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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 - bag are ee uss
Etymology Bagarius: From the Bengali name of the fish (Vaghari). 
Hop to next section Species Information
Size 2000mm or 78.7" SL. Find near, nearer or same sized spp.
Sexing Unknown
Hop to next section Habitat Information
Distribution Asia: Ganges, Mekong and Chao Phraya basins. Reported from Salween, Maeklong and Peninsular Thailand.
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, Upper Salween (Nu Jiang) (click on these areas to find other species found there)

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IUCN Red List Category
Vulnerable
, range map and more 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.
Hop to next section 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.
Hop to next section Further Information
Reference An account of the fishes found in the river Ganges, pp 186, 378, Pl. 7 (fig. 62).
Registered Keepers There is no registered keeper.
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.
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Bagarius bagarius QR code LFS label creator
ARN ref:1.20.167.572
Last Update 2021 Aug 17 09:18 (species record created: 2005 Nov 28 00:00)