Scientific name:
Silurus glanis

Natural spread:
Central Europe

is self 150 kg of weight from newer time for the catfish and 3 m of length guarantees. it is the biggest freshwater-fish in native waters with it. As most known catfish-occurrences is worth the Danube with us with its tributaries and some South German seas. From Holland, the spread-area extends in the east to the Aralsee and in the north as far as after South-Sweden. it is missing in Southern Europe. The catfish loves warmer, quieter, not too flat waters, to whose reason it sticks hidden during the day. The long-stretched one, scale-loose fish shows a dark Marmorierung on the upper side mostly, the stomach-side is light. The wide mouth, that is surrounded by 6 beard-threads and contains numerous, very small teeth, attracts attention at the flat head.

Nutrition The catfish is a gluttonous robber. it devours everything, which it can manage, as adult animal, it carries off also muskrats - inexperienced ducks - beside fishings and pond-chicken-chicks, frogs and cancers. Many people are the night-active robber immensely. So, there are still stories, after which children were attacked by these fish. With exact investigations, they always have been established as "angler-Latin", however. Certainly, the sight of the dreadful mouth inspired the imagination too strongly something.

Reproduction Only with temperatures over 18-20 °C comes it to the Ablaichen. The male prepares a flat hollow; it guards the spawn and the hatched brood. Despite the in large numbers cast-off eggs (50 000-200 000) and the fatherly brood-care, catfish never occur in large quantities. Also waters with plentiful food can nourish only a restricted number of the gluttonous giants. With corresponding food-offer, catfish grow up fast in the first years. With 5 years, they can have exceeded already 1 m. Sometimes, catfish gain a high age; whether they actually become 60-80 years old, has been proved however not yet.

Endangering The catfish is on the red list of the endangered types with us.