The African sharptooth catfish was introduced all over the world in the early 1980s for aquaculture purposes, so is found in countries far outside its natural habitat, such as Brazil, Vietnam, Indonesia, and India.
DescriptionEdit
Jumping upstream in a branch of the Sabie River, Kruger N.P.Specimen from Bogor, Indonesia (possibly cultivated)Juvenile specimens caught in the sewers of Rishon LeZion, Israel
The African sharptooth catfish is a large, eel-like fish, usually of dark gray or black coloration on the back, fading to a white belly. In Africa, this catfish has been reported as being second in size only to the vundu of the Zambesian waters,[1] although FishBase suggests the African sharptooth catfish surpasses that species in both maximum length and weight.[2][3]
C. gariepinus has an average adult length of 1–1.5 m (3 ft 3 in – 4 ft 11 in).[citation needed] It reaches a maximum length of 1.7 m (5 ft 7 in) TL and can weigh up to 60 kg (130 lb).[2] These fish have slender bodies, flat bony heads, notably flatter than in the genus Silurus, and broad, terminal mouths with four pairs of barbels. They also have large accessory breathing organs composed of modified gill arches. Also, only the pectoral fins have spines.[1]
HabitsEdit
It is a nocturnal fish like many catfish. It feeds on living, as well as dead, animal matter (such as insects, plankton, snails, crabs, shrimp, other invertebrates, birds, reptiles, amphibians, small mammals, other fishes, and eggs) and plant matter such as fruit and seeds.[4] Because of its wide mouth, it is able to swallow relatively large prey whole. It has been known to take large waterbirds such as the common moorhen.[5] It is also able to crawl on dry ground to escape drying pools. Further, it is able to survive in shallow mud for long periods of time, between rainy seasons.
African catfish sometimes produce loud croaking sounds, not unlike the voice of the crow.
Natural spawningEdit
Spawning mostly takes place at night in the shallow, inundated areas of the rivers lakes and streams. Courtship is preceded by highly aggressive encounters between males. Courtship and mating takes place in shallow waters between isolated pairs of males and females. The male lies in a U-shape curved around the head of the female, held for several seconds. A batch of milt and eggs is released followed by a vigorous swish of the female's tail to distribute the eggs over a wide area. The pair usually rests after mating (from seconds up to several minutes) and then resumes mating.
Parental care for ensuring the survival of the catfish offspring is absent except by the careful choice of a suitable site. Development of eggs and larvae is rapid, and the larvae are capable of swimming within 48–72 hours after fertilization.
RearingEdit
The rearing of the African sharptooth catfish in Africa started in the early 1970s in Central and Western Africa, as it was realized to be a very suitable species for aquaculture, as:
It grows fast and feeds on a large variety of agriculture byproducts
It tolerates adverse water quality conditions
It can be raised in high densities, resulting in high net yields (6–16 t/ha/year).
In most countries, it fetches a higher price than tilapia, as it can be sold live at the market
It matures and relatively easily reproduces in captivity.
It tolerates difficult conditions in aquaculture
HybridisationEdit
Clarias gariepinus could be easily crossed with Heterobranchus longifillis to get the so-called hybrid Hetero-clarias.[6] This cross has advantages over C. gariepinus:
Cannot reproduce (so does not spend energy on reproduction)
Has white meat (usually preferred by customers)
A major disadvantage of the Hetero-clarias hybrid, though, is its susceptibility to stress.
Allegedly, other hybrids have been supposedly produced, such as one with C. fuscus, exported to Indonesia from Taiwan as Lele Dumbo, a much higher-yielding variety than the local C. batrachus, despite the truth of such hybridization being rather invalidable. [7]
^Anoop KR, Sundar KSG, Khan BA & Lal S (2009) Common Moorhen Gallinula chloropus in the diet of the African catfish Clarias gariepinus in Keoladeo Ghana National Park, India. Indian Birds 5(2):22-23
^Jansen van Rensburg, C., van As, J.G. & King, P.H. 2013. New records of digenean parasites of Clarias gariepinus (Pisces: Clariidae) from the Okavango Delta, Botswana, with description of Thaparotrema botswanensis sp. n. (Plathelminthes: Trematoda). African Invertebrates54 (2): 431–446.[2]
External linksEdit
Reproduction of African catfish
African catfish - RAS Fish farming system
All Catfish Species Inventory
Handbook on the rearing and artificial reproduction of the African catfish [3]
The African catfish
Chari in the Bari, Homestead rearing of African catfish [5]
September 01, 2023
clarias, gariepinus, african, sharptooth, catfish, species, catfish, family, clariidae, airbreathing, catfishes, conservation, statusleast, concern, iucn, scientific, classificationdomain, eukaryotakingdom, animaliaphylum, chordataclass, actinopterygiiorder, s. Clarias gariepinus or African sharptooth catfish is a species of catfish of the family Clariidae the airbreathing catfishes Clarias gariepinusConservation statusLeast Concern IUCN 3 1 Scientific classificationDomain EukaryotaKingdom AnimaliaPhylum ChordataClass ActinopterygiiOrder SiluriformesFamily ClariidaeGenus ClariasSpecies C gariepinusBinomial nameClarias gariepinusBurchell 1822SynonymsSilurus gariepinus Burchell 1822 Macropteronotus charmuth Lacepede 1803 Clarias capensis Valenciennes 1840 Clarias lazera Valenciennes 1840 Clarias syriacus Valenciennes 1840 Clarias mossambicus Peters 1852 Clarias macracanthus Gunther 1864 Clarias orontis Gunther 1864 Clarias xenodon Gunther 1864 Clarias robecchii Vinciguerra 1893 Clarias smithii Gunther 1896 Clarias microphthalmus Pfeffer 1896 Clarias guentheri Pfeffer 1896 Clarias longiceps Boulenger 1899 