Facts about Catfish Facts about Catfish Facts Catfish are any of about 31 families and 2,000 species of fish belonging to the order Siluriformes, most of which are found in freshwater. Distributed throughout the world, they are most diverse in South America. The body is usually partly to completely armored. Most catfish have small eyes and therefore rely on taste, smell, and hearing. The barbels and much of the skin are often covered with taste buds.
Many catfish are inactive during the day, coming out to feed at night.
One or both parents guard the eggs until they hatch. Many species of freshwater catfish are used for human food. North American catfish of the genus Ictalurus are important commercially and are popular with anglers. Catfish farming, which involves raising and marketing such species as the channel catfish, I. punctatus, is a rapidly growing business in the southern United States. A parasitic catfish, the candiru, Vandellis cirrhosa, a minute South American catfish with strong, recurved spines, has been known to enter the urinary tract of persons wading in the water.