Boal Fish: Origin, Characteristics, Uses, Photo

Boal fish or Wallago attu is a catfish of freshwater which is native to South and Southeast Asia. The fish is of the Siluridae family and it is very popular and highly prized in it’s native area.

This fish is known by many different names in many different regions and languages with the common names are wallago catfish and helicopter catfish. Other names of these fish include Borali, Aaththu vaalai, Sareng, Balia, Gual, Tapah, Barari, nga pat, Barwari, Balai, Parhin, Attu vala, Baloo, Bohari, Mully, Jarko, Walaya, Valaga etc.

Wallago attu is one of the fish species that has been used as food in the Southeast Asian countries since ancient times. It is mainly popular in Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, Vietnam, Indonesia, Nepal and some other countries.

Table of Contents

Classification of Boal Fish

The classification of this fish are listed below.

Kingdom	Animalia
Phylum	Chordata
Class	Teleostomi
Order	Siluriformes
Family	Siluridae
Genus	Wallago
Species	W. attu
Scientific Name	Wallago attu

Characteristics

Boal fish is a large fish species which can reach a maximum length of 2 meter. It is similar in appearance to Wallagonia leerii, which is much larger in size. This fish can be differentiated by it’s relatively long and narrower head, as well as its dorsal fin, which is high and sharp. The eyes lie above the mouth of the fish.

Feeding

As a large, predatory fish, Wallago attu maintains a largely piscivorous diet. Gut content analysis performed on specimens from the Godavari river in India shows that about 90 to 95% of the consumed food consisted of animal matter.

Among the prey fishes most commonly found in the stomachs of Godavari river W. attu are razorbelly minnows (Salmophasia phulo), ticto barbs (Pethia ticto) and perchlets (Chanda nama), all of which are small species that reach maximum lengths of about 10–12 cm (3.9–4.7 in).

Breeding

Rainy season is the breeding period of Boal. They generally lay eggs in July to August. They lay eggs in both bound and open water reservoir.

Uses

Wallago attu is one of the fish species that has been used as food in the Southeast Asian countries since ancient times. It is a fatty fish and very popular for it’s taste in it’s native area.