Clarias longiceps Boulenger 1899 Clarias moorii Boulenger 1901 Clarias tsanensis Boulenger 1902 Clarias vinciguerrae Boulenger 1902 Clarias malaris Nichols amp Griscom 1917 Clarias notozygurus Lonnberg amp Rendahl 1922 Clarias depressus Myers 1925 Clarias muelleri Pietschmann 1939 Contents 1 Distribution 2 Description 3 Habits 4 Natural spawning 5 Rearing 6 Hybridisation 7 Parasites and diseases 8 References 9 External linksDistribution EditThey are found throughout Africa and the Middle East and live in freshwater lakes rivers and swamps as well as human made habitats such as oxidation ponds or even urban sewage systems The African sharptooth catfish was introduced all over the world in the early 1980s for aquaculture purposes so is found in countries far outside its natural habitat such as Brazil Vietnam Indonesia and India Description Edit nbsp Jumping upstream in a branch of the Sabie River Kruger N P nbsp Specimen from Bogor Indonesia possibly cultivated nbsp Juvenile specimens caught in the sewers of Rishon LeZion IsraelThe African sharptooth catfish is a large eel like fish usually of dark gray or black coloration on the back fading to a white belly In Africa this catfish has been reported as being second in size only to the vundu of the Zambesian waters 1 although FishBase suggests the African sharptooth catfish surpasses that species in both maximum length and weight 2 3 C gariepinus has an average adult length of 1 1 5 m 3 ft 3 in 4 ft 11 in citation needed It reaches a maximum length of 1 7 m 5 ft 7 in TL and can weigh up to 60 kg 130 lb 2 These fish have slender bodies flat bony heads notably flatter than in the genus Silurus and broad terminal mouths with four pairs of barbels They also have large accessory breathing organs composed of modified gill arches Also only the pectoral fins have spines 1 Habits EditIt is a nocturnal fish like many catfish It feeds on living as well as dead animal matter such as insects plankton snails crabs shrimp other invertebrates birds reptiles amphibians small mammals other fishes and eggs and plant matter such as fruit and seeds 4 Because of its wide mouth it is able to swallow relatively large prey whole It has been known to take large waterbirds such as the common moorhen 5 It is also able to crawl on dry ground to escape drying pools Further it is able to survive in shallow mud for long periods of time between rainy seasons African catfish sometimes produce loud croaking sounds not unlike the voice of the crow Natural spawning EditSpawning mostly takes place at night in the shallow inundated areas of the rivers lakes and streams Courtship is preceded by highly aggressive encounters between males Courtship and mating takes place in shallow waters between isolated pairs of males and females The male lies in a U shape curved around the head of the female held for several seconds A batch of milt and eggs is released followed by a vigorous swish of the female s tail to distribute the eggs over a wide area The pair usually rests after mating from seconds up to several minutes and then resumes mating Parental care for ensuring the survival of the catfish offspring is absent except by the careful choice of a suitable site Development of eggs and larvae is rapid and the larvae are capable of swimming within 48 72 hours after fertilization Rearing EditThe rearing of the African sharptooth catfish in Africa started in the early 1970s in Central and Western Africa as it was realized to be a very suitable species for aquaculture as It grows fast and feeds on a large variety of agriculture byproducts It tolerates adverse water quality conditions It can be raised in high densities resulting in high net yields 6 16 t ha year In most countries it fetches a higher price than tilapia as it can be sold live at the market It matures and relatively easily reproduces in captivity It tolerates difficult conditions in aquacultureHybridisation EditClarias gariepinus could be easily crossed with Heterobranchus longifillis to get the so called hybrid Hetero clarias 6 This cross has advantages over C gariepinus Cannot reproduce so does not spend energy on reproduction Has white meat usually preferred by customers A major disadvantage of theHetero clarias hybrid though is its susceptibility to stress Allegedly other hybrids have been supposedly produced such as one with C fuscus exported to Indonesia from Taiwan as Lele Dumbo a much higher yielding variety than the local C batrachus despite the truth of such hybridization being rather invalidable 7 Parasites and diseases EditC gariepinus may host several species of digeneans in addition to other endo and ectoparasites 8 References Edit a b Ecotravel South Africa Archived 2011 01 25 at the Wayback Machine a b Froese Rainer Pauly Daniel eds 2014 Clarias gariepinus in FishBase March 2014 version Froese Rainer Pauly Daniel eds 2014 Heterobranchus longifilis in FishBase March 2014 version Clarias gariepinus Barbel Animal Diversity Web Anoop KR Sundar KSG Khan BA amp Lal S 2009 Common Moorhen Gallinula chloropus in the diet of the African catfish Clarias gariepinus in Keoladeo Ghana National Park India Indian Birds 5 2 22 23 B J Roosendaal Fleuren amp Nooijen Khairuman amp Amri 2008 1 Jansen van Rensburg C van As J G amp King P H 2013 New records of digenean parasites of Clarias gariepinus Pisces Clariidae from the Okavango Delta Botswana with description of Thaparotrema botswanensis sp n Plathelminthes Trematoda African Invertebrates 54 2 431 446 2 External links EditReproduction of African catfish African catfish RAS Fish farming system All Catfish Species Inventory Handbook on the rearing and artificial reproduction of the African catfish 3 The African catfish 4 Chari in the Bari Homestead rearing of African catfish 5 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Clarias gariepinus amp oldid 1165627821, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
