Black Catfish 8cm

Young black eel-tail catfish make interesting additions to an aquarium of Australian native fish.

This species grows quite large, although growth in aquariums is very slow Average of 25cm but up to 47cm.

These fish have been Found from the Burnett River near Bundaberg, the Dawson River in Central Queensland, and most rivers in far north Queensland. They have also been seen in western draining rivers on Cape York Peninsular. Commonly occur in Australia and Papua New Guinea.

Wild fish have been collected as large as 65cm.

Preferred temperature in the mid 20s (Celsius), however they will survive for extended periods as low as 15C and as high as 40C.

They exhibit an interesting pattern a little like honeycomb. This pattern is displayed by all size classes but sometimes is only displayed under certain conditions. The colours within this pattern are black, and several shades of grey. But the most attractive colour is blue. the same blue colour is also seen at the bass of the eye.

Two well spaced dorsal fins present with the posterior dorsal fin fused with the caudal (tail) fin; anal fin also fused with caudal fin to produce an eel-like tail. There is a sharp toxic spine associated with the dorsal fin and one with each pectoral fin. The snout is somewhat elongated and has 4 pairs of barbels or ‘whiskers’ near the mouth. 

Adult fish in spawning condition will display an orange belly. In the wild these fish will spend their days in quiet deep holes. At night they will roam all areas of the river, including fast flowing sections. They can be found in small streams and large rivers