Ompok pabda

Ompok pabda, also known as Pabdah catfish, is a freshwater species from the sheatfish family.

Distribution and habitat

It is native to Asian countries such as Bangladesh, India, Myanmar, Pakistan and Afghanistan,
where it inhabits streams, ponds and lakes of clear and muddy water.

It has an elongated body, with a large head, a wide mouth equipped with a pair of barbels facing downwards. Along the sides the body becomes increasingly compressed. The dorsal fin is small, with only 4 rays, as are the ventral ones. The anal fin is long: it starts from the belly and ends at the caudal peduncle. The caudal fin is small, with rounded edges. The livery is silver in colour, with brown, blue or pink spots; the belly is white and can reach a maximum of.

It lays over 40,000 eggs on average per female and breeding and egglaying occurs between May and August.

In its places of origin it is fished for human consumption.