PlanetCatfish.com - Bagarius bagarius (Sisoridae) Cat-eLog

Mahanadi river, Odisha India
Dorsal view
Video of habitat,Ramganga River,Uttarakhand, India
Taken at Ramganga, India
Close-up of a mouthful of teeth!
Sankosh river, West Bengal,India
Puri main canal, Bhubaneswar, Odisha
Puri, Main canal - dorsal view
Juvenile, Hooghly River, India

Cat-eLog Data Sheet
Scientific Name	**Bagarius bagarius** (Hamilton, 1822)
Common Names	Devil Catfish Giant Devil Catfish, Ganges-djævlemalle (Denmark), Giant Painted Catfish, Goonch, Goonch-malle (Denmark), Sand Shark
Type Locality	Ganges River, India [rivers at Kolkata].
Synonym(s)	Bagarius buchanani, Bagarius yarrelli, Pachypterus luridus, Pimelodus bagarius, Pimelodus carnaticus
Pronunciation	bag are ee uss - bag are ee uss
Etymology	Bagarius: From the Bengali name of the fish (Vaghari).
Species Information
Size	2000mm or 78.7" SL. Find near, nearer or same sized spp.
Sexing	Unknown
Habitat Information
Distribution	Asia: Ganges, Mekong and Chao Phraya basins. Reported from Salween, Maeklong and Peninsular Thailand. Salween, Upper Salween (Nu Jiang) (click on these areas to find other species found there) Indian waters (click on these areas to find other species found there) Pakistan Waters, Indus (click on these areas to find other species found there) Indian waters, North Eastern India Waters, Padma, Ganges (click on these areas to find other species found there) Log in to view data on a map.
IUCN Red List Category	Vulnerable, range map and more is available on the IUCN species page. Last assessed 2022.
pH	7.2 - 7.6
Temperature	18.0-23.0°C or 64.4-73.4°F (Show species within this range)
Other Parameters	Clean, well oxygenated water is required for this flowing river-dwelling fish.
Husbandry Information
Feeding	Larval foods such as bloodworm and also shrimp. larger morsels (including fish) can be offered as the fish grows. User data.
Furniture	Large, smooth and rounded stones over a sandy substrate.
Compatibility	In nature, it is a truly excellent predator, typically hunting in groups. In captivity, exhibits very anti-social behaviour so introduce other (large) fishes with extreme care as it reportedly eats scales and fin parts of some large fish kept with it. Will eat anything smaller.
Breeding	Unreported in the aquarium. To quote Baensch Vol. II, ''Who wants to breed this demon, anyway?''.
Breeding Reports	There is no breeding report.
Further Information
Reference	An account of the fishes found in the river Ganges, pp 186, 378, Pl. 7 (fig. 62).
Registered Keepers	There are 27 registered keepers, view all "my cats" data.
Wishlists	Love this species? Click the heart to add it to your wish list. There are 5 wishes to keep this species, see who wants what.
Spotters	Spotted this species somewhere? Click the binoculars! There are 16 records of this fish being seen, view them all.
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Last Update	2021 Aug 17 09:18 (species record created: 2005 Nov 28 00:00)