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How carnivorous are big catfish?

I am looking at restocking my fish tank with 3-5 inch fingerlings but do not want to be feeding the larger fish in there. I caught a half dozen out yesterday and put them into one of my DWC growbeds (works like a live-well). Some were a full foot long or better while others only10 inches or so. No idea on how much they weigh.

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Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Jim Fisk on March 22, 2014 at 9:04am

Well Pat, let me put it this way: I started with 50 and there is one large one left and we have yet to harvest one. Hmmmmh.

Permalink Reply by Leo White Bear on March 22, 2014 at 12:17pm

With my bullheads and largemouth bass I found that whatever they can fit into their mouths they'll eat. My friend also has bullheads (which are a member of the catfish family) found one dead on the bottom of his FT with a rather large sibling lodged in its throat. So IMHO, they will eat just about anything a teenager would just not broccoli.

Permalink Reply by Pat James on March 22, 2014 at 3:23pm

Ok...been harvesting the things. Only about a dozen so far. One thing I did observe..my estimates were way off. The 'liitle' ones I thought were9 inches or so were 11 or better, but thin. Several were14 to 15 inches long and with a much heavier body-shape. I suspect the latter are female even though they are too young to breed. The ones I gave to my father-in-law a few weeks ago had roe.

Permalink Reply by Casey Haas on March 23, 2014 at 7:32am

You could maybe try separating the fingerlings from the bigger fish using some sort of net system until they are bigger.

Permalink Reply by Pat James on March 23, 2014 at 4:59pm

I am going to remove as many of the larger catfish as I can before I buy a new batch of fingerlings.I have alot of fat-head minnows (rosy reds) but I suspect they survive by being fast and occupying different parts of the tank than the catfish.

Permalink Reply by Pat James on April 5, 2014 at 11:38am

I bought 200 fingerlings yesterday. Last year it seemed to take weeks before I saw a catfish. These are coming to the surface for food right away.

I am going to keep the tank well fed as I know I still have large catfish. Several have been hitting the surface for pellets (very distinctive sound).