish in it.

Catfish can reach 300 kg in weight and five meters in length, and there is evidence that a hundred years ago 400 kg monsters were caught in Russian rivers. Senior researcher at the Saratov Regional Research Institute of River and Lake Fisheries, Vladimir Ermolin, in an interview with Saratovnews, said that he came across giants weighing 260-290 kilograms in the Volga and its tributaries.

According to Bram, the length of this fish can be up to 3 meters and weight 220 kg, but American zoologist David Weller in his book “Killer Fish” talks about 6.3 meters and 500 kg!

Leonid Sabaneeva in his work “Life and Catching of Freshwater Fish” wrote that a jaw of a catfish caught in the lake was installed on Lake Issyk-Kul. It stood vertically in the form of an arch and an adult could freely pass through it without bending.

For example, in the Ukrainian Dnieper (where catfish is considered the king fish), according to unconfirmed reports, a 288-kilogram catfish with a length of 4 meters was caught. In the Dniester, a catfish weighing 320 kilograms was pulled out. And again, according to unconfirmed reports, in 1830 the largest catfish in the world was caught on the Oder. His weight was 400 kilograms.

In South America, in the rivers of the Amazon basin, the length of catfish reaches 3 meters. In India and Indonesia, 4-meter individuals are found.

The largest catfish in Europe was caught in Italy in March 2011. Its weight turned out to be 114 kilograms, its length is exactly 2.5 meters. A fisherman named Robert Godey dragged the fish ashore for 50 minutes. And not alone, but with the help of several people. As a result, the catfish became the largest freshwater fish caught in European waters. She also received the title of the largest catfish in the world that was caught.

On the day of fishing, Roberto Godi was hunting for bream, but felt a bite and went into the river. After the catch, weighing 114 kilograms, was pulled out of the water, everyone was surprised. The fisherman weighed the catfish, took a photo with it and released it back into the river.

Now that title has passed to a giant catfish caught by Thai fishermen in the Mekong River.

Its weight was 293 kilograms and its length was 2.7 meters. The fish were weighed, measured, and photographed by Thai officials.

Zoologists and ecologists fought for the legendary catfish - they wanted to take it under their supervision. However, the local residents starved him to death and ate him with pleasure.

Are there still catfish cannibals?

Hungry catfish are pretty scary. There are known facts when fish attacked rotten rags and even snatched linen from the hands of women who were rinsing their clothes in ponds. Catfish have the strength to capsize a boat, and if desired, they can tear a fishing net and take the fish with them.

Catfish is the largest river predator. Its weight can reach 230 kilograms with a length of 3 meters. However, fish can grow to large sizes. For example, American zoologist David Wheeler mentions in his book “Killer Fish” a catfish weighing 500 kilograms and 6.3 meters.

Catfish live in almost all large reservoirs of Russia and the CIS countries. They are also common in Europe, but not in northern countries. Can be found in the USA, Canada and Latin America. Experts say that catfish can attack any living creature that is on the surface of the water. A predator always swallows its prey whole. It cannot tear off pieces like a shark, since it does not have teeth, as such. The small teeth are more like a brush. At the same time, catfish, which can live up to 100 years, are sometimes unable to provide themselves with a regular breakfast. Therefore, it is easier for him to find prey on the surface: ducks, birds, dogs and even people.

I found this photo with the caption “the biggest man-eating catfish,” but to me it looks more like a WHALE SHARK. This is the story that is told in addition to the photo:

Every year, swimmers mysteriously disappeared in one of the Chinese reservoirs. The mystery of the disappearances has already been revealed. It turned out that in the reservoir there was a three-meter catfish with a head more than a meter. Human remains were found inside the fish.

Last summer, a catfish of enormous size frightened the residents of the Kazakh city of Aktobe, located on the banks of the Ilek River. Citizens even turned to the authorities with a request to finally catch the killer fish.

Rumors about the existence of a man-eating catfish intensified after three young people drowned in the waters near the Zhilgorod beach.

