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At about what size do channels begin to slow down growing?

I need to know so I can decide whether I should put one of them in a pond before winter or if I can wait and put it in during the spring. I don't want them to both be a foot long in my tank because I can't put them outside.

Thanks

The literature seems to indicate that they will not stop growing at under 1 foot (if a graph of size against time is plotted, it would be more or less a straight line).

SimonW wrote:I need to know so I can decide whether I should put one of them in a pond before winter or if I can wait and put it in during the spring. I don't want them to both be a foot long in my tank because I can't put them outside.

How long are they now, how big is your tank, and at what month in Spring does any real chance of frost end where you are?
If they are four inches or less, with careful feeding you should be able to keep them under the 12" for at least the next 6 months. If you feed them every time they look hungry though, you'll have a problem sooner than that.
Pete

Silurus, Wow, that is fast.

coelacanth, One is around 5" and the other is around 4". Usually around November the water temp. starts dropping a lot, and then around March is starts going back up to a reasonable temp. So that would be right around 6 months from now, I think. They are in a 55 gallon, which is way to small for two 12" channels.

They have been growing around 1.25" a month, if I had to guess, but I have been feeding them well. If I was carefull with feeding, could I keep the 4" one until spring? I'm sure it would have to go as soon at the weather was good enough.

Thanks.

Silurus is right, they do grow at about the same rate for their entire life, but in my experience, it seemed to take forever for mine to grow past a foot. I think it took an year for my babies to grow past the 12 inch mark, (I raised them from about 1.5 to 2 inches long). And I wouldnt worry a bit about them outgrowing your tank (if the max size you will tolerate is 12 inches) until March. If I were you I would just put them in the pond right now, temperature is never an issue with these guys. If youre worried about them getting food during the winter, just throw in a couple of chicken livers or dog food every now and then. They will eat anything, anywhere, anytime. Hope that helps.