Giant catfish

Giant catfish were naturally occurring mutations of the ordinary catfish.

"Nogah's finely scaled, webbed hands pulled sharply on the reins that stretched down into the murk. Some of the cords were attached to the whisker-like barbels of the beast pulling the sea coach: a catfish the size of a small whale."

Description
These giant fish were often of chalky-white coloration or grayish brown. Like their normal-sized cousins, they had two long feelers on each side of their mouths. Their sizes usually varied from 15 feet (4.9 meters) for the white-colored breed to 24 feet (7.3 meters) for the brown.

Combat
When hunting or provoked into combat, a catfish immediately went for a bite or attempted to swallow it whole if possible. They could use their feelers as weapons by whipping their heads back and forth. The feelers secreted a minor toxin causing poison damage upon contact with the opponent's skin.

Ecology
Giant catfish were resilient omnivores commonly found living in the cool dark muck of rivers and lakes.

As their omnivorous diet was primarily bottom-feeding scavenging, giant catfish needed a large area in order to find enough food to survive. Due to being territorial, giant catfish were often encountered alone, although groups weren't unheard of.

An underground type of giant catfish called a stalking catfish lived in the tunnels of the Underdark. In the rare cases when they made their way to the surface, they became top predators of the area.

History
Around 1396 DR, giant catfish were often tamed by the kuo-toa of the Sea of Fallen Stars, as evidenced by the gargantuan nautilus shell carriage pulled by giant catfish that belonged to Nogah, the senior whip of Blibdoolpoolp.

Appearances

 * Plague of Spells