Ecology Summary - Wallago attu

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Main Ref.	Roberts, T.R., 1993
Remarks	Found in large rivers, lakes and tanks. A large, voracious and predatory catfish which thrives in heels with grassy margin (Ref. 6028); mostly hides under holes in river banks and canals (Ref. 44149). Associated with deep, still or slow-flowing water with a mud or silt substrate (Ref. 6028). Sluggish and stays on muddy or silty bottom in search of food. Juveniles feed mainly on insects; adults feed on smaller fish, crustaceans, and mollusks. Abundant during the warm season; a pre-monsoon summer breeder. In the Mekong, it is reported to migrate to smaller streams, canals and to the floodplain during the flood season (Ref. 37770). When the water level in the Mekong drops and the flood recedes, it moves to the Mekong or larger tributaries, where it stays in deep pools until the next inundation period (Ref. 37770). Destructive to other more valuable food-fishes. Bites strongly if handled, with its huge mouth, formidable jaws, and band of conical teeth.

Main Ref.

Roberts, T.R., 1993

Remarks

Found in large rivers, lakes and tanks. A large, voracious and predatory catfish which thrives in heels with grassy margin (Ref. 6028); mostly hides under holes in river banks and canals (Ref. 44149). Associated with deep, still or slow-flowing water with a mud or silt substrate (Ref. 6028). Sluggish and stays on muddy or silty bottom in search of food. Juveniles feed mainly on insects; adults feed on smaller fish, crustaceans, and mollusks. Abundant during the warm season; a pre-monsoon summer breeder. In the Mekong, it is reported to migrate to smaller streams, canals and to the floodplain during the flood season (Ref. 37770). When the water level in the Mekong drops and the flood recedes, it moves to the Mekong or larger tributaries, where it stays in deep pools until the next inundation period (Ref. 37770). Destructive to other more valuable food-fishes. Bites strongly if handled, with its huge mouth, formidable jaws, and band of conical teeth.

Aquatic zones / Water bodies

	Marine - Neritic	Marine - Oceanic	Brackishwater	Freshwater
Marine zones / Brackish and freshwater bodies	supra-littoral zone littoral zone sublittoral zone	epipelagic mesopelagic epipelagic abyssopelagic hadopelagic	estuaries/lagoons/brackish seas mangroves marshes/swamps	rivers/streams lakes/ponds caves exclusively in caves

Highighted items on the list are where Wallago attu may be found.

Habitat

Substrate
Substrate Ref.
Special habitats
Special habitats Ref.

Associations

Ref.
Associations
Associated with
Association remarks
Parasitism

Feeding

Feeding type	mainly animals (troph. 2.8 and up)
Feeding type Ref.	Lim, P., S. Lek, S.T. Touch, S.-O. Mao and B. Chhouk, 1999
Feeding habit	hunting macrofauna (predator)
Feeding habit Ref.	Roberts, T.R., 1993

Trophic Level(s)

Estimation method	Original sample		Unfished population		Remark
Estimation method	Troph	s.e.	Troph	s.e.	Remark
From diet composition
From individual food items	3.68	0.56			Trophic level estimated from a number of food items using a randomized resampling routine.
Ref.

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Aquatic zones / Water bodies

Habitat

Associations

Feeding