Critters All Hail Hardhead Catfish Dads, Which Protect Eggs by Carrying Them in Their Mouths Anglers love to hate this slimy Texas fish, but its parental skills are unmatched.

Old salts agree the sea catfish is at the bottom of the pecking order. This disdain carries even to scientific circles. Fishes of the Gulf of Mexico, by H. Dickson Hoese and Richard H. Moore, says ...

MULLET POINT, Ala. -- Hundreds of dead hardhead catfish have washed up along the shores of Weeks Bay and other coastal points south of Fairhope over the past two weeks, and state regulators ...

But dead, that's how this catfish is best. Dead and skeletonized. The hardhead, officially Ariopsis felis, is nicknamed for its hard. armor-like head plate.

This nearly 20-pound bull redfish was one of upward of 150 the Press-Register counted during a survey of Mobile Bay on May 2. Test on four fish -- one bull redfish and three hardhead catfish ...

The hardhead catfish takes parental sacrifice to the extreme. To protect the eggs, he'll hold them in his mouth. And it's not just one or two eggs. It can be as many as 65.

They don't know whether the hardhead catfish die-off and other species of dead fish are linked. "We're seeing recurring, possibly isolated events within the Indian River Lagoon system," Basino said.

Biologists still are unsure what is causing thousands of catfish to die along the Gulf Coast, but officials are warning people to avoid the fish and the waters where they are washing ashore.

Loved or hated, the hardhead and the gafftopsail both play some part in the balance of nature. Outdoor Editor John Burke can be reached at 912-652-0299 or by e-mail at [email protected].