Around the world exist more than 3000 species of catfishes. Only in United States you find around 30 different. This family fishes are huge and spreads globally.
Between those species the magnitudes adjust extremely. Some reaches enormous proportions while others stay little. The biggest living are the Mekong enormous catfish from Southeast Asia the Eurasia wels-catfish and the South America piraíba.
Different Types of Catfish
On the contrary on the little end stand the ectoparasitic candiru. Many catfishes eat detrito and like to search nourishment on the bottom. The walking catfish breathe air and even fit to move land.
Anglers meet different catfishes in various waters. Not all populate only in fresh water. In the Atlantic coast and the Gulf of Mexico you commonly find maritime species as the gafftopsail-catfish and the hardhead-catfish.
The Apalachicola river attracts many anglers because of its assortment of freshwater and maritime catfishes. In North America the freshwater species populate in lakes and rivers of Guatemala until south Canada. They form around 45 species.
These fishes do not have scales on the body and bear 8 barbels beside the muzzle.
Anglers commonly intend the blue channel and flathead-catfishes. Between them the blue grows the biggest. Flathead come second followed by the channel.
Flatheads rank between the two biggest in United States where some weighs more than 100 pounds. The channel catfish eats everything plant fishes crawfish and aquatic insects. Although not like this massive as the blue they reach remarkable weights.
The world record for channel catfish is 58 pounds. Chart helps angler estimate the weight of flathead or blue catfish.
Identify species can be tricky. Fish looks like channel catfish but if the tail no forks it probably is brown bullhead. Some as the African electric catfish generate until 450 volts of electricity.
Others for example the upside-down catfish swim usually upside down. Superbly is useful guide that separates familoies according to physical attributes. For instance flathead have flatter head than the channel catfish.