Overview
Typical of the family, its body is scaleless. The anal fin is very long and three pairs of barbels, one on the upper and two on the lower characterize the jaws. The speckled body is brown or gray-black in color.
Taxonomy
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Actinopterygii
- Order
- Siluriformes
- Family
- Siluridae
- Genus
- Silurus
- Species
- glanis
Habitat
The wels mainly inhabits deep-water lakes and rivers, though it enters brackish water in the Baltic and Black Seas and spawns in the salt water of the Aral Sea.
Diet
The Wels catfish is a carnivorous ambush predator that primarily feeds on fish such as carp and perch, as well as amphibians like frogs and crustaceans like crayfish. It also occasionally consumes birds, small mammals, and even plant matter when prey is scarce. Feeding is mostly nocturnal, with the fish lurking in deeper waters during the day and becoming more active at dusk.
Behavior
Wels stay close to the bottom during the day, seeking cover in hollows or buried in the soft bottom it prefers. This species is active at night, often in quite shallow water. It is a voracious predator, feeding mainly on fish, frogs and crayfish. Occasionally it takes voles and waterfowl. Tales of it attacking and drowning dogs and even children, but these are based on hearsay, rather than observation.
Fishing
Angling for wels is highly valued sport both for its size and skill required. The species can be caught by ledgering with live or dead fishes, by surface float fishing using a large float or even by trolling. Spinners, plugs and imitations of mice and frogs are also frequently used. The orangish flesh is practically boneless and very tasty, but large specimens tend to be too greasy. The eggs are used as caviar by themselves, or to adulterate true sturgeon caviar.
Conservation Status
Listed as Least Concern by IUCN.