They are found on every continent and have adapted to living on the bottom of many waterways. Scientifically, catfish belong to the Siluriformes order. These are actually called barbels and help catfish smell their surroundings as they scour the muddy and murky substrate for food. What are catfish, though? On the surface level, these are fish that have long whiskers protruding from the front of their face. Most of the smaller species also exhibit schooling behavior. Sizes can range anywhere from less than one inch in the pygmy cory ( Corydoras pygmaeus) all the way up to several feet with the expert-level redtail catfish ( Phractocephalus hemioliopterus). Luckily, the aquarium hobby has removed all need for noodling and instead, makes hundreds of catfish species available to the average aquarium keeper without any mud.įreshwater catfish are extremely popular to keep in the aquarium setting due to their unique appearances and bottom-dwelling behaviors. If you were not aware of this event or didn’t know what it was called, now you know! This is when fishermen wade into shallow waters, stick their arms into muddy holes, and catch catfish with their bare hands. In recent years, you may have heard of an extreme sport called noodling. Some larger catfish will eat smaller fish while small catfish enjoy schooling.Some Catfish get so large they are not practical for home aquariums The smallest Catfish are Cory Catfish.Catfish are bottom dwelling fish that come in a variety of sizes.Chloroquine Phosphate Aquarium Dosing Calculator.

Are cory cats nocturnal