Channel Catfish Breeding Habits?

durk04 · Post by **durk04** » 01 Jul 2004, 14:44

I have several large catfish back in my pond. I put them in there about three years ago when we built it and they have grown like weeds. One of them, the biggest one in the pond, was about 24 inches long and weighed between 25-30 pounds. I caught him last year and my weight thing kept bouncing around. I feed my catfish dogfood so they come up and eat and I get to watch them grow. But anyways, back to the question. The man I bought the channel cats from said that they wouldn't spawn in a pond because there isn't any running water. Is what he said true or can I expect some more baby channel cats in the future. On a side note, while I was back at my pond yesterday I saw something that really really got me excited. One of the things that I really wanted to have in my pond where some ALbino Channel cats and yesterday I saw one about 14 inches long. I put five four inch Albinos in about two years ago and I jusy assumed that they all got ate by bigger fish. I was so happy when I saw it yesterday. Well, thanks for any info on the breeding habits.

Post by **Silurus** » 01 Jul 2004, 15:24

They'll spawn in ponds alright. You might need to provide shelter such as a large earthenware crock to facilitate this, thoguh.

wizkidd26 · Post by **wizkidd26** » 15 Jul 2004, 16:28

As to your question of the breeding habits for channel catfish, I believe that the catfish need at least a large cave of some type. In the wild they tend to pick out hollow things, (logs, tires, underwater caves, etc.), LARGE plant holders may work (found at any respectable flower shop or your local hardware store), and the male and female will do their thing. You can tell breeding males from females in which the heads on the males look swollen in comparision to the females. This is to help the male block the entrance to the cave better, so other fish, such as bluegills or whatever else, won't be able to sneak in and eat the eggs/fry. But with that many fish in your pond, it's likely that the other catfish will eat the fry as soon as they gain independence from the male guarding them. Hope that helps.