I know this question was like almost 10 years ago but i hope it help those who still searching for the answer.

Usually catfish are called Nian Yu (鲶鱼) in Mandarin but Malaysian Chinese only call a type of catfish, Wallago attu and Wallagonia leerii (species) or known as Helicopter catfish in English and Ikan Tapah in Malay (Ikan Tapah are native to South Asia e.g. India and Southeast Asia country and China is East Asia) as Nian Yu (鲶鱼).

"Pak Sou Gong" in Cantonese refer to another type of catfish which is the Asian Redtail Catfish (Hemibagrus nemurus). Sometime they called the Two-spot Catfish (Mystus nigriceps) as "Pak Sou Gong" too. It is known as Ikan Baung in Malay.


While "Tho Sat" in Hokkien are the same as "Tong Sat" in Cantonese. The name refer to another type of catfish which is commonly known as Walking Catfish since it can live out of water and walk on the land like a snake. Usually during drought season when the pond or lake it live in are dry and it need to move to somewhere with more water. It is known as Ikan Keli in Malay.

Clarification and naming are different among different language especially when it come to fish.

This post has been edited by xxhenry89xx: Jan 10 2018, 05:49 PM