Is the bigmouth catfish the same as the native catfish? A detailed look at feeding habits, market price and farming methods

The bigmouth catfish, also known as the six-whiskered catfish, river catfish, fork-mouthed catfish, catfish banglang and so on, is a common fish in southern regions, and is widely farmed because of its fast growth rate and high farming returns. So is the bigmouth catfish the same as the native catfish? What does it eat to grow? How much is the market price per jin? How do you farm it?

Is it the same as the native catfish?

No. The bigmouth catfish belongs to the order Siluriformes, family Siluridae, genus Silurus. Local names: six-whiskered catfish, river catfish, fork-mouthed catfish, catfish banglang, bigmouth catfish, big river catfish, big catfish tai and so on. Its appearance is similar to the catfish, and the difference between the two is that the end of the mouth slit of the bigmouth catfish reaches or exceeds the position below the middle of the eye. The maxillary barbel reaches the base of the pectoral fin. The front edge of the pectoral fin spine has 2 to 3 rows of granular protrusions. The caudal fin is asymmetrical, with the upper lobe longer than the lower lobe. The native catfish, that is, the local catfish, catfish, family Siluridae, genus Silurus, has an elongated body that is laterally compressed toward the rear. The head is flat. The mouth is large, and the end of the mouth slit stops below the front edge of the eye. The lower jaw protrudes, and both the upper and lower jaws have fine teeth. An adult fish has 2 pairs of barbels, and 1 barbel reaches the end of the pectoral fin. The front edge of the pectoral fin spine has obvious serrations. The base of the anal fin is very long, with many fin rays. The caudal fin is small and slightly concave, with the upper and lower lobes equal in length. Long barbels grow on both gills. Its flesh is delicious and rich in nutrients, making it a prized delicacy among fish.

Differences from the native catfish:

1. The bigmouth catfish is larger than the native catfish. The native catfish has spots on its body and is smaller in size. The bigmouth catfish is larger in size, and can grow to a maximum of 60 jin, though commonly only a little over 2 jin, with a dark gray body surface and a few individuals having spots.

2. The bigmouth catfish is basically distributed in the regions south of the Yangtze River and is an economic fish species. Because it grows fast, most are farmed as a cultured fish to supply the market. Therefore, the catfish bought on the market is basically this variety.

3. The native catfish is distributed throughout the country. The vast majority of catfish caught by anglers in the north are native catfish. Native catfish are generally not large in size, commonly about 6 liang to 1.5 jin, and at most only 5 to 6 jin.

What does it eat to grow?

The bigmouth catfish mainly eats fish, shrimp, aquatic insects, benthic organisms and so on, and can eat fish equivalent to one third of its own body length. Under artificial rearing conditions, it also eats animal offal and livestock and poultry processing scraps, such as chicken intestines and pig lungs. After domestication, it also eats pelleted feed with a protein content above 40%.

Latest market price:

At present, the market price of the bigmouth catfish is about 8 yuan per jin, but prices vary from region to region, so the specific price should be inquired about in the local market.

Farming techniques:

Stocking of fingerlings

To increase the survival rate and improve farming returns, the bigmouth catfish fingerlings stocked must be above 8 cm and uniform in size. For stocking density, 1000 to 1500 fish per mu for the 8 cm to 10 cm size; 800 to 1200 fish per mu for the 10 cm to 12 cm size, with 100 to 120 large-size silver carp and bighead carp fingerlings of 150 g to 250 g mixed into the pond to regulate water quality.

Feeding with bait

The bigmouth catfish is a carnivorous fish and mainly uses live fish or chilled fresh fish and animal offal as bait, but it can also be trained by humans to eat artificial compound feed.

1. Carnivorous bait: when stocking bigmouth catfish fingerlings, correspondingly stock slightly smaller carp, crucian carp and other fingerlings. Each day, chilled fresh fish pieces still form the main part, and animal offal such as pig lungs and cow lungs can also be fed. When these animal feeds cannot be guaranteed, artificial compound feed can be eaten through artificial feeding training, and fairly good results can be achieved.

2. Artificial compound feed: the protein content of the compound feed is 41% to 50%. When feeding, set up (2 to 4) feeding platforms in each pond to make it easier to observe the feeding situation.