cat fish in ponds

[Paul mabbott]

Originally Posted by Bouncytigger

You know i read the title of this thread a bit quick and i thought it said....

CAT in FISH POND!!!!!!!!

YOINKS

Thee and me both! No, I thought it was going to be about cats fishing in ponds rather than catfish in .....

[Tracey.A]

Originally Posted by RobinP

Back to the subject of Catfish, I see the largest ever has been caught in the River Ebro, Spain, weighing in at 100 kg (16 stone) by a British angler. Story in The Times.

Good grief! I'm glad you repeated it, because I didn't believe it the first time. Sixteen stone, flippin' 'eck, had it not heard of weight watchers!? I would not like to have grappled with that fish

Tracey

[Tracey.A]

Originally Posted by PsychicLord

I have three interconnected ponds (around 80,000ltr) which contain over 100 fish of various types. One of these fish is indeed a Catfish, actually a Channel Catfish.

He has lived in my pond set up for over 10 years and has slowly grown during that time to around 15". I am aware he has the potential to eat anything that fits in his mouth, he actually gets along with the other fish very well. He is almost always first to get stuck in at feeding time, but being albino his sight is not the best. His favourite food are those pink rectangle biscuits (sized about 2.5" x 1") for which he generally takes them whole.

The pond layout means that he cannot be in all places at one time, and there is plenty of room for other fish to run and hide if they need to....... however, I have not seen him eat or even chase another fish.

He over winters in the same pond each year (6' depth) with no problems. He does not stick to the bottom, and can be seen (he is abino) most of the time. So I can only conclude that my Catfish (called Rufus - on account of his whiskers) is an exception to the rule.

I stumbled into this thread by accident, I thought it was about a cat fishing in a pond! It's fascinating! Your Channel catfish sounds like he is one special little character, sorry I know he is 15" long. He just sounds like such a laid back catfish Ten years old!? He's obviously content

Tracey

[Stewy]

British angler catches huge catfish in Spain - Telegraph

[tom00_uk]

this is why its not a good idea to put none natives into your pond or water course

http://www.spanish-catfish-ebro.com/ a whole industry has now grwon up round it but its not good news for the native fish

[JAYS]

Originally Posted by tom00_uk

this is why its not a good idea to put none natives into your pond or water course

http://www.spanish-catfish-ebro.com/ a whole industry has now grwon up round it but its not good news for the native fish

I think I remember seeing an article or maybe a TV programme about the river Ebro. Fairly sure it said that the river has very low oxygen levels which have a very major effect on the number of fish species present. Carp and catfish are able to endure these low levels better than most fish.
So if my memory is correct it may well be a case of these species of fish or few fish at all.
The carp are obviously introduced, but the wels is a European species, so may be native to the river system.

[JohnF94]

Weather loaches or Dojo loaches (Misgurnus anguillicaudatus) are great but they tend to "escape" from ponds.

The common Channel cats (Ictalurus punctatus) are slate-blue in colour. An albino variety is more appreciated in ponds. They are relatively peacefu when young, however they are predatory fish, so always be aware that any pond mate that will fit in the channel cat's mouth will vanish.

You can also opt for Brown or Black Bullheads (Ameiurus nebulosus & Ameiurus melas). All bullheads are easy to keep and adapt well to captivity. As long as there is space and plenty of food, a bullhead will thrive for many years in your pond.