Silver catfish (Schilbe intermedius)

Scientific name: Schilbe intermedius R?ppell, 1832

Silver catfish (Schilbe intermedius)

The Silver catfish (Schilbe intermedius) is a freshwater fish of the family Schilbeidae.

Biology

Reported to be a pelagic species. Occur mainly on shallow waters. Migrate to the surface at night. Feed on a wide range of invertebrates including terrestrial insects and whole or pieces of fish. Primarily piscivorous at 13-34 cm TL. Rarely grow to lengths greater than 30 cm SL. Spawn throughout the year peaking once. Migrate into rivers in fairly compact schools during the rainy season to spawn in floodwater pools. Oviparous, eggs are unguarded.

Source: FishBase, licensed CC BY-NC 4.0.

Species facts

Scientific name
Schilbe intermedius
Family
Schilbeidae (Schilbid catfishes)
Order
Siluriformes (Catfish)
Class
Actinopterygii (Ray-finned fishes)
Maximum length
60.5
Depth range
0–60 m (0–197 ft)
Environment
Freshwater; pelagic; potamodromous; depth range 0 - 60 m, usually 0 - 30 m
Climate
Tropical
Distribution
Africa: Senegal, Gambia, Casamance, Corubal, Geba, Little Scarcies, Sassandra, Boubo, Bandama, Agn?bi, M?, Como?, Tano, Pra, Volta basin, Mono, Sio, Ou?m?, Ogun, entire Niger and Chad basins, Cross, Wouri and Sanaga; absent between Little Scarcies and Sassandra; further in the entire Congo River basin, Malagarasi, Luiche, Cunene, Okavango, entire Zambezi including the Kafue system, Lake Kariba, Webi Shebeli, Wando, Tana, Galana, Athi, Wami, Rufiji-Ruaha, Lake Rukwa, lower Sabi-Lundi, Shire below Murchison Falls, Lake Chilwa, Ruvu, Pungwe, Limpopo, Incomati and Pongola.
Conservation status (IUCN)
Least Concern (LC)
Threat to humans
Harmless
Uses
Aquaculture: commercial
Resilience
High, minimum population doubling time less than 15 months (tmax=5, probably greater; K

Sources

Taxonomy, distribution and biology data: FishBase (Froese, R. and D. Pauly, eds.), licensed CC BY-NC 4.0.

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