The skin and muscle chemical comparisons from normal and golden coloured African sharptooth catfish,Clarias gariepinus, of two different size (± 360 and ± 1500 g live mass) groups are reported. The skin of the golden strain is shown to be that of an albino that contains no melanin. Size has a stronger influence than strain on the proximate, fatty acid, amino acid and mineral profiles of both the skin and muscle. For both strains, the larger size class had statistically (P>0.05) lower muscle moisture and higher total lipid content than the smaller size class. There was no significant difference in the muscle protein content (16.7–17.6% wet mass basis) between and within the strains and size classes. The skin has higher concentrations of glycine, proline and hydroxyproline than the muscle. The major fatty acids in both the skin and muscle were palmitic (>23%) and oleic (>28%). Of the muscle minerals, potassium was significantly (P>0.05) higher in the larger size class for both strains. The lack of any tangible difference in the muscle chemical composition of both strains therefore makes the golden catfish strain more attractive for the fresh fish consu