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SPECIES: Tiger Catfish (Pseudoplatystoma tigrinum) |
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Freshwater fish species -
SPECIES- INTRODUCED
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Written by Administrator
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 The Tiger Catfish or the Shovel Nose Catfish are found naturally in South American rivers such as the Amazon or the Orinoco. They have been successfully introduced into some fishing lakes in Thailand and are considered by most a very beautiful and prized catch. When hooked this fish will stick to the bottom for as long as possible and have you wondering if you caught up with a mini jet powered submarine.
Common name: Tiger catfish. Latin name: (Pseudoplatystoma fasciatum). Aka: Tiger shovelnose catfish, Barred Sorubim, Pintado, Tigermalle, Tigerstribet Malle. Thailand status: Introduced.
Diet: Crustaceans , fish - piscivore.
Habitat: Freshwater.
Description: As the name suggests, these catfish have dark striped and spotted markings along their sides,similar to a tiger, mixed with silver/bronze to gold/brown, These markings and colourings will vary depending on the waters and aquatic vegetation around the fishes territory.
Like other catfish they have sensitive whiskers known as barbels that protrude from around the mouth and help the catfish to locate their prey after dark, or in very cloudy water. The eyes of the Tiger catfish are relatively small, which indicates that they rely less on sight and more on smell and vibrations picked up by their barbels.
The Tiger Shovelnose catfish is a very large and a powerful predator and can easily grow to 130 cm in length and 30+kg.
Tiger catfish mainly live in river channels and areas of flooded forest in the Amazon and Orinoco river basins, which are their natural habitat. They will search the bottom of the lake or river looking for food items. They are generally active after dark, and prefer spending their days well hidden under stones or logs.
Here in Thailand the Tiger catfish have become a very popular sport fish and are stocked in most fishing parks. They will take a whole range of baits and are strong fighters hugging the bottom and staying deep until the last. Once landed this is a very beautiful fish species much admired.
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