The airbreathing catfishes of the genus Clarias are among the most important food fishes that are bred in aqua culture in the tropics. They are absolutely undemanding in respect of water quality and the fact that they readily accept any food as long as it contains enough protein makes them ideal candidates for aqua culture. They are fast growing and can survive for hours outside the water due to their breathing organ. So they can be offered alive on the foodmarkets, where other fish often rotten quite fast due to the heat. Mainly the species Clarias gariepinus is bred that way all over the world where the temperatures allow this. Initially this catfish originates from Africa. The species can effect huge ecological problems where it escapes.
Clarias gariepinus is not an aquarium fish in the usual sense. It is rather dull coloured and becomes too large for that. But it is an intelligent fish, a real personality that can be trained for example on whistles. Many breeders of ornamental fish keep a Clarias to have an opportunity to use deformed bred fishes as feeder fish and so to fulfill the animal wellfare laws.
For our customers: C. gariepinus has code 114854 on our stocklist. Please note that we exclusively supply the wholesale trade.
Text & photos: Frank Schäfer
