Catfish

INTRODUCTION
 Freshwater catfish is a freshwater fish species which occurs within the Murray Darling Basin as
well as the eastern drainages of New South Wales and Queensland.

 Freshwater catfish was once one of the most common fish species within the Murray Darling
Basin. As is the case for many native fish species, detailed information concerning the past and
present distribution of freshwater catfish is limited, patchy and often anecdotal. However, it is
apparent that the species has experienced a significant decline in distribution and abundance
throughout most of its range.

 Two families of catfish occur in Australia, the Arridae (Fork-tailed Catfish) and the Plotosidea
(Eel-tailed Catfish).

 Plotosidae occur throughout the Indian Ocean and western tropical Pacific in freshwater,
estuarine and coastal marine habitats.

 Paxton et al. (1989) list the following genera as occurring in Australian waters: Anodontiglanis,
Cnidoglanis, Euristhmus, Neosilurus, Paraplotus, Plotosus, Porchilus, and Tandanus.
 Catfish (e.g. Ictalurus spp., Lactantunia spp., Corydoras spp., Ancistrus spp., Pimelodus spp.,
Arius spp., Kryptopterus spp., Phractocephalus spp.) represent one of the largest groups of
freshwater fishes, with more than 2000 species.

 Catfish have a cosmopolitan distribution.

 Most catfish are found in freshwater, although there are two families that contain saltwater
species.

 More than 50% of all catfish species are native to South America. There is a high degree of
variability in the size and weight of these fish, with animals ranging from 10 cm to over 2 m in
length and 10 g to over 300 kg in weight. Most species of catfish are nocturnal.

 Catfish are primarily benthic or bottom-dwellers. Because of their benthic lifestyle, catfish
have sensory structures, barbels that assist them with characterizing food and nonfood items
and substrate types in a low-light setting.
 Catfish (order Siluriformes) is one of the largest orders of teleost containing 4100 species,
representing 12% of all teleosts and 6.3% of all vertebrates.

 Catfish are so-named because of their whisker-like barbels, which are located on the nose, each side
of the mouth, and on the chin. Most catfish possess leading spines in their dorsal and pectoral fins.
Catfish are scaleless, a characteristic of catfishes distinguishing them form most other teleost fish.

 Catfish are of considerable economic importance for aquaculture and recreational fisheries. Its
global importance is increasing as several countries in Asia, such as China and Vietnam, are now
heavily involved in catfish aquaculture (Liu, 2008).

 The Bighead catfish (Clarias macrocephalus), one of two catfish species native to the Philippines,
was once a popular meal and is found in lakes, ponds, and rice fields across the country. Based on
studies and anecdotal reports, it is now found only in Cagayan, Quezon, Palawan, Agusan del Sur,
and Liguasan Marsh.
 There are 3 most globally commercial cultivable catfish in the world, these are: Ictalurus
punctatus (Channel catfish), Clarias gariepinus (Thai magus/African sharptooth catfish), and
the Pangasius sutchi or P. hypophthalmus (River/silver stripped/sutchi/swai catfish/siamese
shark).

 Channel catfish (Ictalurus punctatus) is the most important species of aquatic animal
commercially cultured in the United States. It belongs to the family Ictaluridae, order
Siluriformes.
 BIOLOGY
Taxonomic Classification
KINGDOM: Animalia
PHYLUM: Chordata
SUB PHYLUM: Vertebrata
CLASS: Actinopterygii
SUB CLASS: Gnathostomata
ORDER: Siluriformes
FAMILY: Plotosidae
SCI. NAME: Tandanus tandanus
ENG. NAME: Freshwater Catfish
Distribution
 Catfish are most abundantly distributed in the tropics of South America, Africa and Asia,
with one family native north America and one family in Europe.

 Murray River tributaries and the Murray River up to Echuca. Introduced into the Wimmera
River at Horsham and Vitoria Lake, Maryborough. Recently reported in the Yarra River in the
Eltham area. Common in some areas, but not as abundant as in the past.

 The majority of species inhabit fresh water, but a few, belonging to the families Arridae and
Plotosidae, are marine. Freshwater catfishes are almost worldwide in distribution and live in
a variety of habitats from slow or stagnant waters to fats mountain streams; marine
catfishes are found in the shore waters of the tropics. Catfishes are generally bottom
dwellers, more active by night than by day.

 Channel catfish were originally found only in the Gulf States and the Mississippi Valley north
to the prairie provinces of Canada and Mexico, but were not found in the Atlantic coastal
plain or west of the Rocky Mountains. Since then, channel catfish have been widely
introduced throughout the United States and the world.
Life History
 Catfish have inhabited all continents at one time or another. They are most diverse in tropical
South America, Asia, and Africa, with one family in Europe. More than half of all catfish live in
the Americas.

 The name catfish refers to the long barbels, or feelers, which are present about the mouth of
the fish and resemble cat whiskers.

