Wallago Catfish (Wallago attu) Care Guide
Wallago attu is a large predatory Asian sheatfish reaching well over a metre, suitable only for very large public aquaria, not home tanks.
Compiled by Aquairi from published sources · Published · Updated
Overview
Wallago attu is a large predatory sheatfish of the family Siluridae. FishBase records it across Asia from Pakistan to Vietnam and Indonesia, with reports from Afghanistan. The English Wikipedia describes two disconnected populations spanning major Indian rivers and the Mekong and adjacent Southeast Asian drainages.
Taxonomy
- Family: Siluridae (sheatfishes)
- Genus: Wallago
- Scientific name: Wallago attu
Habitat
FishBase reports it inhabiting large rivers, lakes and tanks, favoring deep, still or slow-flowing water with a mud or silt substrate, and hiding in holes along riverbanks. In the Mekong it migrates to floodplains during floods and retreats to deeper pools as water recedes.
Size and tank requirements
- Maximum length: up to 240 cm TL (FishBase); common length about 75 cm
- Minimum tank volume: 4000 L (public-aquarium scale)
- Temperature: 22-26 °C (72-79 °F)
- pH: 6.0-7.5
- GH: 2-15 °dGH
Diet
FishBase describes Wallago attu as a voracious carnivore at trophic level 3.7, with formidable jaws and a band of conical teeth. Juveniles eat insects; adults take smaller fish, crustaceans and mollusks.
Compatibility
This is an aggressive apex predator that will consume any tankmate it can swallow. It is unsuitable for home aquaria even as a juvenile and belongs only in very large public or specialist holding systems.
Conservation status
IUCN Red List: Vulnerable (assessed 2019). FishBase notes the species is threatened due to over-harvesting.
Breeding Wallago attu
Overview
Wallago attu is a large, voracious predatory catfish of the family Siluridae. FishBase records a maximum length of 240 cm total length, with a common length around 75 cm, distributed across Asia from Pakistan to Vietnam and Indonesia. It mostly hides in holes in river banks and canals, preferring deep, still or slow-flowing water with a mud or silt substrate, and feeds on smaller fish, crustaceans and mollusks.
Conditioning
FishBase describes the species as a pre-monsoon summer breeder, abundant during the warm season. Its reproduction is tied to the monsoon flood cycle, with the natural trigger being rising warm water ahead of the rains.
Spawning Behavior & Trigger
FishBase classifies the species as oviparous, with distinct pairing possibly like other members of the family. In the Mekong it migrates into smaller streams, canals and onto the floodplain during the flood season, then retreats to deep pools in the main river and tributaries when the flood recedes, remaining there until the next inundation.
Common Challenges
Reproduction depends on a large-river flood-migration cycle and on the fish reaching a very large size, neither of which can be provided in an aquarium. Documented reproduction comes from riverine populations and controlled hatchery work rather than home tanks.