Redtail catfish

Language English

Onglets

Description

Distinguishing features

This tropical fish is easy to recognize by its broad, flattened head, long whiskers (barbels), and especially its tail fin. The tail’s bright red colour stands out against its grey-brown back and white belly.

The redtail catfish has a very wide mouth adapted for swallowing large prey. This fish can grow to impressive sizes.

Reproduction

There is little scientific information on redtail catfish reproduction in the wild. What we do know is that spawning is closely tied to seasonal flood cycles. Rising waters give adults access to suitable areas where females lay eggs, which are then fertilized by males.

External fertilization can follow long migrations, averaging about 300 km and reaching up to 1,000 km for some individuals. After spawning, the fish return to the feeding areas they came from.

Redtail catfish reach sexual maturity once they are longer than 80 cm.

Diet

The redtail catfish is an opportunistic, omnivorous predator typical of the great Amazonian rivers. It feeds mainly on fish, but supplements its diet with crustaceans, fruits that fall into the water, and occasionally small mammals or aquatic birds.

During the day, it stays near the bottom and hunts at night, using its long barbels to detect vibrations and scents in turbid water. Its very wide mouth allows it to swallow prey whole, making it a highly effective predator.

Predators

As an adult, it has few natural predators because of its impressive size. Juveniles, however, can be preyed upon by large predatory fish, caimans, and piscivorous birds.

Humans are its main predator, notably through sport fishing and collection for the aquarium trade.

Habitat

The redtail catfish lives in the great rivers of South America, mainly within the Amazon Basin. It prefers calm, deep waters with abundant vegetation, and it migrates into flooded areas during the wet season.

Ecology, behaviour

This fish is mainly nocturnal. It plays an important role in regulating fish populations and helps disperse seeds by eating fallen fruits in floodplains.

In captivity, it can be territorial and grows quickly.

Because the redtail catfish is valued for its flesh, commercial production is beginning to develop through hybridization and efforts to adapt the species to aquaculture. This practice remains marginal, however. Improving rearing protocols and managing genetic diversity are essential to support sustainable development.

French name

Poisson-chat à queue rouge

Scientific name

Phractocephalus hemioliopterus

Phylum

Chordata

Class

Actinopterygii

Order

Siluriformes

Family

Pimelodidae

Size

Length: up to 1.3 m

Weight

About 50 to 75 kg

Life span

More than 30 years

Status

Common species

At the Biodôme

The redtail catfish can be seen in the lake in the Tropical Rainforest ecosystem. It shares this pool with several other species, including tambaqui, tropical gar, and ripsaw catfish. From time to time, it also shares the space with capybaras swimming in the same waters.

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