Experiments on the use of catfish collected from the wild in polyculture with mixed sex tilapias were carried out between 2006 and 2009 in Western Cameroon. The objective was to develop an efficient and sustainable fish-farming model with local producers. Tilapia fingerlings of initial average weight of 5-20 g and catfish fingerlings of average weight 15-90 g were used at densities of 2 tilapias and 1 catfish per m². Fish nutrition was based mainly on organic fertilization of the ponds. Over three fish growing cycles, average survival rate of catfish was over 70%. The average yield obtained for each cycle was >3 t ha?1 year?1. Catfish represented nearly 50% of the total biomass harvested with individual final average weights of 235 ± 74 g, 284 ± 135 g, and 287 ± 133 g, for cycles I, II, and III, respectively. Male tilapias reached a final average weight of >200 g (277 ± 76; 245 ± 24; 212 ± 22). Geographical proximity to a source of catfish fingerlings constitutes the main determinate of adoption of this production system.