catfishing on the ebro

[kleinboet]

I thought that that picture of the Carp taken from the hill was superb! I know that they were mating, but there was a lot of BIG carp there! If I had the right tackle, I would be very tempted to 'have a go' there!

[nomadpaul]

I wasn't aware that any catfish species had pharyngeal (throat) teeth or grinding structures. The do lack the sort of real teeth you see on pike and some other fish but many (the non-sucker mouth species) have a sort of roughened portion of the mouth that acts to hold prey when needed.

Newt , they showed a skeleton/preserved skull and mouth bone structure and it showed sets of teeth further back from the mouth......at least , thats what i think they were. I had just returned from making a brew so maybe i misheard what they were describing Edited November 10, 2007 by nomadpaul

[Newt]

That would be really interesting info and I'd love to find out if it is just Wels or do other catfish have similar. If you find details, please post a link.

[chavender]

i missed the first half ,as i was flicking through channels when i found it ,

Nick Baker's Weird Creatures

 

The Frankenstein Fish (6/8 series two)

 

not sure if its to be repeated on ch 5 or discovery planet etc might be worth checkng to see if its on dvd ?

[nomadpaul]

That would be really interesting info and I'd love to find out if it is just Wels or do other catfish have similar. If you find details, please post a link.

newt , here's a link to a brief description of the Wels catfish....and it mentions the crushing plates at the back of the throat

 

Wels Catfish

[Guest Brumagem Phil]

The skeletal head he held up I'm sure showed what actually looked like a slightly smaller set of jaws to its front ones with small teeth on them but the jaws pointed the opposite way to a normal set of jaws.

 

I certainly wouldnt want to be putting my arm down its throat as one bloke on the programme claimed he'd done!

Edited November 10, 2007 by Brumagem Phil

[Newt]

Thanks. Good info and makes me thing that shellfish could be easily handled as part of their diet since they could crush the shells before it entered their gut allowing for some digestion of the shellfish..

[Dick Dastardly]

As Ive said before the best way to describe a cats "pads" are to liken them to the male half of Velcro! Dont cut flesh like a pikes but can "graze" quite badly.

 

Phil there is no great risk putting your arm down into a cats stomach.However the few times Ive been involved in this the best bet is to get a friend to hold the mouth open whilst you dive in!

 

Newt in France cats often used to cough up/pass from the vent crushed up crayfish shells.Im not entirely sure if the rear pads do this or they are more for passing/transfering the food down to the stomach.Think Ive got a few shots in the albums that show the "teeth" arrangement in Wells so I will dig them out when in Ashford next and post them. Also some shots of what a cats pads do to a carp!

[Newt]

Thanks Budgie.

 

I know that larger channels have the same sort of roughened jaw things that were described for Wels and their jaws are strong enough to crush some pretty solid objects. I once (only once!!!) accidently put a thumb in the mouth of a 20lb channel and seriously though it was going to crush the bone before I could get it free.

[riocarl]

anyone watching ?

the program will be on animal plant this year(2008), sorry i cant give you any dates but it should be very soon. it is nice to read the good feed back it got as i was the guide working with nick baker, keep an eye on the tv listings it will be on soon