#blue catfish

[t00thpasteface]

here's something stupid: the catcatfish

some quick facts:

they're nocturnal and tend to roam around while awake.

they have keen senses of smell and hearing, but terrible eyesight. despite this, they also have a tapetum lucidum, making their pupils "glow" in the dark.

their fur is short, dense, and oily to waterproof them.

they prefer a diet of mostly meat and are attracted to strong-smelling food like fish, cheese, and anything fermented.

the elongated dewclaw on each front paw is sharp, flexible, and nonretractable. it injects a venom that causes respiratory failure and cardiac arrest in prey and, in extreme doses, humans. veterenarians typically remove the dewclaw venom glands during the neuter/spay procedure.

they grow to an average of 1m and 23kg (3ft and 50lb) but can reach up to double that length and triple the weight!

[i-give-you-a-fish]

I want a blue one

You get a Blue Catfish

Ictalurus furcatus

[uncharismatic-fauna]

The Beautiful Blue Catfish

Blue catfish (Ictalurus furcatus) are members of the bullhead catfish family, native to the drainages of the Mississippi, Missouri, and Ohio river basins and the Gulf of Mexico. Because of their popularity as game fish, this species has also been introduced to freshwater systems throughout North and South America, and is considered invasive in these areas.

Like many catfish, I. furcatus is a bottom dweller. They can often be found near complex structures such as rocky outcroppings, fallen trees, or sunken structures that provide both food and shelter. The blue catfish is an opportunistic predator, consuming any fish or aquatic invertebrates it can find, as well as eggs, small amphibians, and injured or recently deceased animals. Adult I. furcatus are seldom prey for other species due to their size, but hatchlings and juveniles are often food for cormorants, willets, osprey, pelicans, and bald eagles. To deter predators, this species has serrated barbs along their dorsal and pectoral fins, each laced with a particularly painful toxin.

Though they can be difficult prey for other animals, the blue catfish is a popular target for fishermen, and for good reason; they're the largest species of catfish in North America. Adults can easily reach a length of 65 in (170 cm) and a weight of 165 lb (75 kg). As indicated by their name, most individuals are grey or blue, with a lighter underbelly. This species also lacks scales, a common characteristic of catfish, and the face is framed by long whisker-like barbels that help it detect nearby food.

While generally solitary, blue catfish aren't territorial, and tend to ignore each other until the mating season. Reproduction begins in April and continues until June, during which time males attract a female by building a nest and releasing attractive pheromones. Once a female has selected a male, she lays between 4,000-8,000 eggs per kilogram of bodyweight in his nest (i.e. if the female weighs 2 kg, she may lay between 8,000-16,000 eggs). The male then disperses sperm over the eggs. Following fertilization, the male chases away the female and guards the nest for about a week, at which time the eggs hatch. The hatchlings, also known as fry, stay close together in schools for several weeks before growing large enough to disperse. It will take them a further 5 years for them to reach maturity; on average individuals live about 10 years, but can live as long as 25.

Conservation status: The blue catfish is considered Least Concern by the IUCN. Within its native range, populations face minor threats from dams and droughts. Where it has been introduced, the species is considered invasive due to its voracious appetite.

If you like what I do, consider leaving a tip or buying me a ko-fi!

Photos

Missouri Department of Conservation

NOAA

Earl Nottingham

[weevilsart]

My old oc Fishcake now anthropomorphized :D (I guess this means he’s my new fursona lol I love him)

Artwork and character by me

[fishyfishyfishtimes]

DO YOU HAVE ANY CATFISH FACTS THEY R SO SILLY

But of course! :)

Daily fish fact #421

Catfish (order Siluriformes)!

Catfish are an extremely diverse group of fish, whose sizes can reach from 10 cm to several meters, and whose dietary habits can be anything from herbivore to detrivore to carnivore to omnivore to parasite! Catfish are named after their catlike barbels (though not all catfish have barbels) which they use as sensory organs to feel the bottom of the waters they inhabit. Catfish tend to have chemoreceptors, sensory receptors that sense chemicals, throughout their whole bodies, which allow them to "smell" or "taste" anything around them! Thanks to this and their barbels, their eyes tend to be small as they don't have to rely on sight very much; however, the hearing of catfish is very well developed! They communicate through sound via using their swim bladders and pectoral fins! :)

[slurpslurpmmmoatmilk]

*stares up at you with my big ol' fish eyes*

[starspice-y]

Fucked up Midwestern Fish

[cjoat-boost]

Whoever’s close to the Chesapeake Bay Area, grab your fishing rods!! Drop your catfish recipes here too!!

[6emeaux]

[heartnosekid]

the ghost catfish (kryptopterus vitreolus) | william.exotique on ig

[jolalibrary]

"What do you say? Fancy marrying me today, Blue?" "I could think of worse things to do on a Tuesday, Morales."

—an undisclosed chapter from with no strings attached (frankie and blue)

for @auteurdelabre's trope off, vegas wedding. dedicated to the glorious, wonderful, @luxurychristmaspudding who chose this and i said "you'll never guess what i have planned for way, way in the future for our babes..."

[t00thpasteface]

god i love the blue catfish so much. kind of a terrifying superpredator honestly. they like living in muddy water so their eyesight is dogshit, but they've got these huge barbels around their face to feel around, and their whole body is covered in almost two hundred thousand tastebuds to figure out exactly where their prey is, and they've got a special adipose fin to be extra tuned-in to water currents/pressure, and they have super keen senses of hearing at really low AND high frequencies, and they ALSO have a deeply forked tail to decrease drag so they can just cruise around and gulp down literally whatever they want, including other catfish, even in like zero-visibility water where every other animal is basically blind. and they get so fucking stupid huge with this technique that nothing can grab them because they're as big as a person. and if an eagle or something does grab one before it's gotten big enough to be eagle-proof, the catfish has fucking POISON KNIVES on its fins to not only stab things but also envenomate them in the process

you may not like it, but THIS is what peak performance looks like

[jt1674]

[marchioness-of-the-flowers]

You wouldn't last an hour in the asylum where they raised me.

[itsmezzoe]

Hi mr. McCann ♥️

[indiepopaddict]

GREYSCALE ALBUM COVERS <3