Most Predatory Catfish

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Rodders02

Plecostomus
MFK Member
Nov 13, 2015
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Perth, Australia
I’ve been mulling over this thought for a while now. No reason in particular. What do you guys think are the most predatory catfish / best ‘hunters’ out there? Top 5 answers please ;P

* To clarify, by most predatory I’m referring to the species hunting ability and primary reliance on hunting in the wild, NOT how aggressive or large it is.
 
Each catfish have their own abilities to catch prey. Some catfish like the goonch waits in the current, some catfish like cephalosilurus sp relies on camouflage to catch prey. Other catfish, my fav, like the piraiba & lince will go after their prey like a shark. So there's no specific catfish that are more predatory than others. My opinions.
 
Each catfish have their own abilities to catch prey. Some catfish like the goonch waits in the current, some catfish like cephalosilurus sp relies on camouflage to catch prey. Other catfish, my fav, like the piraiba & lince will go after their prey like a shark. So there's no specific catfish that are more predatory than others. My opinions.

That’s a fair point. However some abilities must be more successful than others. For example, tigrinus catfish -from what I’ve read- rarely have full bellies in the wild, indicating that their hunting method is potentially weaker than those of other species...
 
That’s a fair point. However some abilities must be more successful than others. For example, tigrinus catfish -from what I’ve read- rarely have full bellies in the wild, indicating that their hunting method is potentially weaker than those of other species...

When you put it like that, the most successful predatory fish are the ones that grow huge. To keep up with that growth rate, the fish need to feed frequently. Less eat less growth & supposedly an active catfish. They burn more energy & fast growth, I would say Piraiba catfish. Even in aquaria, they can grow approximately 1-1.5" a month. Even when hit 2-3' they still won't slow their growth.
 
Some of the best predatory catfish in my opinion are stuff like gulpers who can eat fish their own size, to stuff like lince cats who chase down their prey, I think the best predators are the ones who get the most or biggest meals for their size
 
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Goonch
 
Pacman, chaca chaca, apurensis and other Pseudopimelodidae, electric catfish, gulper, wallago, goonch, flathead, blue, TSN, jau, all Brachyplatystoma, etc.
 
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