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Redtail Catfish

Redtail Catfish

A South American giant native to the Amazon, Orinoco, and Essequibo basins, the redtail catfish reaches well over 100 pounds and carries one of the most distinctive paint jobs in fresh water — slate body, white midline stripe, and a fluorescent red-orange tail.

Not native to the US and not established here despite scattered aquarium-release records; nearly all US anglers chase them on trips to the Amazon or stocked ponds in Southeast Asia.

Scientific Name: Phractocephalus hemioliopterus

Also known as Pirarara, Cajaro, Banana Catfish

Physical Characteristics:
  • Slate-grey to black back, yellowish flanks, a broad white stripe running mouth to tail, and a vivid red or orange caudal fin that gives the species its name.
  • Broad flat head with a wide downturned mouth, no teeth but sandpaper-rough jaws, and three pairs of long sensory barbels — one upper, two lower.
  • Common adults run 3.5–4.5 ft and 30–60 lb; the IGFA all-tackle record stands at 123 lb 7 oz from Brazil, with credible reports of wild fish pushing 6 ft.
  • Lifted from the water, redtails grunt and croak audibly by grinding their pectoral fins — a field cue anglers recognize before they even see the tail.

What to know

Habitat Distribution

  • Strictly freshwater and bottom-oriented, native to the Amazon, Orinoco, and Essequibo drainages across tropical South America.
  • Tolerant of a wide range of habitats — large rivers, deep channels, sloughs, lagoons, and seasonally flooded forest — but tied to warm, soft, slightly acidic, often tannin-stained water in the 68–79°F range.
  • Not native to the US. Aquarium releases have produced occasional individuals in southern and central states, but USGS classifies all known introductions as failed, with no self-sustaining population documented.
  • Potamodromous: adults move seasonally with the flood pulse, pushing into flooded forest on rising water and dropping back into main channels as levels fall.

Specific Spots

  • Deep holes and slow channel edges off the main current, especially the eddying side of bends where heavy fish can sit without working.
  • Adults tuck under fallen timber, root wads, and boulder piles by day and slide out to forage after dark — fish the structure edges, not the open bottom.
  • Confluences where major tributaries meet act as concentration points for migrating fish and stacked-up forage.
  • On rising water, fish push into flooded forest margins to feed on fallen fruit and displaced prey, then retreat to the channel as water drops.

Redtail Catfish FAQ

Answers from onWater's species guide.

What are the best lures and bait for Redtail Catfish?

Live or cut bait soaked on the bottom is the only consistently productive method. Whole baitfish (traira heads are the Amazon traditional), large fillets, shrimp and prawns, crabs, and big nightcrawlers all work, scent and size matter more than presentation.

What do Redtail Catfish eat?

Fish make up the bulk of the diet, characins and smaller catfish especially, supplemented heavily with crustaceans (crabs, shrimp, prawns) and, on rising water, fallen fruit, seeds, and palm nuts swept out of flooded forest.

Where do Redtail Catfish live?

Strictly freshwater and bottom-oriented, native to the Amazon, Orinoco, and Essequibo drainages across tropical South America. Tolerant of a wide range of habitats, large rivers, deep channels, sloughs, lagoons, and seasonally flooded forest, but tied to warm, soft, slightly acidic, often tannin-stained water in the...

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