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| Recognition | Has an elongated muscular body, an anal fin that runs down most of its underside, a small tail and dorsal fin. It has a large, flatish head with a large mouth filled with small but sharp teeth. At the rear of the mouth the catfish has hard bony plates that it uses for crushing food iterms. |
| British record (the species was removed from the record lists in October 2000 due to illegal foreign imports and problems about authenticity) | 62lb 0oz (1997) |
| Location | Found in a few lakes and gravel pits. |
| Behaviour | Usually a solitary fish |
| Preferred Habitats | Weedy, rich, overgrown lakes with a plentyful supply of smaller food fish. |
| Best Feeding Times | A scavenger and opportunist they mainly feed at dusk, through night, and at dawn |
| Natural Food | Fish, frogs, swan mussels, newts, leeches, small mammals, birds |
| Maturity | 4 – 5 years |
| Spawning Times | May to July |
| Preferred Spawning Areas | Amongst weed |
| Fecundity | 100,000 to 370,000 eggs per kg of body weight. |
