Catfish

← (17) Loach

New Horizons fish

Giant snakehead (19) →

New Horizons fish
← (17) Loach	→ Giant snakehead (19)

Catfish
Image gallery
Real-world info
Name: Silurus asotus (Amur catfish) Family: Siluridae (sheatfishes)
Main appearances
DnM DnM+ AC DnMe+ iQue WW CF NL NH
Other appearances
Film HHD aF PC
Names in other languages  ナマズ  메기  Pesce gatto  Katzenwels  鲶鱼  Silure  Siluro  Meerval  鯰魚  Barbotte  Siluro  Сом

The catfish is a common fish introduced in Animal Crossing. In games prior to Animal Crossing: New Horizons, it appears in rivers; in New Horizons, it instead appears in ponds. It appears as a large shadow from 4 PM to 9 AM from late spring to mid fall. Selling for 800 Bells, the catfish is the second least expensive lake fish.

Catch details

In Animal Crossing

#7

"I caught a catfish! I think I'll name it Whiskers..."

DnM / iQue

DnM+

AC

DnMe+

Time of year	May – Oct
Time of day	4 PM – 9 AM
Location	River
Shadow size	Large
Selling price	200 Bells
Feng shui	None
Furniture size

In Wild World

#15

"I caught a catfish! Here, kitty kitty!"

Description	They're nocturnal carnivores and cannibals. This, of course makes them hard to breed.
Time of year	May – Oct
Time of day	4 PM – 9 AM
Peak times	Jun – Sep
Location	River pool
Shadow size	Medium
Fish size	60 cm
Selling price	800 Bells
Furniture size

In City Folk

#15

"I caught a catfish! Who's meowing now?!"

Description	These nocturnal carnivores are also cannibals, so they're hard to farm-raise.
Time of year	May – Oct
Time of day	4 PM – 9 AM
Peak times	N/A
Location	River pool
Shadow size	Medium
Fish size	About 24 in.
Selling price	800 Bells
Furniture size

In New Leaf

#17

"I caught a catfish! Do you think it has 9 lives?"

Time of year	May – Oct
Time of day	4 PM – 9 AM
Peak times	9 PM – 4 AM
Location	River pool
Shadow size	Large
Fish size	60 cm
Selling price	800 Bells
Furniture size

In Pocket Camp

#58

Availability	Currently available (since March 26, 2024) 2019-04-24 – 2019-04-29 (Fishing Tourney: Schoolroom) 2019-08-20 – 2020-06-29 2021-02-17 – 2021-02-20 (Catfish Goals) 2021-03-26 – 2021-06-29 2022-03-24 – 2022-06-23 2023-03-23 – 2023-09-15 2024-02-18 – 2024-02-21 (Catfish Goals)
Location	Lost Lure Creek
Shadow size	Large
Size	50.1 cm – 69.9 cm
Rarity	★★
Selling price	400 Bells
Version added	Unknown
Villager gift data	Tier: 3 (Uncommon+) Rewards:  1,500 Bells Fortune cookie (20%) +3 Friendship points

In New Horizons

#18

"I caught a catfish! I'm more of a dogfish person..."

Time of year	North: May – Oct South: Nov – Apr
Time of day	4 PM – 9 AM
Location	Pond
Shadow size	Large
Rarity	Common
Spawn requirement	Appears from the start of the game
Selling prices	Nook's Cranny:  800 Bells  C.J.:  1,200 Bells
Furniture size

Donating to the museum

In Animal Crossing

Upon donation to the museum, Blathers will give a generic comment about common fish:

"Even run-of-the-mill, common fish are valuable resources, you see. All part of the grand tapestry, wot! We will take excellent care of this fellow, oh yes. You can rest assured. Excellent care, indeed."

In Wild World

"I've heard some claim that these fish taste a bit like eel, you know. If you want to sample it, <Player Name>, I'd recommend panfrying it. Indeed, I believe you could deep-fry a rock, and I'd enjoy it, wot!"

In City Folk

"Catfish are known the world over for their voracious appetites! They'll try to eat anything in one bite, up to and including things the of their bodies...or so I hear! The largest of these hungry fish can grow up to 40 inches in length... Imagine going down to the river and having one of those behemoths come at you! The horror!"

It can be found in the middle-left tank in the aquarium.

In New Leaf

Blathers does not make a small talk about the fish in Animal Crossing: New Leaf, but there is an information board for the catfish.

"Catfish are known for their long whiskers, wide bodies, and large mouths, but they don't have fur. Despite having large eyes, they have rather poor eyesight. They make up for this with sensory whiskers. Catfish have small horizontal and vertical lines in their bodies, almost like perforated lines. These holes are for detecting weak electric currents of other fish, making them adept hunters. Catfish are artful carnivores as they swim around lazily, but then strike quickly when prey is found."

In New Horizons

When donating to Blathers or selecting "Tell me about this!" in New Horizons, he will provide the following information about the fish:

"Catfish don't have scales and are rather slimy. Believe it or not, this slime helps them breathe! Some species of catfish are nocturnal, and they'll feed on almost anything. They use a suctioning action to pull in their food. Did I mention they can grow as large as you or I?"

When donated, the catfish can be seen swimming around the large recessed tank in the freshwater section of the fish exhibit with the Bluegill.

Fishing Tourney

During a Fishing Tourney, when given a catfish, Chip will say the following dialogue.

In City Folk

"Y'know, microwaved catfish will make your house smell like catfish. Nyuuuk nyuk nyuk nyuk!"

In New Leaf

"If it's catfish we're talking about, you have to do tempura. Have to. No way around that, no, sir. I mean, I'm just gonna go ahead and eat it raw, but you know... Oh well. Mmmm. YUM!"

Gallery

For more images, view this subject's gallery.