 Channel catfish (Ictalurus punctatus) is the most important species of aquatic animal
commercially cultured in the United States. It belongs to the family Ictaluridae, order
Siluriformes. Members of the order Siluriformes are found in fresh and salt water worldwide.
There are at least 39 species of catfish in North America, but only seven have been cultured
or have potential for commercial production. They are the blue catfish, Ictalurus furcatus; the
white catfish, Ictalurus catus; the black bullhead, Ictalurus melas; the brown bullhead,
Ictalurus nebulosus; the yellow bullhead, Ictalurus natalis; and the flathead catfish, Pylodictis
olivaris.
Behavior
 Most active during times when there’s very little light. Spawn when the water temperature
exceeds 72°F (eggs are laid in an adhesive mass). Once egg laying and fertilization are
complete the male will chase the female from the nesting area and tend to the eggs by
fanning the mass with his fins to keep oxygenated water moving over them.

 Sexual behavior: males defend a territory/cavity, female enters the cavity and spawns,
males incubate eggs and defend fry, and males can spawn with more than one female a
season.

 Catfish are sensitive to light. They move in cyclic form. They are bottom feeders but can be
trained to eat at the surface. They are easily agitated by sound.
 SITE SELECTION
 The major factors to be considered when selecting a site for the construction of a
freshwater fish farm are water supply, soil quality and local topography. It is also
important to remember that there is no point in carrying out a detailed survey or
assessment of a site unless you are reasonably sure it meets the basic needs of the
farming you plan to do. It is essential to have a required supply of good quality water at
the time needed to operate the fish farm. We also have to learn and know about soil to
be used for fish farming, like beware of sandy soils and termite mound.
 Hatchery Design and Operation
 Catfish hatcheries are either cages, circular tanks, linear raceways or ponds, the most common.
Spawning occurs in the spring where adults are stocked at a density ranging from 60-325/ha in
ratios ranging from 1:1 to 1:4 (male:female) and allowed to select their own mates and after the
spawning season the adults are typically moved to another pond. Metal cans, drain tiles,
wooden boxes or other types of enclosures of appropriate size are used as a nest. The nests are
inspected at three or four day intervals and any egg masses found are collected and taken to a
hatchery, where the eggs are incubated in troughs or raceways and the fry are maintained until
they swim to the water surface in search of food.
 The traditional approach was once the fingerlings are several centimeters long, they can be
stocked into grow-out ponds then grow them until the autumn of the second year of life, drain
the pond, and harvest the fish for marketing. Since nearly all the fish produced under that
system reached the market over a limited period of time, the flow of product to the market was
not conducive to having fresh product available year round.
 Today, ponds are partially harvested every several weeks to a few months and marketable fish
are removed. The appropriate number of fingerlings is then stocked to replace the fish removed.
Thus, various fish sizes are in the pond at the same time.
 Feeds and Feeding
 Fry are often fed finely ground prepared feed for several days prior to being
stocked in fingerling ponds where they are reared for several months (often
throughout the first year of life).
 The feeding rate may be as high as 50 per cent of estimated fish body
weight daily at first feeding but is gradually reduced as the fish grow. Once
the fish are a few centimeters long they are fed at 3-4 per cent of body
weight daily during the growing season. The feeding level is reduced and
feed may even be withheld completely during winter months.
 The prepared feeds referred consist of various combinations of such plant
proteins such as soybean meal, cottonseed meal, corn meal, peanut
(groundnut) meal, and wheat, supplemented with vegetable oil, vitamins,
and minerals.
 Several types of feeds are available for commercial catfish production. They
vary in nutrient and ingredient compositions, forms, and pellet sizes,
depending on fish ages, sizes, and stages of culture. Fry and fingerling feeds
contain higher protein than food fish feeds because small fish have a higher
protein requirement than large fish.
 Health Control Measures
 catfish are subjected to a wide variety of diseases including viruses, bacteria, fungi, helminths, and parasitic
copepods.
DISEASE AGENT TYPE SYNDROME MEASURES
Enteric septicaemia Edwardsiella ictaluri Bacterium Hemorrhages external Oxytetracycline;
on underside and sulfamethoxine;
around mouth; white ormetoprin
focal lesions on fish
back and sides;
occasionally grey
lesion on top of head
that can erupt to an
open lesion
Columnaris disease Flavobacterium Bacterium White spots on mouth, Oxytetracycline;
columnare edges of scales and fins; sulfamethoxine;
cottony growth around ormetoprin
mouth; fins disintegrate
at edges; 'saddleback'
lesion near dorsal fin;
fungal invasion of gills
and skin
 DISEASE AGENT TYPE SYNDROME MEASURES
Aeromonas Aeromonas hydrophila; Bacteria Fraying and reddening Oxytetracycline;
septicaemia A. sobria of fins; de- sulfamethoxine;
pigmentation; ulcers ormetoprin
Water mould Saprolegnia spp. Fungi Grey/white patches on Formalin
skin or gills resembling
cotton-wool, later
becoming brown or
green; normally small,
focal infections
spreading rapidly over
