Are walking catfish, pond horned fish and catfish the same? How to tell them apart and nutrition comparison

In everyday life, many people like to eatcatfish, feeling that its flesh is tender, it has few bones, and the price is cheap. However, not many people can tell the difference between walking catfish, pond horned fish and catfish. So, are these three fish actually the same? Which is more nutritious?

1. Walking catfish

There are mainly two kinds of walking catfish in our country. One is the Egyptian walking catfish, an economic fish species introduced from Africa for trial farming in our country, usually called the airbreathing catfish, also called the North African catfish. Its reproductive capacity and adaptability are both very strong, and it is large in size and grows fast; the other is the native catfish, generally commonly known as walking catfish or pond horned fish. Its flesh is tender and tasty, with high nutritional value, and it is a delicacy people very much enjoy. But wild fish grow slowly, and their weight generally does not exceed one jin.

1. Egyptian walking catfish

The Egyptian walking catfish, whose scientific name is the Egyptian airbreathing catfish, is very different from the local native catfish that people usually see. The main difference is that the Egyptian walking catfish has a very large dorsal fin on its back, and has eight barbels (four pairs), and its body color is generally black.

2. Local walking catfish

The native walking catfish is generally called the small-mouthed catfish, airbreathing catfish, native catfish, or walking catfish. What makes it different from the Egyptian walking catfish is that it has only a small tuft of dorsal fin on its back, and only 2 pairs of barbels, four maxillary barbels that can reach as far as the end of the pectoral fin, while the mandibular barbels are shorter. The local walking catfish is generally smaller in size, and its body color is mostly light yellow or earth yellow.

2. Catfish

Catfish is the name of a genus, and under it there are many kinds of catfish, including the airbreathing catfish, the big-mouthed catfish, and the sea catfish. The airbreathing catfish is generally what we commonly call the walking catfish, the big-mouthed catfish is what we call the six-whiskered catfish, river catfish, or fork-mouthed catfish, and the sea catfish is a catfish that lives in the ocean. It is not necessarily of the catfish genus, but because it looks similar, it is generally all called sea catfish.

1. Big-mouthed catfish

It looks no different from the local catfish, but its mouth is very large and its flesh is rather ordinary. Generally speaking, unscrupulous restaurants most like to use this kind of catfish to cheat diners who do not know better. The only difference is that the big-mouthed catfish grows rapidly and is much larger than the catfish, and it can be identified by its mouth shape in appearance.

2. Sea catfish

A catfish that lives in the sea, classified in species under the family Ariidae. It is relatively common in the East China Sea and the South China Sea of our country. It has a fishy taste and poor flesh quality, and is generally processed into salted dried goods, or braised.

After some understanding, many people still cannot distinguish catfish from walking catfish. In fact, the method for telling whether it is a walking catfish or a catfish is still quite simple.

First, it can be easily distinguished from the color and appearance. The walking catfish's body is basically black and it has eight barbels and likes to eat carrion, while the catfish's body color is yellowish and it has only two barbels at its mouth, and the catfish has fins only on the underside while the walking catfish has them both above and below

Second, their living environments are also very different. Walking catfish like to live in sewage and have strong survival ability and a wide range of foods; captive-bred catfish can be said to eat anything they can swallow. Catfish, by contrast, prefer to live in clean, flowing waters, are afraid of light, like to hunt at night, and like to hole up in caves when winter comes. They have three major features: a big mouth, a big head, and a big belly.

After reading this, do you not think it is quite simple? As for which is more nutritious, then of course it is the catfish. You can tell from their prices: wild catfish sell for 40 yuan per jin, while walking catfish at two yuan per jin still go unwanted.

Nutritional analysis of catfish:

Catfish is rich in nutrients such as protein and minerals, and is especially suitable for people who are weak and deficient or malnourished. 

Who catfish is suitable for:

The general population can all eat it.

1. It is most suitable for the elderly, children, postpartum women, and people with poor digestive function; it is suitable for people who are weak and deficient, malnourished, have insufficient breast milk, have difficulty urinating, or have water-gas edema;

2. Catfish is a stimulative food, so patients with chronic diseases or sores should eat it with caution.