Species Details

@Ziyad, Abdul (www.fishbase.se)

Catla Did you see this animal?

Scientific Name : Catla catla
Family : Cyprinidae
Order : Cypriniformes
Class : Actinopterygii
Phylum : Chordata
Habitat : Rivers,Lakes,Ponds
 
Description : This fish has a somewhat flattened body with a broad head and a wide mouth with a thick lower lip. It doesn't have any whisker-like barbels. Its coloration is dark gray on top and silvery on the sides and belly. The fins are mostly blackish, except for the pectoral fin, which is pale. Along its side, you'll find about 40-43 scales in a line.
The head makes up about 27.1% of its standard length (the typical length measurement for fish) and 25.0% of its total length.
Its body height is roughly 38.3% of its standard length and 35.3% of its total length.
The diameter of its eye is about 15% of the length of its head.
For its fins, it has:
18 dorsal fin rays.
20 rays in its pectoral fin.
9 rays in its pelvic fin.
8 rays in its anal fin.
This fish can grow to a maximum length of about 180 cm (but typically around 30 cm). The largest one ever measured was 55 cm long from Chalan Beel in Bangladesh in 2007.
You can find this fish in freshwater bodies like ponds, ditches, canals, rivers, lakes, and more. It's rarely found in slightly salty water. In its habitat, it usually stays near the surface of the water.
When it comes to food, it's not a predator. Instead, it feeds on things floating on the surface and in the middle of the water. Its diet includes zooplankton (tiny water creatures) and sometimes human-made foods like rice bran, wheat bran, and oilseed cake when raised in fish farming.
In terms of reproduction, this fish naturally breeds in flowing water bodies, especially during the rainy season. It becomes sexually mature at around two to five years of age and typically spawns during the rainy season, which lasts from May to August in Bangladesh and Northern India.
 
References:
description written by: Zarin Tasnim, Department of Zoology,Universityof Dhaka; Information sources: www.fishbase.in, Encyclopedia of flora and fauna of Bangladesh(volume 23).photo credit and copyright:Ziyad, Abdul,www.fishbase.se. more information please contact with us.