Sun Catfish Care Guide
Horabagrus brachysoma is a large golden catfish endemic to the Western Ghats rivers of India, listed as Vulnerable by the IUCN.
Compiled by Aquairi from published sources · Published · Updated
Overview
The sun catfish (Horabagrus brachysoma) is a large Indian catfish described by Günther in 1864, also called Günther's catfish or yellow catfish. It has a yellowish body marked by a black shoulder spot surrounded by a lighter outline, a large head with a wide mouth, and four pairs of barbels. It is an important food fish in India.
Taxonomy
- Family: Horabagridae (the species record lists Bagridae)
- Genus: Horabagrus
- Scientific name: Horabagrus brachysoma
Habitat
Horabagrus brachysoma is endemic to the rivers of the Western Ghats in India, including the Kerala Backwaters, Vembanad Lake, the Chalakudy, Meenachil and Nethravathi rivers, and the Uttara Kannada district. It prefers smooth-flowing areas with dense vegetation and lowland river and backwater zones with mud or sand substrate.
Tank requirements
- Minimum tank volume: 500 L
- Temperature: 22-28 °C (72-82 °F)
- pH: 6-7.5
- GH: 5-15 °dGH
- Maximum size: up to 45 cm (Wikipedia)
- Lifespan: 8-12 years
Diet
It is an unspecialized bottom feeder that eats a variety of meaty foods. In the wild it consumes crustaceans, molluscs, fish, terrestrial insects and frogs, and feeding increases during the post-monsoon breeding season.
Compatibility
Given its size and predatory feeding, it should be housed with similarly large tankmates. The record lists large barbs, large gouramis, bichirs and large plecos as suitable companions, while small fish, invertebrates and aggressive cichlids are best avoided.
Conservation status
IUCN Red List: Vulnerable. Wikipedia reports a population decline of 60-70 percent in recent years due to overexploitation, habitat alteration and pollution.
Sun Catfish Breeding Guide
Overview
The sun catfish (Horabagrus brachysoma) is a bagrid endemic to Kerala in south-western India, growing to as much as 45 cm standard length. Despite often being sold at 2-3 inches, it is a large fish, and its reproduction in the home aquarium is unrecorded.
Breeding Setup
Institutional breeding of this endangered species relies on hatchery facilities rather than display tanks. Maintenance conditions for the fish are 23-25 °C, pH 6.0-7.5 and 5-25 dH, but these do not on their own induce spawning in aquaria.
Spawning Behavior & Trigger
In aquaculture, females are induced to spawn with the synthetic hormone ovaprim at roughly 0.8-1.5 ml per kg of body weight, with a latency of about 13-20 hours. Induced fish then spawn naturally within 8-14 hours, and the fertilised eggs hatch in about 22-29 hours.
Egg & Fry Care
Hatchery programmes report fecundity on the order of 1.6-1.8 lakh (160,000-180,000) eggs per kg of body weight, with fertilisation rates of about 50-81% and hatching rates of about 27-68%. Fry rearing is carried out under controlled hatchery conditions; comparable home-aquarium fry data do not exist.
Common Challenges
The species' large adult size and the need for hormone induction put breeding beyond the reach of typical hobbyists. The sun catfish is best regarded as a display fish, and captive-bred conservation stock is preferable to wild-caught given its threatened status.