Paul Tinsley, age 9, of Piedmont, Mo., for his question:

HOW BIG CAN A CATFISH GROW?

There are more than 2,000 different species of catfish.

They have this unusual name because most of them have two to four pairs of whiskers, called barbels, which very much resemble the whiskers of a cat.

The smallest kind of catfish, called the pygmy corydoraso measures only about an inch in length, and it would take 10 of them to weigh one ounce. On the other end of the scale is the European catfish that may grow more than 10 feet in length and weigh as much 400 pounds.

Many people consider catfish delicious to eat. In the eastern United states, and especially in the Mississippi River Valleys you'll find channel catfish, blue catfish and yellow catfish. Catfish farms in many states in the south raise channel catfish for use as food.