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In a couple of weeks I am going to be picking up a 6" channel cat from someone who can no longer care for it. My problem comes with temperature. The pond is so cold, I don't know how I could go about acclimating him properly from the room temperatures he is used to. How long would I have to spread out the temperature change of maybe 20 degrees Farenheit? I also don't want to put him straight in because of QT reasons.

My other option is that I have a 20 gallon long with 5 rosey reds in it, would the 6" cat be fine in this as the only large fish for the winter until I can transfer him to the pond next summer?

My other option is that I have a 20 gallon long with 5 rosey reds in it, would the 6" cat be fine in this as the only large fish for the winter until I can transfer him to the pond next summer?

rosy red what? you can probably tell this better than anyone here as you can see them both, don't feed the channel cat much and it shoudn't grow much.

If you don't mind losing the rosey reds (they are hybrid Pimephales for those who don't know what a rosey red is) to the channel cat, then it should be fine in the tank.

I was thinking minnows.

Pimephales = fathead minnows.

Yes, they are pink fathead minnows. Mine are fairly large, 3.5", but I would not mind losing them one bit. I was just using them to try to cycle the tank anyway.

give him a gradual change in temp and he should do fine, they can take it, i fish for them under 3 feet of ice just give him time to adjust