catfish temperature change rate

[Jeremiah Robinson]

I have a tank full of catfish in series with an empty tank which trout will inhabit on Monday.  I need to drop the temperature on the catfish.  How quickly can I do this without killing the catfish?

Jeremiah

[Glenn]

Channel cats are extremely sensitive to sudden changes in temperature.  When introducing the fish to your pond, be sure to temper the water by adding and mixing pond water slowly. I've heard a rule of thumb for cats is to avoid temperature changes of more than 3% per hour. Thus the colder the temperature the slower the change should be.

[Robert J]

Glenn,

 

I have had horrible luck with cat's as my mentor suggested I would.  I started adding them to my system in August and water was way too hot for them.  Now that I've got better control over water temp (65-70 degrees constant)  would you think it likely that I could add them and they actually survive.  Last stupid thing I did was add 2" cats to a system with 6" fish...  The cat's seemed to survive well until the bass ate them.  I'm contemplating adding 50 cats (6") and another 100 bluegill (2") to my system.  Hoping some of the bluegill can survive...  I'm also contemplating consolidating all of my small 4-6" fish into one tank and adding 100 10-14" cats to my other tank...  Both tanks are 230 gallons.  I'm in VA just outside of DC...  Greenhouse temps are running between 60 and 80 degrees, water is running between 55 and 75 degrees.

Glenn said:

Channel cats are extremely sensitive to sudden changes in temperature.  When introducing the fish to your pond, be sure to temper the water by adding and mixing pond water slowly. I've heard a rule of thumb for cats is to avoid temperature changes of more than 3% per hour. Thus the colder the temperature the slower the change should be.

[Jeremiah Robinson]

Thanks for the help guys.  Guess I'd better be careful.  

I've heard that Cats can't survive more than a 4 degree shift all at once (including when being moved).  I've started lowering my temperature 2 degrees a day and haven't lost any yet.

Jer...

[Larry Renegar]

Sorry Robert J, but we are new to this forum and we live in Nokesville, just outside of Manassas. Would it be possible for us to meet? The wife and I are seriously contemplating aquaponics.

Thanks for your time.

Larry Renegar
 
Robert J said:

Glenn,

 

I have had horrible luck with cat's as my mentor suggested I would.  I started adding them to my system in August and water was way too hot for them.  Now that I've got better control over water temp (65-70 degrees constant)  would you think it likely that I could add them and they actually survive.  Last stupid thing I did was add 2" cats to a system with 6" fish...  The cat's seemed to survive well until the bass ate them.  I'm contemplating adding 50 cats (6") and another 100 bluegill (2") to my system.  Hoping some of the bluegill can survive...  I'm also contemplating consolidating all of my small 4-6" fish into one tank and adding 100 10-14" cats to my other tank...  Both tanks are 230 gallons.  I'm in VA just outside of DC...  Greenhouse temps are running between 60 and 80 degrees, water is running between 55 and 75 degrees.

Glenn said:

Channel cats are extremely sensitive to sudden changes in temperature.  When introducing the fish to your pond, be sure to temper the water by adding and mixing pond water slowly. I've heard a rule of thumb for cats is to avoid temperature changes of more than 3% per hour. Thus the colder the temperature the slower the change should be.