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when I was a young lad of 12 or so back in 1953 in HOLLAND we used to hunt for and catch what was commonly known in dutch as a "blauwe zeelt". I caught a couple of them at my uncle's request for his aquarium. at this point i'm not even sure it was a catfish. It had the profile of an convict chiclid but was a scaleless fish and appeared to bee navy in colour. however when I visited Holland in 2001 no one I spoke to at that time knew if they still existed. Now I'm curious if anyone knows what that was or it may even be on the market under it's proper name. Any thought's on this would be of interest to me and perhaps others who remember back that far.Replies on this are eagerly awaited by me. I only get the opportunity to check the forum every few days, but I will get back to any answers sooner or later. T.I.A. and regards ART

Isn't "zeelt" what the Dutch call a tench (Tinca tinca)? It's not a catfish, but a carp.

It's possible , but a carp is "carper" in dutch the picture does indeed look somewhat like what I remember[/quote]

Tinca tinca = Zeelt.....
but "Blauw" means blue, and I never heard of Blue Tinca's before, nor saw one; they're a greenish brown with a lighter belly.
There are a few domestics; one is orange, another one's pink, and I've seen piebalds as well; but never blue....

carp (Cyprinus carpio) = Karper (with a K), and of course both are Cyprinidae, or "Karperachtigen" in Dutch; closely related, but not the same fish.

Could this be a local Dutch name for an introduced species, the Eastern Mudminnow?
Given the shape it may be that 'Blue Tench' was the vernacular attached to it in that particular area.

hmmm, I'd ask someone with a fishing rod....

I'm well into latin, so much, that even most common fish I know better in Latin than their common name, especially recently introduced ones.....

I have been fishing and catching tench for about twenty years and have never seen or heard of a blue tench,The green tinca tinca pictured above is a popular fish here in europe and are part of the carp family.
There are also golden tench which i have seen but am yet to catch which are i think just albino tinca tinca.

Hi I'm back and read all replies , Every one however appear to have missed the fact this
"Blauwe Zeelt" is a scale-less fish and has skin not unlike our north american 'Bullhead cat fish".
At the time back in 1950-1954 when I actively fished for them the local name is all we had.
It was caught only in local drainage creeks that I know of. Of cource at 10-14 years old ones knowledge is fairly well restrickted to local lore. When trying to find out 50 years later in the very same area no-one seamed to remember seing any of them since childhood. This is what actualy prompted my inquiry. It may even have been a local phenamenon/crossbreed or whatever.
I hope to be visiting the area again soon, and will find the local dept. of fish and make inquiries on a more scientific nature,this time........ thanks for all the replies I've printed them out and they will be going with me next visit If I get a satisfactory answer at that time I will post when I get back.