“Local residents say that the catfish is to blame for the deaths. Once on a moonlit night,” says Boris Tatarintsev, an old resident of these places, “I saw a huge fish: a giant catfish basking on the surface. He must eat a lot to feed himself. And a lot of people have disappeared here..."

“The catfish is the largest of the river predators. According to the famous zoologist Bram, the length of this fish reaches 3 meters and weight - 230 kg. However, judging by other sources, both the length and weight of catfish can be much greater. For example, American zoologist David Wheeler in his book Killer Fish gives the figures 6.3 meters and 500 kg!”

Catfish live in almost all large rivers, lakes and reservoirs of Russia and the CIS - from the southern borders to the Far East. Also common in Europe - except for northern countries. Catfish live in Canada, the USA and Latin America. But, by and large, giant fish can appear in any body of water where there is a good food supply for them.

According to experts, catfish can attack any living creature located on the surface of the water. A predator, which has practically no enemies, always tries to swallow its prey whole. Catfish cannot tear pieces from it like sharks, because they do not have teeth, as such. Small teeth in several rows are more like a brush, with which it is impossible to bite the victim.

It is quite difficult for a huge catfish weighing several hundred kilograms, which has lived for half a century (and they can live up to 100 years), to provide themselves with regular breakfast, lunch and dinner. Hunting fish is a burden for him. The 50-year-old catfish has speed and strength in abundance, but its maneuverability is not the same. Another thing is prey floating on the surface of the water - ducks, geese, dogs and other four-legged animals that decided to their misfortune to enter the water. And, of course, a person, whose leg is much easier to grab than the same dog. Having tasted the human taste, the catfish, like some African crocodiles, can switch exclusively to such food.

There is a story going around Ukraine that supposedly happened on the Dnieper. Several years ago, off the island of Khortitsa, at a depth of 15 meters, a tugboat that had disappeared the day before was discovered. There was a huge hole in its side, in which a five-meter catfish was stuck!

When his carcass was raised to the surface and his stomach was opened, everyone present gasped in horror: inside were the remains of three vainly sought Polish tourists, who had recently transferred from the ship in distress to a motor boat, but never made it to the shore.

Local old-timers claim that killer catfish have already committed over a dozen attacks on motor and sailing boats. The disappearances of fishing enthusiasts, who preferred fishing further from the shore, have also become more frequent.

All these chilling stories were born for a reason. Catfish is the largest freshwater fish. In our reservoirs, only sturgeon were larger than catfish, but now they are practically never found.

In the Khopyorsky Nature Reserve, in the presence of two rangers, a forester and a senior researcher at a biological station, a catfish attack on a young deer was recorded. In front of eyewitnesses, the voracious predator dragged the poor fellow to the bottom of the lake. Old-timers note that similar cases have happened before.

Attempts to detect and catch the killer catfish were unsuccessful. The commission, created on the initiative of the reserve management and specialists from the Faculty of Biology of Voronezh State University, came to the conclusion that the unusual behavior of the catfish is explained by a tectonic fault and the unusual state of the earth’s crust in the area of the Khopyorsky Reserve. Recorded energy emissions in the fault zone could be the reason for such unusual, aggressive behavior of the catfish.

At the end of the summer of 1996, in the village of Kulakovo (Rossoshansky district of the Voronezh region), two people, a woman and a boy, became victims of a man-eating catfish. If the catfish's prey is too large for its mouth, the predator leaves it for some time at the bottom. And only when the corpse begins to decompose and becomes soft, the catfish gradually begins to absorb pieces of flesh. Usually the killer fish goes hunting at sunset and scours the pond in search of prey until dawn. That is why it is not advisable to swim in the evening in places where catfish are found.

