Mahanadi river, Odisha India
Dorsal view
Video of habitat,Ramganga River,Uttarakhand, India
Taken at Ramganga, India
Close-up of a mouthful of teeth!
Sankosh river, West Bengal,India
Puri main canal, Bhubaneswar, Odisha
Puri, Main canal - dorsal view
Juvenile, Hooghly River, India
 All Fishes Data Sheet | |
|---|---|
| Scientific Name | Bagarius bagarius (Hamilton, 1822) |
| Common Names | Devil Catfish Giant Devil Catfish, Ganges-djævlemalle (Denmark), Giant Painted Catfish, Goonch, Goonch-malle (Denmark), Sand Shark |
| Type Locality | Ganges River, India [rivers at Kolkata]. |
| Synonym(s) | Bagarius buchanani, Bagarius yarrelli, Pachypterus luridus, Pimelodus bagarius, Pimelodus carnaticus |
| Pronunciation | bag are ee uss |
| Etymology | Bagarius: From the Bengali name of the fish (Vaghari). |
| Species Information | |
| Size | 2000mm or 78.7" SL. Find near, nearer or same sized spp. |
| Habitat Information | |
| Distribution | Asia Myanmar Waters (click on these areas to find other species found there) Indian waters (click on these areas to find other species found there) Thailand Waters (click on these areas to find other species found there) Vietnam waters (click on these areas to find other species found there) Cambodia waters (click on these areas to find other species found there) Pacific, Greater Sunda Island Rivers, Sumatra Waters (click on these areas to find other species found there) Pacific, Greater Sunda Island Rivers, Borneo Waters (click on these areas to find other species found there) Pacific, Greater Sunda Island Rivers, Java Waters (click on these areas to find other species found there) Pakistan Waters, Indus (click on these areas to find other species found there) Indian waters, North Eastern India Waters, Padma, Ganges (click on these areas to find other species found there) Salween (Thanlwin), Upper Salween (Nu Jiang) (click on these areas to find other species found there) Login to view the map. |
| IUCN Red List Category | Vulnerable , a distribution map is available on the IUCN species page. Last assessed 2022. |
| pH | 7.2 - 7.6 |
| Temperature | 18.0-23.0°C or 64.4-73.4°F (Show species within this range) |
| Other Parameters | Clean, well oxygenated water is required for this flowing river-dwelling fish. |
| Husbandry Information | |
| Feeding | Larval foods such as bloodworm and also shrimp. larger morsels (including fish) can be offered as the fish grows. User data. |
| Furniture | Large, smooth and rounded stones over a sandy substrate. |
| Compatibility | In nature, it is a truly excellent predator, typically hunting in groups. In captivity, exhibits very anti-social behaviour so introduce other (large) fishes with extreme care as it reportedly eats scales and fin parts of some large fish kept with it. Will eat anything smaller. |
| Breeding | Unreported in the aquarium. To quote Baensch Vol. II, ''Who wants to breed this demon, anyway?''. |
| Breeding Reports | There is no breeding report. |
| Further Information | |
| Reference | An account of the fishes found in the river Ganges, pp 186, 378, Pl. 7 (fig. 62). |
| Wishlists | Love this species? Click the heart to add it to your wish list. There is no wish to keep this species. |
| Spotters | Spotted this species somewhere? Click the binoculars! There are 6 records of this fish being seen, view them all. |
| More Resources | |
| Forum BBCode | |
 | Look up B. bagarius on PlanetCatfish.com |
 | Look up B. bagarius on Fishbase |
 | Look up B. bagarius on Encyclopedia of Life |
 | Look up B. bagarius on Global Biodiversity Information Facility |
| LFS label creator ARN ref:1.20.167.572 | |
| Last Update | Mon Oct 13, 2014 1:08 pm (Species record created: Thu Jan 01, 1970 1:00 am) |