PlanetCatfish.com - Clarias anguillaris (Clariidae) Cat-eLog

Cat-eLog Data Sheet
Scientific Name	**Clarias anguillaris** (Linnaeus, 1758)
Common Name	Mudfish
Type Locality	Nile River, Egypt.
Synonym(s)	Clarias anguillaris nigeriensis, Clarias budgetti, Clarias hasselquistii, Clarias parvimanus, Clarias senegalensis, Macropteronotus charmuth, Silurus anguillaris
Pronunciation	klar ee ass - ang eel are iss
Etymology	Clarias: From the Greek chlaros, meaning lively; in reference to the ability of the fish to live for long periods out of water.
Species Information
Size	1000mm or 39.4" SL. Find near, nearer or same sized spp.
Identification	Clarias species are characterized by having an elongated body; a soft rayed dorsal fin extending to, or nearly to, the caudal fin base; a soft rayed anal fin extending from just behind the anus to the caudal fin base; pectoral fins each with a serrated anterior bony spine; head depressed, covered largely by firmly sutured, surface sculptured bony plates forming a protective helmet; four pairs of flagellate barbels (nasals, maxillaries, inner and outer mandibulars); air breathing organs derived from the 2nd and 4th epibranchials within a superbranchial chamber.
Sexing	The genital papilla, which is to the right of the anus as you look at the fish with its head to the left, is elongated and pointed in males while it is round and relatively larger (and larger than the anus) in females. In ventral view especially, females are much broader in the body than males of equal age and rearing practices.
Habitat Information
Distribution	Africa: lower and middle Nile; Chad system including the Logone and the Shari rivers; Niger and Benoue river systems; coastal rivers of Benin Republic, Togo, Ghana and Côte d"Ivoire; Gambia and lower Senegal rivers; Volta system; relict populations occur in Mauritania and southern Algeria. Trade restricted in FRG. African Waters, Nile, Lower Nile (click on these areas to find other species found there) African Waters, Nile, Middle Nile (click on these areas to find other species found there) African Waters, Chad (click on these areas to find other species found there) African Waters, Nigeria Waters, Niger (click on these areas to find other species found there) African Waters, Nigeria Waters, Niger, Bénoué (click on these areas to find other species found there) African Waters, Gambia (click on these areas to find other species found there) African Waters, Sénégal (click on these areas to find other species found there) African Waters, Volta (click on these areas to find other species found there) African Waters, Nigeria Waters, Agulu (click on these areas to find other species found there) African Waters, Stephanie (Chew Bahir) (click on these areas to find other species found there) Login to view the map.
IUCN Red List Category	Least Concern , range map and more is available on the IUCN species page. Last assessed 2019.
Husbandry Information
Feeding	In nature, feeds mainly on fish and mollusks; also crustaceans, diatoms, detritus and bottom dwelling organisms. User data.
Suggested Tankmates	Large cyprinids (silver sharks, tinfoil or spanner barbs for example) or Central American cichlids.
Breeding	Unreported.
Breeding Reports	There is no breeding report.
Further Information
Reference	Systema Naturae, Ed. X v. 1, pp 305.
Registered Keepers	There is no registered keeper.
Wishlists	Love this species? Click the heart to add it to your wish list. There is no wish to keep this species.
Spotters	Spotted this species somewhere? Click the binoculars! There is no record of this fish being seen.
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	LFS label creator ARN ref:1.6.8.1622
Last Update	2025 Jan 02 01:38 (species record created: 2005 Aug 27 00:00)