The famous ichthyologist Richiuti cites a number of historical cases in which people became victims of catfish. So, in 1613, a river predator swallowed a child in the area of present-day Pressburg, in 1754, the corpse of a 7-year-old child was found in the belly of one of the giant catfish, and at the end of the 18th century in Turkey, a predator was caught with the body of a woman in its belly. Another report from Turkey says that in 1793, two little girls became victims of a man-eating catfish.

Legends about mermen that drag their victims to the bottom, and the notoriety of some river pools can also be associated with giant river catfish.

“Last summer I vacationed with relatives in the Shatursky district of the Moscow region,” says Nikolai Blinkov. “And then one morning, probably around eight o’clock, my nephew Andreika wakes me up and shouts almost in my ear: “Uncle Kol, Uncle Kol, get up quickly, let’s go look at Vodyanoy!” He staged a whole concert in the lake”...

At first, I didn’t understand anything, but Andreika quickly explained everything to me. It turns out that in Lake Velikoye, on the shore of which our village is located, the real Vodyanoy, the one about whom fairy tales are told, has been raging for more than an hour!

Actually, I stopped believing in fairy tales for a long time, but my nephew was so convincing that I was forced, without even washing my face, to go with him to the lake. Fortunately, it was located a few minutes from the house.

As it soon became clear, we were not the only ones who came to see the miracle that had suddenly appeared. At least two-thirds of the entire population of the village gathered on the shore. People were talking animatedly and pointing their fingers at the middle of the lake, where the real devilry was really happening!

Something incredibly large and not similar to either a person or an animal was rushing at a truly frantic speed about a hundred meters from us along the surface of the lake, disappearing at times under the water and jumping out of it again with a loud splash and splashes that scattered far in different directions. At the same time, the monster made very thin squeaking sounds, turning into strangled wheezing. The spectacle was truly so impressive and mesmerizing that I could not take my eyes off it. As, by the way, did everyone else gathered on the shore. And the spectacle reached its highest point when the miracle Yudo, once again disappearing under the water, suddenly rushed rapidly towards us.

It looked like a torpedo fired from a naval ship. It itself is not visible, only a water breaker, waves diverging from it and a long foamy trail are visible on the surface. I even got a shiver. A woman standing not far from me screamed hysterically. Probably, a little more, and we would all have rushed headlong in different directions, but the next moment the “torpedo” suddenly braked and, turning 180 degrees, rushed again to the center of the lake. I breathed a sigh of relief, and I think I wasn’t the only one.

The merman’s “dancing” continued for at least another half hour, and then he disappeared under the water completely and did not appear again until the end of the day.

The mysterious incident on the lake would probably have remained unsolved, and subsequently, perhaps, would have added to the list of local legends, if the next morning a rural fisherman had not seen from a boat... a dead man lying at the bottom of the lake!

I, as always, appeared on the spot at the very height of events. On the shore, two young guys were putting on scuba gear, a village policeman was bustling around nearby, and in the crowd, which had increased even more compared to yesterday morning, the same fisherman who discovered the drowned man was walking around, telling his story to everyone:

“On my boat, I dug into a place that had been baited since the evening, threw my fishing rods, and I looked, and right below me, at the bottom, he was lying. All naked, white and with his arms spread out in different directions!”

...After some time, the “drowned man” was pulled ashore by scuba divers to the admiring exclamations of those gathered and the caustic remarks of the district police officer addressed to the fisherman, who, due to a severe hangover, mistook for a dead man... a wild goose and a huge catfish clinging tightly to it!

It turns out that it was their mortal struggle that we saw the day before and mistook for the incredible dance of the raging Vodyanoy. Although there are also plenty of incredible things in this story. Firstly, what is striking is the catfish itself, the length of which turned out to be almost two meters, and secondly, the fight between this monster fish and the goose that lasted for several hours in a row, which in itself causes genuine surprise and, to put it bluntly, quiet horror! The goose is also not a small bird and is quite strong.

Two days later my vacation came to an end. Driving past the lake, I noticed that its shores were empty. There were no swimmers, no one was sitting with fishing rods. The bloodthirsty catfish, which quite possibly still has equally huge relatives left in the lake, frightened the villagers more than the fabulous Vodyanoy!”

