Chained catfish: is it true that they can dry out completely and come back to life? (7 photos)

The Internet is full of plausible myths that, at first glance, seem quite logical. And nature is full of crazy facts that are hard to believe, but which are true. Therefore, a zombie catfish that can survive the state of dried fish and then come back to life will cause surprise, but will not cause a drop of skepticism. But the Book of Animals decided to sort out this murky story.





Would you like a snack?

Videos appear regularly on the Internet where fish dried to a “beer-ready” state come back to life as if by magic, just by adding a drop of water. Here is one example of such videos. It looks like a real resurrection from the dead!

If you dig around in a search engine, you will find out that this and similar videos are of chainmail catfish. Dig around a little more and you will find photos of fish in varying degrees of dryness. Serious arguments that are hard to argue with.



Basically, the fish turned out to be an excellent small club...

But then the investigation will stall. After all, chainmail catfish are a family of fish that live in the tropical regions of South America, on the territory of the wettest continent on Earth. Most of them have never needed adaptations to survive drought, because in their habitats up to 7 meters of precipitation falls per year! For comparison: in Moscow this figure is up to 700 millimeters.





Sometimes armored catfish are caught in Russia. These fish are frequent inhabitants of home aquariums.

But armored catfish have adapted well to life on land! And all because the reservoirs of South America have two scourges. Firstly, the lack of oxygen in stagnant lakes. Due to the fact that a puddle can appear in every hole, and in every puddle - life, the amount of O2 is limited. Therefore, some species of armored catfish have learned to breathe atmospheric air!



By the way, powerful armor plates not only protect the body well, but also prevent moisture evaporation.

For example, the common plecostomus. It has two breathing systems. The first is classical, through the gills. But if there is not enough oxygen in the reservoir, the fish swims to the surface and swallows air with its mouth. The gas is absorbed through the walls of the stomach and helps in the work of the main respiration. Moreover, on land such catfish can live up to a day!



Most aquarium plecostomuses grow no more than 30 cm in length. But some individuals turn into giants like these!

The reservoirs of South America have another problem. They can suddenly disappear. After a good rainfall, a deep puddle the size of a small lake is formed. But as soon as the rains stop, the landscape returns to its original state, and the reservoir disappears. Some species of catfish spend dry days in safe burrows. In wet mud, the fish can last for several days or even weeks. But there is no talk of any drying to the state of "going under the foam". And most species do not sit with their flippers folded, but run! If a reservoir dries up, small chainmail catfish simply crawl to another one.



Chainmail catfish burrows during the drought season.

But what's going on in the video? A montage of clean water!

Not a single fish on the planet can survive drought in the form of dried fruit! Not even the legendary African protopters. And they, by the way, can stay without water for up to 4 years! To do this, the fish burrow into the silt, creating a capsule of mud and frozen mucus around themselves. After which they go into deep suspended animation. A brilliant idea that allows you to wait out months without a single drop of rain. The best solution the fish have come up with. And it's a long way from total dehydration.



If you open this bubble, the fish will very soon die of dehydration.