Head to head
Huchen vs Wels Catfish
Huchen
VS Wels Catfish
The huchen and the wels catfish are two of the largest freshwater predators in Europe, and both are native to the Danube region, but they could hardly be less alike.
| Huchen | Wels Catfish | |
|---|---|---|
| Scientific name | Hucho hucho | Silurus glanis |
| Family | A member of the salmon family | A catfish, with a smooth, scaleless body |
| Body | A long, rounded, torpedo-shaped body with a long head and large mouth, olive to coppery with small dark spots | A long, smooth, scaleless body with a broad head and a wide mouth |
| Barbels | None | Two long upper whiskers and four shorter lower ones, packed with taste and touch receptors |
| Size | Old fish exceed a metre in length and weigh many kilograms | Commonly 1.3 to 1.6 m, with verified specimens over 2.7 m and 130 kg |
| Diet and hunting | Hunts fish such as nase, grayling, and chub, and sometimes frogs, water birds, and small mammals | Hunts fish, crayfish, frogs, rodents, and waterbirds by smell, taste, touch, and electroreception, as eyesight is minor |
| Habitat | Clean, cold, fast-flowing, free-flowing rivers of the Danube basin, spawning in spring in gravel | Rivers and lakes of central and eastern Europe and western Asia, and now widely introduced in western Europe |
| Conservation status | Endangered, declining as dams, pollution, and fishing have fragmented its populations | Least Concern, and invasive where introduced, including in Spain, the UK, and Italy |
Huchen vs Wels Catfish: common questions
Which one is bigger?
The wels catfish, with verified specimens over 2.7 m and 130 kg, while old huchen exceed a metre and weigh many kilograms.
Which one is endangered?
The huchen, which has declined as dams, river engineering, pollution, and fishing have fragmented its populations, while the wels is Least Concern.
Do they live in the same rivers?
Both are native to the Danube region, but the huchen needs clean, cold, fast water while the wels thrives in slower, warmer water.