I wonder why they catch such giants? I'm not a fisherman myself, but this is what I read about catfish.

An elderly warrior said that during the war he personally caught a catfish weighing 40 kg. And, indeed, when they sawed it up, there was a strong smell of mud inside, there was a very unpleasant smell. After all, catfish eat everything that floats in the water, everything that “moves.” So it’s better to release the catfish into the wild, let them live until they are 80 years old...

like fish to eat catfish is shit. After I saw a dead horse in the water and a bunch of catfish, I can’t even look at them, I still remember the smell. In India, catfish grow very large due to local burial rituals.

Yes, they are scavengers, just like burbot. My uncle also stopped eating them when he was young, when they caught a burbot in a seine that had gotten into the boot of a drowned man.

A completely meaningless trophy in every way. And so - this is a fish-orderly, which passes through itself a bunch of “stuff” and, first of all, any carrion. In theory, they should not be caught at all and should be released if caught by accident.

I remembered. last year in Astrakhan we ate hot smoked catfish for a couple of days... The liver failed on the second day, and the catfish rushed out in the middle of the night, and lasted for about three days, perhaps. The fact that he's not bony is a plus, of course.

Cooking catfish

Catfish meat has high palatability, it is tasty, tender and fatty, which is why catfish is a desirable catch for any fisherman. In the old days, people used catfish swim bladders and skin. Glue was made from bubbles, and “glass” for windows was made from catfish skin.

Catfish meat is highly nutritious and caloric. 100 grams of catfish meat contains 115 kilocalories. Catfish meat contains a fairly large amount of fat, especially in the tail part, but is considered dietary. Catfish meat has virtually no bones; even older people and children can eat it.

Many ways of preparing the tender and fatty catfish meat have been invented. It is fried, fish soup is made from it, filling for pies, cutlets is made, baked with vegetables and stewed. Catfish can be salted and dried.

Fried catfish

Fried catfish is a simple and very tasty dish. The catfish is gutted and cut into pieces, which can be steak-shaped or simply large pieces of meat. The chopped meat is rubbed with salt. Prepare the batter by mixing a chicken egg with sour cream, adding flour and mixing thoroughly. Cut pieces of catfish meat are dipped in batter and placed on a preheated frying pan. The pieces of meat are fried for five minutes on each side. Fried catfish is served with boiled rice or potatoes.

Catfish baked in the oven

Small catfish weighing up to 3 kg are well suited for baking. The catfish is gutted and washed. Deep cuts are made in the carcass, the whole thing is poured with freshly squeezed lemon juice and left to marinate for 20 minutes. After this, the catfish carcass is rubbed with salt and pepper and sent to the oven. Cooking time is 30-40 minutes. Baked catfish can be decorated with cranberries or lingonberries. Catfish baked in the oven is sprinkled with herbs and served with a side dish, which can be boiled rice or potatoes.

How to choose the right fillet

Catfish fillets are white and contain virtually no bones. The younger the fish, the tastier the meat. Carcasses weighing one and a half to two kilograms are considered the most delicious. Fresh catfish fillets should spring back when pressed with your finger. Old fish can be easily identified by their specific unpleasant odor. A fresh belly should be white and not swollen. The gills, which should be pink and without spots, will also indicate freshness.

The fillets of this freshwater inhabitant are boiled, fried and baked. Fatty carcasses are ideal for grilling: the meat turns out juicy but dense. When buying catfish fillets, do not forget to stock up on thyme, cayenne pepper, oregano, black pepper and lemons - they perfectly highlight the taste of the fish and help get rid of the characteristic smell.

A fresh carcass can be stored in the refrigerator without loss of quality, but not longer than 48 hours. The freezer will help preserve the product longer. A gutted carcass can be stored in it for about 3 months.

