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Catfish Nutrition and Feeding
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Catfish are a diverse group of mostly bottom-dwelling freshwater fishes. They comprise 2,500-plus species, spanning over 20 taxonomic families within the Order Siluriformes. A few species are marine (e.g. Plotosus) or brackish, and some occupy mid-waters.
The wide diversity in size, form and behaviour of catfishes is reflected in their various feeding strategies, which include herbivores, omnivores, and carnivores (see table below).
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Most of the bottom dwelling (= benthic) species rely on foraging over the substrate, in search of aquatic worms, insects, crustaceans and other invertebrates living on or within the river bed, or foraging on algae and other micro-organisms that coat the exposed surfaces of submerged rocks and stones.
Food Location
Many catfish are nocturnal and rely heavily on non-visual senses for nighttime food location. Studies on ictalurid catfish have revealed large numbers of taste buds occurring all over their body surface.
For example, a small (2.5cm long) bull-head catfish was found to possess around 50 taste buds / mm2 on the gill arches, with a total of 175,000 buds over it’s entire body surface.
Taste buds enable the catfish to sample the water for the presence of food molecules, and by following the trail of these molecules the fish can home in on a meal.
Scientifically, the catfish is said to possess an external gustatory (= taste) sensory system. Behavioural studies have revealed how sensitive these taste buds are: bull-head catfish, for example, are capable of detecting just a few molecules of amino acids in the water, enabling these catfish to detect food items over 5 metres away, even in complete darkness!
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Dietary Needs of Catfish
Some of the older aquarium literature refers to catfish as ‘scavengers’ that can survive by foraging on any ‘left-over’ foods within the aquarium.
Although it is true that many catfish have a cosmopolitan (omnivorous) diet, it is now understood that they have specific nutritional requirements, as is the case for all fish.
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Improvements in catfish diets, along with a great understanding of their environmental needs, have led to breeding successes with many hither to difficult-to-spawn species.
Research on catfish nutrition has largely focussed on food-fish species, notably the channel catfish, which is a major human food-fish in the United States and elsewhere.
However, studies by ornamental fish nutritionists, such as those based at the Waltham Aquacentre, have revealed a wide diversity of nutritional needs amongst the Siluriformes. In terms of siluriform dentition, examination of the bones of the mouth reveal that the pre-maxillary has teeth, but in most catfish groups the maxillary is toothless.
Food Requirements of Aquarium Catfish
In terms of aquarium husbandry, a quality catfish diet must meet the needs of most community-catfish species, notably the callichthyids (e.g. Corydoras, Brochis) and the various sucker-mouth loricariids (e.g. Plecs, Ancistrus), both groups being popular aquarium fish.
Feeding Habits of Catfishes
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Principal Feeding Habit:
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Examples:
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Herbivore
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Suckermouth catfishes of the Loricariidae
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Omnivore
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Corydoras Species
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Parasitic (skin/gill biters)
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Trichomycterids (e.g. candiru)
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Piscivore (fish eater)
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Wels catfish (silururs), some bagrids
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