body or gills
Gill and/or external Trichodina sp.; Protozoans Small white spots on Formalin
parasites Trichophora sp.; skin or gills; irritation,
Ambiphrya sp.; flashing, weakness, loss
Ichthyobodo sp.; of appetite, and
Ichthyophthirius decreased activity; gills
multifiliis. pale and very swollen
Proliferative gill Aurantiactinomyxon Myxozoans Swelling and red and Formalin
disease sp.; Dero digitate white mottling of gills
gives raw minced meat
appearance
 Prevention through avoidance of stress on the fish is probably the most effective means of
avoiding disease. Chemicals are only used when an epizootic has been detected, and then only
for limited periods of time.
 Water Quality
 Water quality management is critical to pond catfish production. High stocking densities,
particularly during summer, can lead to stress, disease, and mortality due to deterioration in water
quality, particularly low dissolved oxygen. During critical periods ponds are monitored and
emergency aeration is provided when necessary to maintain dissolved oxygen levels within an
acceptable range (typically >3.0 mg/liter)
 Water supplies for catfish ponds are usually of good initial quality. However, once the water is
used for culture, its quality deteriorates. This deterioration of environmental conditions is
ultimately traceable to the use of feed. Despite the use of high quality feeds and careful feeding
practices, relatively little of the nutrient value of feed is converted to catfish flesh. The remaining
nutrients derived from fish wastes stimulate excessive phytoplankton growth. High rates of
phytoplankton metabolism cause pronounced diurnal fluctuations in dissolved oxygen
concentrations, dissolved carbon dioxide concentrations, and pH. Such fluctuations cause stress
in fish resulting in reduced fish growth rates, poor feed conversion, and reduced resistance to
disease. In extreme instances, such as depletion of dissolved oxygen, fish may be unable to adapt
and will die. There are water quality variables to be considered namely; Dissolved oxygen,
Carbon Dioxide, Ammonia and Nitrite.
 Dissolved oxygen: The supply of dissolved oxygen often becomes limiting to catfish because the combined
respiration of fish, phytoplankton, and mud-dwelling organisms exerts a tremendous demand for oxygen.
The key to successful management is early identification of those ponds that may require supplemental
mechanical aeration to keep fish alive. Aeration is initiated when dissolved oxygen concentrations fall to a
level considered critical (usually around 3 to 4 mg/L). Aeration is continued until past dawn when
measurements indicate that dissolved oxygen concentrations are increasing as a result of photosynthetic
activity.
 Carbon Dioxide: High rates of respiration in ponds with abundant plankton and high densities of fish result
in rapid loss of dissolved oxygen and accumulation of carbon dioxide over the nighttime hours during
summer months. Higher concentrations may cause death but chronic problems are rare because daytime
uptake in photosynthesis normally serves to remove all the carbon dioxide that is produced in overnight
respiration.
 Ammonia: Ammonia is the major nitrogenous waste product excreted by fish. The fact that culture is
possible at high feeding rates indicates that transformations and losses of nitrogen act to reduce ammonia
concentrations. Additionally, as ammonia begins to accumulate, fish respond with reduced appetite, leading
to lower rates of ammonia excretion and reduced ammonia concentrations in the water. As such, there are
very few documented cases of acute ammonia intoxication in commercial channel catfish ponds.
 Nitrite: Nitrite is an intermediate product in nitrification, which is a common, bacteria-mediated
transformation of ammonia to nitrate in soils and water. Nitrite accumulates to significant levels in ponds
only when ammonia concentrations are relatively high and some factor causes the rate of ammonia
oxidation to nitrite to exceed the rate of nitrite oxidation to nitrate. Accumulation of nitrite is undesirable
because it can be toxic to fish at relatively low concentrations.
 Harvesting Techniques
 Catfish ponds are partially harvested using seines of sufficiently large mesh
size to allow sub-marketable fish to escape.
 Seine fishing is a method of fishing that employs a fishing net, called a seine, that
hangs vertically in the water with its bottom edge held down by weights and its
top edge buoyed by floats.
 Using hauling trucks are also a thing in fish harvesting. A portable hauling equipment
is used and hauls the fish then transfers them to the hauling truck.
 Harvested fish are loaded into live-hauling trucks and taken to processing plants in
regions where sufficient concentrations of ponds can support year-round operation of
such plants. A minority of producers process their own fish. Depending on fish size
and market demand, the fish may be steaked; filleted; or sold headed, gutted, and
skinned.
 Status and Trends
 While the catfish industry is quite mature, research continues on disease control, nutrition,
genetic improvement, and other aspects associated with the farming of the species. Research is
also being conducted to reduce the level of nutrients in pond effluents by developing diets that
are better utilized by the fish.
 The market for catfish is well developed. Catfish can now be found in restaurants and on menus
in grocery stores. It is seen by consumers as being a healthy choice food. Market expansion
may be possible through development of new product forms and value added processing.