How do I care for a channel cat?
- Thread starter fishy_sue
- Start date
Bullheads and "yellow Cats" (Southern alias for Flatheads) are not the same, and all north american catfish that I know of will quickly go after live food. They will also eat anything dead and stinking except for the Flatheads which can still be caught regularly on dead bait as well despite the fact that they prefer live. I've caught as many as 50 Flatheads in a night with stinkbait on more than one occasion.
Yellow Bullheads generally stay small and are often called yellow bellies
Brown Bullheads get up to around 5-6 punds here in ohio, not sure how big elsewhere, And the numbers of Brown bullheads are pretty low by comparison to the others
Channel Cats get well into the 20 pound range, but common is the 3-5 pound fish, they thrive in almost anything and eat anything digestable.
Yellow cats (Flatheads) will often top the 40 pound mark, and can grow to nearly 100 pounds, Prefer live foods but once again will eat anything digestable especially when smaller
Blue cats are the big boys, and I believe the Ohio State record is at 105 pounds, but the world record is somewhere in the 140 pound range now. Blue cats are like the Channels in that anything they can eat they will. It seems easier to catch the big ones on live food, but I've cought plenty in the 30+ pound range on dead bait as well
Catfish are in a nutshell opportunistic and extreme feeders. they make a point of gorging themselves in the event that they can't find more food for a few days. So if there is any way they can force down one more bit of food they will do so if it's available. this includes any tank mates up to 1/3 their size.
IF you want to limit growth for a couple of months, feed once a week, and feed just enough that the fish shows a slightly round belly. It takes 3-4 weeks to starve a fish anyhow, and you can better control things by simply withholding food a week at a time. That is not largely different than they would feed in the wild during much of the year. Channel cats in an aquarium usually kill and or eat any and all tankmates as soon as things get crowded. So even if tank mates are big enough to avoid being swallowed, watch for signs of aggression if the tank is heavily stocked.
Yellow Bullheads generally stay small and are often called yellow bellies
Brown Bullheads get up to around 5-6 punds here in ohio, not sure how big elsewhere, And the numbers of Brown bullheads are pretty low by comparison to the others
Channel Cats get well into the 20 pound range, but common is the 3-5 pound fish, they thrive in almost anything and eat anything digestable.
Yellow cats (Flatheads) will often top the 40 pound mark, and can grow to nearly 100 pounds, Prefer live foods but once again will eat anything digestable especially when smaller
Blue cats are the big boys, and I believe the Ohio State record is at 105 pounds, but the world record is somewhere in the 140 pound range now. Blue cats are like the Channels in that anything they can eat they will. It seems easier to catch the big ones on live food, but I've cought plenty in the 30+ pound range on dead bait as well
Catfish are in a nutshell opportunistic and extreme feeders. they make a point of gorging themselves in the event that they can't find more food for a few days. So if there is any way they can force down one more bit of food they will do so if it's available. this includes any tank mates up to 1/3 their size.
IF you want to limit growth for a couple of months, feed once a week, and feed just enough that the fish shows a slightly round belly. It takes 3-4 weeks to starve a fish anyhow, and you can better control things by simply withholding food a week at a time. That is not largely different than they would feed in the wild during much of the year. Channel cats in an aquarium usually kill and or eat any and all tankmates as soon as things get crowded. So even if tank mates are big enough to avoid being swallowed, watch for signs of aggression if the tank is heavily stocked.
Felix is alone in the tank and eating sinking food every two days. He saw me feed a betta and looked hungry so I gave him a little. LFS told buyer that he would only grow 2 more inches. I hope to movie him next month so he has time to get in the pond before the first freeze. Should I give him a big meal before release? Thanks
fishy_sue said:
2 more inches? if its a channel cat and he has enough food and space... hell be too big for you to carry before hes through. of course, fish growth tends to be influenced somewhat by thier environment (small space, grows slower or plateaus in growth periodicallly) but channel cats can pretty much outgrow whatever youre gonna put em in. if its another form of cat or a colubian shark (looks somewhat similar) then yea maybe 6-8 inches is about all youre gonna get.
When this has happened, it usually comes as a suprise, but it has happened more times than I can count. I've never caught a flthead over 20# on anything but live bait. Below that I've caught them on pork liver, multiple types of stinkbait, and cut bait/ dead baitfish. Literally 50 plus on more than one occasion.
I have seen more than one fishing show where they outlined the fact that flatheads don't typically eat dead bait, and then promptly caught a flathead to prove themselves wrong. These fish by far prefer live baits, and if I'm after flatheads specifically I always use live bait, but I catch plenty on dead bait while fishing channels and Blue's. Dead still no bait movement in most cases.
Nice fish bigpil !!!!!!.
hmm
cool fish. I don't watch fishing shows, my knowledge has come from experience and listening to old timers talk about fishing. I don't fish for yellows much lately, because most of the tanks I fish in are now stocked with channel cat. Though, if I am river fishing I ussually go for yellows(taste better the blues) and always use live bait. I tend to avoid smell baits on the river as I seem to catch gar more then anything else when I use it.
cool fish. I don't watch fishing shows, my knowledge has come from experience and listening to old timers talk about fishing. I don't fish for yellows much lately, because most of the tanks I fish in are now stocked with channel cat. Though, if I am river fishing I ussually go for yellows(taste better the blues) and always use live bait. I tend to avoid smell baits on the river as I seem to catch gar more then anything else when I use it.
