Taxonomy & naming
Schilbe intermedius was described by Eduard Rüppell in 1832 from the lower Nile in Egypt and is valid in the family Schilbeidae, the African butter catfishes. FishBase gives silver catfish as its English name. The Catalog of Fishes lists it as valid.
The epithet is Latin for intermediate.
Morphology
A slender, silvery, laterally compressed catfish with a long anal fin, a small adipose fin and long barbels. FishBase gives a maximum of 19.5 in SL.
Habitat
It is recorded across the Nile, Senegal, Gambia, Volta, Niger and Chad systems; it is a fish of rivers and lakes. FishBase records no temperature, pH or hardness range for it.
Feeding
The species takes insects, crustaceans and small fishes in open water, and a young aquarium fish takes live and frozen foods and then sinking pellets.
Mating
FishBase notes distinct pairing during breeding in the family.
Breeding
Reproductive details beyond the pairing note are not recorded in the sources the atlas uses, and the species is not known to be bred in home aquaria.
In the aquarium
This is a fish for public aquaria and very large private systems. Keep a group, since it is a schooling fish, in a long tank with open swimming room and strong filtration, and expect it to eat small tankmates. Juveniles sold in stores grow quickly.
Conservation
The IUCN Red List assessed Schilbe intermedius as Least Concern in 2019. It is widespread and locally important in African fisheries.