Clarias batrachus, the walking catfish, has an elongate body that is broader at the head, tapering toward the tail. It is readily recognizable as a catfish with four pairs of barbels (whiskers) and fleshy, papillated lips. The teeth are villiform (small and bristle-like), occurring in patches on the jaw and palate (Jayaram, 1981). The eyes are small. The pectoral spines are large and robust and finely serrate along the margins. There is no dorsal spine. The dorsal fin is continuous and extends along the back two-thirds of the length of the body. The dorsal, caudal, and anal fins together form a near-continuous margin; the caudal fin is rounded and not eel-like though it is occasionally fused with the other fins (Talwar and Jhingran 1991). The complete spine/ray count is: Dorsal = 62-72; Anal = 45-58; Pectoral = I + 8-11 (Sen 1985).Color is drab but variable among individuals: olive to dark brown or purple to black on the dorsal surface; pale to white on the ventral surface; and blue-green on the sides. The fins are grey-green and small white specks are present on the back half of the body (Page and Burr 1991). An albino variant occurs naturally and has been commercialized for the aquarium hobby trade.