• 

  Animal Crossing

• 

  Animal Crossing: Wild World

• 

  Animal Crossing: City Folk

• 

  Animal Crossing: New Leaf

• 

  Animal Crossing: New Horizons

Real-world information

A real-life catfish

Catfish have one of the greatest range in size within a single order of bony fish. Many catfish have a maximum length of under 12 cm. Some of the smallest species of Aspredinidae and Trichomycteridae reach sexual maturity at only 1 centimeter (0.4 in). The Siluriformes are commonly caught in real life, usually in ponds or lakes. In some fiction, it plays a pun on the name "catfish" by making it have the head of a cat. In some parts of the world, catfish are eaten.

Names in other languages

	ナマズ Namazu	(Amur) catfish
	메기 Megi	(Amur) catfish
	鲶鱼 Niányú	Catfish
	Сом Som	Silurus catfish
	Meerval	Siluridae catfish
	Katzenwels	Catfish
	Siluro	Sheatfish/Wels catfish
	Silure	Catfish
	Barbotte	Bullhead catfish
	Pesce gatto	Catfish

Notes

Pocket Camp fish

Fishing Fishing Tourney Locations Saltwater Shores Lost Lure Creek List of fish Achilles surgeonfish Amago salmon Amazon leaffish Amberjack Anchovy Angelfish Arapaima Arowana Atlantic mackerel Barbel steed Barred knifejaw Bering wolffish Betta Bitterling Black bass Black ghost knifefish Black rockfish Blowfish Bluegill Blue marlin Butterfly fish Carp Catfish Char Cherry salmon Clown fish Coelacanth Comb jelly Crawfish Crucian carp Dab Dace Dark-banded rockfish Darkfin pike eel Eel Firefly squid Flying fish Football fish Freshwater crab Freshwater goby Frilled shark Frog Frogfish Gar Giant king salmon Giant manta ray Giant river prawn Giant snakehead Giant trevally Golden trout Gold football fish Gold horse mackerel Gold olive flounder Gold tuna Gourami Harlequin shrimp Horse mackerel Horsehair crab Japanese halfbeak Killifish King catfish King dab King goliath frog King koi King olive flounder King red snapper King salmon King stringfish Koi Largehead hairtail Loach Longtooth grouper Mantis shrimp Megamouth shark Mitten crab Moorish idol Moray eel Napoleonfish Neon tetra Nomura's jellyfish Northern comb jelly Oarfish Ocean sunfish Octopus Olive flounder Ornate spiny lobster Pacific saury Pale chub Pelican eel Pike Pineapplefish Pond smelt Pop-eyed goldfish Puffer fish Rainbow trout Ray Red snapper Redtail catfish Ribbon eel Sailfin sandfish Sakura shrimp Salmon Sea bass Sea bunny Sea butterfly Sea horse Shark Silver pomfret Skipjack tuna Snapping turtle Snow crab Soft-shelled turtle Spider crab Spiny lobster Splendid alfonsino Splendid garden eel Spotted garden eel Spring mackerel Squid Stringfish Sturgeon Surgeonfish Sweetfish Sweet shrimp Tadpole Threadfin trevally Tiger catfish Tiger prawn Tilapia Tuna Vampire crab Whale shark White lumpfish Yellow perch Zebra turkeyfish List of Fishing Tourney-exclusive fish Amethyst jewelfish Aqua eggler fish Aquamarine jewelfish Atlantic horseshoe crab Barreleye Berry-chocolate fish Bicolor dottyback Bigfin reef squid Black clown fish Black horsehair crab Black ruby barb Black wakin goldfish Blackspot tuskfish Blooper Blue bewitched frog Blue flagonfish Blue moon jellyfish Blue starfish Blueberry-candy fish Chambered nautilus Cheep Cheep Cheep Chomp Cherry-candy fish Crystal red shrimp Dark-chocolate fish Diamond tetra Dorado Eep Cheep Fancy pastel arapaima Fancy pastel arowana Fancy pastel carp Flame angelfish Giant isopod Giant sparkly manta ray Giant squid Gold starfish Golden koi Goldfish Grape candy fish Great barracuda Great white shark Green bonefish Green boxfish Green discus Green lumpfish Green moon jellyfish Green Napoleonfish Green octopus Green spotted puffer Green squid Guppy Hammerhead shark Honey eel Honey sea horse Honey sea slug Horseshoe crab Icy butterfly fish Icy chambered nautilus Icy lobster Island Horse Mackerel Island olive flounder Island red snapper Island tuna Ivory arowana Lemon-candy fish Lemur-tail seahorse Lobster Longsnout seahorse Mahi-mahi Maple-leaf koi Melon candy fish Milk-chocolate fish Nebula starfish Opah Orange bewitched frog Orange bonefish Orange candy fish Orange discus Pacific cod Pink anemonefish Pink eggler fish Pink koi Pink squid Piranha Platinum black bass Platinum catfish Platinum gar Platinum pale chub Pot-bellied seahorse Purple bewitched frog Purple bonefish Purple festival fish Purple octopus Purple starfish Ranchu goldfish Red festival fish Red flagonfish Red garra Red king crab Red lionfish Red lumpfish Red sea bream Red snow crab Red wakin goldfish Ruby jewelfish Saddled bichir Saw shark Silver arowana Smalltooth sand tiger Sparkly jellyfish Sparkly whale shark Spotted knifejaw Threadfin butterflyfish Umbrella octopus Weedy stingfish White angelfish White butterfly koi White puffer fish White ribbon eel White starfish White tuxedo guppy Yellow boxfish Yellow eggler fish Yellow festival fish Yellow flagonfish Yellow king piranha Yellow moon jellyfish Yellow starfish Yellowfin tuna Zebra moray Project