Bulls Eye Catfish

About

The Bulls Eye Catfish (Horabagrus brachysoma) is a large, handsome catfish from the backwaters and slow-moving waters of Kerala, in southwestern India, where it supports a local fishery and is commonly sold as a food fish. The body is warm golden-yellow to olive, with a dark, roughly circular blotch on the shoulder that gives the fish its common name. This marking is also the easiest way to tell it apart from its close relative Horabagrus nigricollaris, which sports a collar-like band that wraps over the top of the body. In the aquarium, the Bulls Eye is a nocturnal animal and tends to stay hidden during the day, becoming more active once the lights go down. It is generally peaceful toward tankmates too large to swallow, but anything smaller is fair game, so choosing companions carefully is essential. Good matches include large cyprinids, bigger cichlids, Arowana, Polypterus, and other substantial catfish. The real catch with this species is its adult size. Juveniles sold at two or three inches look manageable, but this fish will eventually need a very large, well-filtered system to thrive. It is frequently marketed as a community fish, which it simply is not at full size. Given appropriate space and compatible tankmates, though, it is a hardy and rewarding fish to keep long-term.