How to cook delicious

It is best to bake catfish in the oven. This way the fish will retain the maximum amount of nutrients. Baked catfish is tasty and tender.

Decorate the dish with lemon and rosemary sprigs. Fried catfish is considered the most delicious.

Some people cook this fish on the grill. In this case, it is important to prepare a tasty marinade.

For dietary purposes, this fish is most often prepared in a slow cooker. Usually the process takes no more than 1.5 hours. This dish can be included in the children's menu.

Cutlets, fish soup, kebabs, and rolls are prepared from catfish. The meat is used as an ingredient in salads and baked goods.

Note! Many people do not like the taste and smell of mud from river fish. To eliminate this problem, just soak it before cooking for 40 minutes in milk or 30 minutes in a citric acid solution.

Diseases and prevention

Catfish fish suffer from bacterial and fungal diseases. The reasons may be sudden changes in temperature, the presence of salts in the water, or high nitrate content due to poor care.

The behavior of sick fish changes - they become lethargic and inactive, refuse food, and a whitish coating may appear on the body. In such cases, they need to be isolated in a separate container and treated with medications and vitamins.

Semolina

Semolina is also called ichthyophthyriosis. The disease is manifested by the appearance of a plaque on the body that resembles semolina. Malachite green and Sera Cosyopur are used for treatment. The drug is poured into the aquarium, increasing filtration and aeration and replacing 20% of the water with fresh water. On the day of treatment, the fish is not fed.

Oodiniosis

Oodinium or velvet rust. Unfortunately, a fish can have this disease for several years without showing any signs of it. An alarming signal should be a change in behavior - the fish begins to tremble and scratch itself against the aquarium decorations. For treatment, it is necessary to increase the temperature of the water and pour copper sulfate into it according to the instructions.

Diseases from stress

Such diseases develop mainly due to defects in care:

if the fish are not fed properly, stool disorders and loss of appetite occur;
oxygen starvation occurs when there is a lack of dissolved air in water. the fish begin to float to the surface;
If the temperature in the aquarium is incorrect, then the catfish look less active, lose their appetite, and their skin turns pale.

In addition, large white spots may appear as a sign of stress. For treatment, it is necessary to establish a feeding and care regimen.

How to clean catfish at home

After reading the information about the benefits of catfish for the human body, you can move on to cleaning scales and fins. Everything needs to be done in the following sequence:

Cut off the tail (you can immediately wash and remove).
Clean the skin of mucus, immediately roll the catfish in coarse salt and leave for 5 minutes.
Rinse the carcass, scrape off the remaining mucus using a dull knife.
When the skin becomes light in color, begin gutting.
To do this, make a puncture at the base of the head and carefully cut the skin, moving towards the tail.
If the gallbladder is accidentally ruptured, the catfish should be covered with salt and left for a while, then rinsed.
Remove the entrails from the abdominal cavity, cut and remove the gills.
Remove the caviar, if any, and free it from the film.
Clean the carcass until the skin turns a light shade.
Remove the fins and rinse thoroughly.
Remove the skin by making an incision along the spine and immediately separate the fillet from the bones, first on one side, then on the other.

It is worth noting that catfish tend to smell strongly of mud or silt. To get rid of the unpleasant smell, you should soak the fish for a couple of hours in white wine or milk. Then rinse with water and dry with paper towels.

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You can clean catfish in nature using ash. To do this, you need to wipe it on all sides and leave for 5-10 minutes. Then rinse well with the water you brought from home.

Harm and contraindications

1. Like any other fish, catfish can cause allergies, so eat it with caution. This is especially true for the nutrition of young children.

2. Fish also easily absorb toxins contained in the water. The heavy metal mercury is especially dangerous. There is a high risk of developing certain neurological diseases. In particular, these are autism and Alzheimer's disease.

3. Thus, you need to choose high-quality, fresh fish. It is advisable to refuse to purchase products from hand and prepare dishes correctly. In this case, eating fish will only benefit the body.