♦ Scientific name: Silurus asotus

♦ Common name: far eastern  catfish

♦ Distriburion

The species inhabit freshwater environments, including rivers, ponds and reservoirs in Korea, China, Japan, and Taiwan.

♦ Ecology

The catfish are nocturnal and feed voraciously on juvenile fish and other small fish.
The voracity of adults often ends in eating the juveniles of their own. This is one of the concerns in the seed production of the species. In nature, the spawning seasons are between middle May and middle July. The adults weighing 300~600g produce 20,000~30,000 eggs each time. The hatching time of the fertilized eggs 50~70 hrs
at water temperature 20~25°C.

◆ Aquaculture technique

   ○ Seedling production: Artificial ovulation can be induced after injection of HCG at the dose of 10,000IU per kg of ripened female. Striping eggs will be possible within 12 hrs after hormone injection when the water temperature is 20-22 ^oC.
Steps for artificial insemination is same as in other fishes. Hatching occurs within 50-70 hrs at the water temperature 20-25^oC. Hatching larvae is reaching 4.0-4.8mm in TL and grow to 6-10mm after 2-3 days. This is the time for supplying live food organisms such as water flea. If the food is insufficient the larvae will eat each other. Fry can be produced about 1 or 2 month later after hatching and attaining 7-10cm in TL.

  ○ Culture: Pond culture is usual to culture table fish. Stocking season is late spring for yearlings when the water temperature is over 15.

Pre-mating behavior of the far eastern catfish.	Mating behavior and scattered eggs of the far eastern catfish.