Catfish

Catfish, also called navalar in the Common tongue or barbjaws, were a carnivorous variety of game fish. They were among the most commonly eaten fish in Faerûn.
==Description==
Catfish generally had grayish-brown scales and delicate, pink flesh. They varied in size from very diminutive to huge, and were characterized by their barbels (also called "whiskers"), which were spiny, tentacle-like feelers around the corners of their mouths. In some cases, these whiskers secreted poisons of varying toxicity.
Some catfish could cross short patches of dry land. Other varietals of catfish were electric and could deliver powerful shocks to stun or kill both prey and predator. Scholars were unsure whether the source of this electric shock was mundane or magical.
===Species===
====Drusk====
A species of slow, brown-colored, flat-head catfish found throughout Faerûn and which were known for being good to eat. Although the name "drusk" was used in Amn and was widespread throughout the Realms thanks to being used by traders, local names differed: for example, they were known as "sarl" in Cormyr, the Dalelands, and Sembia and as "amaulings" or "amaul" in the coastal rivers of Tethyr.
====Giant Catfish====
Some mutant catfish could grow so large as to be called giant catfish. These usually could only be found in very large freshwater rivers and lakes and tended to be aggressive toward anything that might fit inside their mouths.
====Irrinda====
A common electric catfish found within the shallow rivers of the northern Chultan peninsula. Despite its diminutive size, it was capable of discharging a shock that would paralyze or kill the smaller fish on which it preyed.
====Likoto====
Another common electric catfish found in the rivers of Chult, the likoto was a scavenger that was equally at home in slow or fast-moving waters. They were small and had the unusual habit of swimming upside-down in order to better feed on the bottom of floating debris, such as fallen logs.
====Minjiriya====
A large species of electric catfish found within the riverways of the northern Chultan peninsula, the minjiriya was able to discharge an electric shock powerful enough to kill an adult human. Chultan fishers were suitably wary of them.
====Spiny Sleeper====
The spiny sleeper was a toxic cousin to the catfish that could be found in the Great Glacier.
====Stalking Catfish====
The stalking catfish was a cousin to the giant catfish that could be found within the Underdark, and which could survive outside of water for a considerable time.
====Verme====
Another cousin to the giant catfish, verme were large carnivorous predators characterized by their large scales and needle-like teeth. They could be found in the tropical and subtropical waters of Kara-Tur.
==Ecology==
Many types of catfish were found throughout freshwater lakes and riverbeds in temperate, warm, subtropical, and tropical environments. Blind varietals could also be found in underground waters.
Catfish were primarily scavengers and bottom-feeders, and were not picky in what they attempted to eat. Some also hunted and fed on smaller species of fish, which occasionally made them competition for communities who also ate those same fish.
They were a favorite food of catoblepas and crocodiles.
===Habitats===
Catfish could be found from the temperate, subtropical, and tropical freshwaters of Kara-Tur (notably in the Dreaming River on the Malatran Plateau) and the Chultan peninsula (notably in the River Soshenstar and in Lake Grunglung) to the much colder waters of northern Faerûn, such as the streams and rivers of Amn (notably in the Alandor River), Cormanthor (notably in the Elvenflow but also in the Deeping and Semberflow), Cormyr and Sembia (notably in the Starwater River), the Dalelands (notably in the Dalestream), the Dessarin Valley (notably in the River Dessarin itself, but also the Laughingflow and the River Surbrin), the Moonshae Isles, and the Western Heartlands (notably in the River Chionthar), as well as in Highstar Lake of the High Moor and the great lake of the Moonsea. They could occasionally be found in saltwater environments, such as the Sea of Fallen Stars.
Catfish could be found in the shallow streams branching off of the River Styx on the plane of Pandemonium, and such specimens could grow to surprising size.
===Uses===
A plump catfish could provide a good meal for two adults. They were widely eaten in Faerûn, most notably in places like the Sword Coast, the Heartlands, the Lake of Steam, the Lands of Intrigue, and the North; in the Underdark; in Kara-Tur, most notably in Wa and Malatra; and in Zakhara. Nixies kept herds of catfish as food, alongside the likes of bass and trout. Dwarven citadels were said to sometimes maintain cisterns where they raised blind catfish and trout meant to serve as food in case of a siege. They were also kept by the grung of Chult.
As a game fish, they were recreationally fished in places like Cormanthor, the Moonshaes and Port Nyanzaru. Centaurs maintained catfish ponds that they were careful not to deplete.
