/siluridae/wallago/attu/1.jpg "Wallago attu(1) Juvenile - Click to enlarge")
/siluridae/wallago/attu/2.jpg "Wallago attu(2) Adult - Click to enlarge")
/siluridae/wallago/attu/3.jpg "Wallago attu(3) Close-up of teeth - Click to enlarge")
/siluridae/wallago/attu/4.jpg "Wallago attu(4) Close-up of head - Click to enlarge")
/siluridae/wallago/attu/5.jpg "Wallago attu(5) Taken at Nagpur fish market, central India - Click to enlarge")
/siluridae/wallago/attu/6.jpg "Wallago attu(6) Taken at Nagpur fish market, central India - Click to enlarge")
/siluridae/wallago/attu/7.jpg "Wallago attu(7) Taken at Nagpur fish market, central India - Click to enlarge")
/siluridae/wallago/attu/8.jpg "Wallago attu(8) Stamp - Click to enlarge")
/siluridae/wallago/attu/9.jpg "Wallago attu(9) - Click to enlarge")
/siluridae/wallago/attu/10.jpg "Wallago attu(10) - Click to enlarge")
/siluridae/wallago/attu/11.jpg "Wallago attu(11) Juvenile - Click to enlarge")
/siluridae/wallago/attu/12.jpg "Wallago attu(12) - Click to enlarge")
 Cat-eLog Data Sheet | |
|---|---|
| Scientific Name | Wallago attu (Bloch & Schneider, 1801) |
| Common Name(s) | Freshwater Shark, Helicopter Catfish, Pla khao, Tapah, Trey sanday |
| Type Locality | Malabar, India. |
| Synonym(s) | Pinniwallago kanpurensis, Silurus attu, Wallagonia attu |
| Pronunciation | wall AH go - ah two |
| Etymology | Wallago: After its Telugu and Tamil names Walaga (Telugu and Tamil are both Dravidian languages of South India). attu: After its Malayalam name Attu Vaalay (Malayalam is another Dravidian language South India). |
| Species Information | |
| Size | 2000mm (78.7") SL. Find near, nearer or same sized spp. |
| Identification | 1) Mouth extends back beyond eye. 2) maxillary barbels longer than pelvic fin. 3) 24-30 gill rakers on the first arch. 4) 77-96 anal-fin rays. 2000mm is the maximum recorded length, due to over fishing and habitat destruction, specimens over 1800 mm are nowadays very rare. |
| Habitat Information | |
| Distribution | South and Southeast Asia, including Pakistan, India, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia, Malaysia and
Indonesia. Pakistan Waters (hover or click on these areas to show maps or find other species found there) Indian waters (hover or click on these areas to show maps or find other species found there) Bangladesh Waters (hover or click on these areas to show maps or find other species found there) Myanmar Waters (hover or click on these areas to show maps or find other species found there) Nepal Waters (hover or click on these areas to show maps or find other species found there) Sri Lanka Waters (hover or click on these areas to show maps or find other species found there) Thailand Waters (hover or click on these areas to show maps or find other species found there) Vietnam waters (hover or click on these areas to show maps or find other species found there) Laos Waters (hover or click on these areas to show maps or find other species found there) Cambodia waters (hover or click on these areas to show maps or find other species found there) Malaysia Waters (hover or click on these areas to show maps or find other species found there) Indonesia Waters (hover or click on these areas to show maps or find other species found there) |
| pH | 6.0 - 7.6 |
| Temperature | 19.0-29.0°C or 66.2-84.2°F (Show others within this range) |
| Other Parameters | Not important, a large migratory fish found everywhere but highland streams. Resistant to poor water quality, including high levels of heavy metals. |
| Husbandry Information | |
| Feeding | According to Smith (1945) in his Freshwater Fishes of Siam, ''Their great size, large mouth, and formidable teeth enable them to kill and devour almost every kind of fish.'' Their diet in the wild is consists of mainly cyprinids (barbs, Rasboras, etc). |
| Furniture | Not a suitable aquarium fish. In nature, inhabits grassy margins of deep, still or slow-flowing ponds or pools with a mud or silt substrate near the banks of rivers. |
| Compatibility | See feeding. Handle with care : this species bites strongly if handled! |
| Suggested Tankmates | None. |
| Breeding | In nature, spawns during the pre-monsoon season, from June to August. Normally a bottom dweller, it rises to the surface to breed. Unluckily for
the fish, the courting pairs are so absorbed in each other that they readily fall prey to fishermen. Has been bred commercially in fish farms in Malaysia. |
| Further Information | |
| References | Systema Ichthyol. - pp378 - Pl. 75 |
| Registered Keepers | (1) Stackdeck, who also notes: "Seems to change to a more uniform greyish colour at night when hunting.", (2) arapaimag. Click on a username above to see all that persons registered catfish species. You can also view all "my cats" data for this species.  Add this species to your "my cats" page. |
| Breeding Reports | None. |
| More Resources |
 -
Search Planet Catfish for more on Wallago attu
 - BBcode (for use in linking to this page from forum posts) - Look up Wallago attu on AquaticRepublic.com
 - Look up Wallago attu on Fishbase, I.T.I.S. or ispecies search. - URL (for use in linking to the species from anywhere on the web) |
| Hits | 18942 hits. |
| Last Update | 2011 Aug 09 07:42 (species record created: 2001 Jun 10 00:00) |
Registered users: Bing [Bot], excuzzzeme, Google [Bot]
© 1996 - 2012 PlanetCatfish.com, part of the Aquatic Republic Network group of websites. All Rights Reserved. By accessing this site you agree to our Terms and Conditions of Use.
