PlanetCatfish.com

I haven't been on here in ages, but recently hatched a little idea that might be worth trying.

How big of a pond would, say, one channel catfish need? We have a backyard pond that is somewhere around 2000-3000 gallons. It currently houses only a few goldfish that we seldom see. The local birdlife(egrets) like to stop by for takeout and the goldfish never get large enough to be safe.

We visited a guy who had several huge dirt ponds with channel cats and other gamefish in them. It was sure impressive watching the cats vacuum up the food he tossed them. I wonder if you could tame one to the point of it feeding out of your hand...

Any thoughts appreciated.

You could easily keep 3-4 in a pond that size if the goldfish stocking is not too heavy. The albino channels look great in a pond and, yes, can be tamed to feed from your hand.
-Shane

Are you serious? The ones I saw in the farm ponds looked massive, hard to believe 3 or 4 would be comfy in this pond. Are albinos hard to come by? Also, about how long would it take to raise one to about a foot?(I'm going to guess by this point they are more or less safe from the birds). I'd probably end up going for wildcolor channel cats just in case however.

At full size, do they need alot of food to do well?

Thanks!

Also, is there any catfish species bigger than a channel that would work?

I doubt a blue would like this pond...since I heard they are river fish.

I have caught 12 lb Channel Cats. Isn't that large enough? Albinos are really a good choice for the pond because they will show up better but regardless of the phenotype they do become tame and a 3 inch juvenile should easily grow to one foot within one year.

If you are impatient just go fishing and bring some home that are a couple of feet long. Also say good bye to the goldfish but the channel cats are more interesting fish to keep anyway.

When I was a kid we had a large watering tank and my brother and I kept several large channel cats and a few 12 inch small mouth bass in it. We fed them nightcrawlers and frozen bait shrimp.

nonamethefish wrote:Also, is there any catfish species bigger than a channel that would work?

I doubt a blue would like this pond...since I heard they are river fish.

Channel Cats grow to more than 2 feet. Anything MUCH larger, and you'll be needing a bigger pond, not to mention that your goldfish will most likely become a meal for the catfish.

For certain, a Blue Channel Cat that grows to beyond 5ft in nature will need a noticably bigger pond.

--
Mats

Channels can easily get 4 feet in captivity. Albinos are actually pretty common and inexpensive and with lots of food can get to a foot in 8 months. I would only get 1, as they show more personality when kept individually.

Thanks guys for the info. Now to track down one.

I don't mind the fish in the pond gradually merging into one well supplied stomach...so long as it is an entertaining one and quickly grows too large and ornery to be egret takeout. My other thought for this pond was a bass but a catfish seems much easier.

Ok, we got ahold of a lil bugger. Albino. About 3 inches.

It is mighty cold out here so I plan on keeping him inside. Would a 5 gallon bucket of water changed 1-2 days be ok till March or so? Either that or a large sweaterbox(footprint of nearly 20 gal but less than a foot high) Any other suggestions as to quick n easy temp. housing if this is innapropriate?

Also, it was mentioned it is best only one is kept so it tames better. Why is this so? It is tempting to try a pair.

If you have the ability, I would recommend that you get a decent size aquarium [1] (at least 20g) with a decent filter (preferrably external). If you intend on introducing them in March, I would also make sure that they are kept fairly cool, as they would then be acclimatized to the water temperature in March. Filling the tank with pond-water from your existing pond and perhaps also getting some bottom matter or some water from your pond filter into the tank would definitely help.

[1] It doesn't have to be a glass aquarium, or even an aquarium in the traditional aspect. But it's always a good idea if the tank at least has some visibility without lifting a lid and peering down. And of course, it should be able to hold water, so your cheap plastic tubs that you get for "storing clothes under the bed" or some such may not work that well. Feeding/drinking troughs for cattle DO work very well, and anything else intended for heavy loads and suitable to keep water in will be OK [although watch out with for example plastic rubbish bins, as they may be made from material that isn't suitable for long term keeping of fish due to toxins in the often recycled plastic used for these type of bins - for a few hours or a day I'd be happy to use that form of tub too - but not for a few months].

--
Mats

I was going to post, but apisto covered it exactly.

BTW, The amout of channels that you have will not affect how they become tame. One of my channel ponds is a dirt pond around an acre large. It has nearly thirty channels in it. They are now approx. 22 inches each, raised from 4 inches, and will eat out of your hand.
Tim

Picked up another catfish(safety, plus this one is a fair bit larger at 6 inches). We have a small preform pond that the bigger one is now in(approx 120 gals). I sure hope the size difference is going to be resolved fair quickly though. i'm thinking of perhaps putting the big one into the big pond, and then moving the little one to the preform pond.

Thoughts?