Whether for food or for sport, anglers sought to catch catfish with bait ranging from leatherjackets and nightcrawlers to moldy cheese and pieces of fat. Some Faerûnian fishers had a method for hunting catfish that involved reaching one's hand directly into a suspected den. This method was not only discouraged but mocked by fishers in places like Chult, where electric catfish like the minjiriya could kill someone who attempted it.
==Availability==
* The Copper Coronet in Athkatla included catfish guts in its popular and affordable "sark" stew.
* In Crimmor, a common "sward-feast" (i.e., picnic food) was throus, which featured smoked drusk catfish.
* The Laughing Goblin Inn in Phlan served blackened catfish from the Moonsea.
* The Painted Boat in Ravens Bluff served freshcaught river catfish.
* The Scaly Catfish was an inn and tavern in Nagarr that served poorly cooked fish.
* In Waterdeep, a dish called melverfew was made by slowly cooking diced eels, mushrooms, catfish, and flounder in oxen-and-onion gravy.
* The Wemic Comes to Westbridge was a restaurant in Westbridge that served spiced catfish topped with parsley cream.
* In Yartar, the Fishyard market was known for its fresh daily catches of catfish and other river fish.
==History==
The dwarven city of Iltkazar, built during the height of Shanatar, maintained drainage pits in which catfish were raised as a food source.
During the height of the elven empire of Cormanthyr, catfish was considered a feasting food and a delicacy in some circles.
Catfish were eaten in ancient Netheril, and could be purchased from fishmongers at Low Netherese markets like those in Dalekeva. Prior to the creation of the Anauroch desert, they could be found in Netheril's Moray River.
In Wa, a magic stream on the Fochu Peninsula was known as the Catfish Stream. Anyone who leapt into the stream while holding a sack filled with a handful of blue mahogany dust had a chance of a catfish manifesting within the sack. In some cases, a message might be visible on catfish's scales, while in some other cases, the scales might instead be poisonous to the touch.
By the mid-to-late 14 century DR, poor villagers in places like Bogbrook in Cormyr and Uthmere in the Great Dale caught their own catfish, making it an important source of food. In urban restaurants in the Realms, fresh catfish could be ordered for 5 copper pieces, meaning it was one of the more affordable fish.
In the late 15 century DR, the Red Wizard Imaraska made use of illusory flying catfish to scout and patrol for her.
==Appendix==
===Notes===
===Appearances===
===References===
Category:Fish
Category:Animals
Category:Beasts
Category:Swimming creatures
Category:Aquatic creatures
Category:Creatures found in Chult
Category:Creatures found in Pandemonium
Category:Food and drink
Category:Food and drink from Athkatla
Category:Food and drink from Crimmor
Category:Food and drink from Amn
Category:Food and drink from Tethyr
Category:Food and drink from the Lands of Intrigue
Category:Food and drink from the Lake of Steam
Category:Food and drink from the Land of the Lions
Category:Food and drink from the Sword Coast
Category:Food and drink from the Moonshae Isles
Category:Food and drink from West Faerûn
Category:Food and drink from Ravens Bluff
Category:Food and drink from Phlan
Category:Food and drink from Netheril
Category:Food and drink from the Vast
Category:Food and drink from the Moonsea
Category:Food and drink from North Faerûn
Category:Food and drink from Waterdeep
Category:Food and drink from Yartar
Category:Food and drink from Westbridge
Category:Food and drink from the Dessarin Valley
Category:Food and drink from the Delimbiyr Vale
Category:Food and drink from the High Moor
Category:Food and drink from the Sword Coast North
Category:Food and drink from Northwest Faerûn
Category:Food and drink from Port Nyanzaru
Category:Food and drink from Chult
Category:Food and drink from the Chultan Peninsula
Category:Food and drink from Southwest Faerûn
Category:Food and drink from Cormyr
Category:Food and drink from Cormanthor
Category:Food and drink from the Dalelands
Category:Food and drink from Sembia
Category:Food and drink from the Heartlands
Category:Food and drink from the Sea of Fallen Stars
Category:Food and drink from Interior Faerûn
Category:Food and drink from Faerûn
Category:Food and drink from Iltkazar
Category:Food and drink from Shanatar
Category:Food and drink from the Underdark
Category:Food and drink from the Fochu Peninsula
Category:Food and drink from Wa
Category:Food and drink from Malatra
Category:Food and drink from Kara-Tur
Category:Food and drink from Zakhara
Category:Food and drink from Toril