Wels Catfish

Distribution: Eastern Europe and Asia, Introduced in some Western Europe countries.

Size Length: Around 3m but up to 5m

Size of maturity: Between 86 and 108cm

Age of maturity: 3 to 4 years

Life expectancy: Around 30 years

Diet: Carnivore

Social life: Solitary

IUCN red list status: Least concern



Wels-catfish (Silurus glanis) is a freshwater fish known for his size and weight that can be up to 200kg. Although they have such a big size, Wels-catfish is distinguished from other members of the family Siluridae by being the one with the smallest dorsal fin, having only 2 pairs of barbells and the caudal and anal fin being completely detached from one another.

They have sexual dimorphism. Although it is not very obvious it might be observed due to the fact that the female has a short and thick flap of skin behind the vent wile in the males it is thinner.

The females deposit around 30 thousand eggs per kg of their body mass. The fertilization external and the hatchling hatch 3 to 10 days after.

Due to sport fishing wels-catfish has been introduced in many countries leading to some population declines, although now in Europe it is forbidden to introduce them.