Wallago leerii • Siluridae • Cat-eLog

Cat-eLog Data Sheet
Scientific Name	**Wallago leerii** Bleeker, 1851
Common Name(s)	Helicopter catfish, Trey stuak
Type Locality	Sambas, w. Borneo; Palembang, s. Sumatra, Indonesia.
Synonym(s)	Ompok nebulosus, Wallago nebulosus, Wallago tweediei, Wallagonia leerii, Wallagonia tweediei
Pronunciation	wall AH go - lee ree aye
Etymology	Wallago: After its Telugu and Tamil names Walaga (Telugu and Tamil are both Dravidian languages of South India).
Species Information
Size	2000mm (78.7") SL. Find near, nearer or same sized spp.
Identification	1) mouth reaching only to anterior of eye 2) mandibular barbel shorter than pelvic fin 3) 12-16 gill rakers on first arch 4) 64-75 anal-fin rays
Sexing	Males have a more slender genital papilla immediately in front of anus.
General Remarks	Found in large upland rivers from Thailand to Indonesia. Population from mainland Southeast Asia (Thailand, Laos, Cambodia and southern Vietnam) represents a different species recently described as W. micropogon. Less common in the wild than Wallago attu.
Habitat Information
Distribution	Peninsular Malaysia and the Greater Sunda Islands (except northeast Borneo, where the closely related W. maculatus occurs). Pacific, Malaysia Waters, Peninsular Malaysia Waters (click on these areas to find other species found there) Pacific, Greater Sunda Island Rivers (click on these areas to find other species found there) (Click the map-icon to show/hide map of species distribution)
pH	5.0 - 7.0
Temperature	20.0-25.0°C or 68-77°F (Show others within this range)
Husbandry Information
Feeding	Active predator. Will eat only live foods (fish or frogs) at first, but can be trained to take strips of raw meat.
Furniture	Large driftwood as a hiding place desirable, although not necessary. Bare tank makes cleaning easier.
Compatibility	A solitary predator, will attempt to eat any tankmates.
Suggested Tankmates	None.
Breeding	Not known and impossible in the home aquarium, given its size.
Further Information
References	Natuurkd. Tijdschr. Neder. Indiëv. 2 - pp427
Registered Keepers	(1) Silurus, (2) jprp (p: 3), (3) arapaimag (k: 2), who also notes: "The female is about 1540mm the male is 1220mm. The female has killed many other fish including a 33"Arapiama a. which she ate.". Click on a username above to see all that persons registered catfish species. You can also view all "my cats" data for this species.
Breeding Reports	None.
Articles	- CotM 2004 March
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Last Update	2004 Dec 10 00:00 (species record created: 2002 Feb 15 00:00)

Cat-eLog Data Sheet

Scientific Name

Wallago leerii Bleeker, 1851

Common Name(s)

Helicopter catfish, Trey stuak

Type Locality

Sambas, w. Borneo; Palembang, s. Sumatra, Indonesia.

Synonym(s)

Ompok nebulosus, Wallago nebulosus, Wallago tweediei, Wallagonia leerii, Wallagonia tweediei

Pronunciation

wall AH go - lee ree aye

Etymology

Wallago: After its Telugu and Tamil names Walaga (Telugu and Tamil are both Dravidian languages of South India).

Species Information

Size

2000mm (78.7") SL. Find near, nearer or same sized spp.

Identification

1) mouth reaching only to anterior of eye
2) mandibular barbel shorter than pelvic fin
3) 12-16 gill rakers on first arch
4) 64-75 anal-fin rays

Sexing

Males have a more slender genital papilla immediately in front of anus.

General Remarks

Found in large upland rivers from Thailand to Indonesia. Population from mainland Southeast Asia (Thailand, Laos, Cambodia and southern Vietnam) represents a different species recently described as W. micropogon. Less common in the wild than Wallago attu.

Habitat Information

Distribution

Peninsular Malaysia and the Greater Sunda Islands (except northeast Borneo, where the closely related W. maculatus occurs).
Pacific, Malaysia Waters, Peninsular Malaysia Waters (click on these areas to find other species found there)
Pacific, Greater Sunda Island Rivers (click on these areas to find other species found there)

(Click the map-icon to show/hide map of species distribution)

5.0 - 7.0

Temperature

20.0-25.0°C or 68-77°F (Show others within this range)

Husbandry Information

Feeding

Active predator. Will eat only live foods (fish or frogs) at first, but can be trained to take strips of raw meat.

Furniture

Large driftwood as a hiding place desirable, although not necessary. Bare tank makes cleaning easier.

Compatibility

A solitary predator, will attempt to eat any tankmates.

Suggested Tankmates

None.

Breeding

Not known and impossible in the home aquarium, given its size.

Further Information

References

Natuurkd. Tijdschr. Neder. Indiëv. 2 - pp427

Registered Keepers

(1) Silurus, (2) jprp (p: 3), (3) arapaimag (k: 2), who also notes: "The female is about 1540mm the male is 1220mm. The female has killed many other fish including a 33"Arapiama a. which she ate.".

Click on a username above to see all that persons registered catfish species. You can also view all "my cats" data for this species.

Breeding Reports

None.

Articles