POND MANAGEMENT SERIES

AQUAGUIDE MISSOURI DEPARTMENT OF CONSERVATION

Monoculture of Channel Catfishin Farm Ponds

Channelcatfish,oneofMissouri’smostpopularsportandfoodfish,havebeenstockedinpondsthroughoutthestate.Manysmallpondsaremanagedexclusivelyforchannelcatfish. Asmall,well-managedpondcanproduce300to500poundsofcatfishpersurfaceacreeachyear,providingmanyhoursofrecreationandanabundanceofhighqualityfoodforthetable. Channelcatfishhavescaleless,cylindricalbodieswithsoftfins,exceptforthedorsalandpectoralfins,whichhavehard,sharpspinesthatcaninflictapainfulwound.Acatfish’scolorvaries,dependingonwaterclarity.Inclearwater,catfishmayappeardarkblueorblack,whileinmuddywatertheymaybealightyelloworgray.Youngchannelcatfisharetypicallyspotted. Channelcatfisheatavarietyofbothplantandanimalmatter.Youngcatfish,sometimescalledfiddlers,feedprimarilyonaquaticinsects,snails,crawfish,greenalgae,aquaticplants,seedsandsmallfish.Channelcatfishalsoreadilyacceptcommercialpelletedfood. Catfishgrowbestinwarmwater,withoptimumgrowthoccurringatabout85degrees. Channelcatfishbecomesexuallymatureatthreetofouryearsofage.Oncemature,thecatfisharespurred

Ponds for Catfish Pondssuitableforexclusivechannelcatfishproductionshouldbeatleasteightfeetdeepwithpondedgesslopingquicklytothreefeetdeeptoreduceaquaticvegetationproblems.Fornewponds,soilcharacteristicsshouldbeidentifiedtoassesswater-holdingcapabilities. Alltreesanddebrisshouldberemovedfromthedamandbasinareatoassureagoodsealandtoallowseiningofthepond.Aturndowndrainpipecouldalsobeinstalledtoallowwaterlevelreductionandeasierharvestingoffish. Removelogsandotherobjectsthatprovidecavities

tospawnasthewatertemperaturereaches75to80degrees.Whenthishappens,themalewillseekoutandprepareanestsiteinasecluded,semi-darkarea.Thefemalespawnsonlyonceperyear,thoughshewillsometimespairbeforesheisreadytospawn.Afterspawing,theeggsusuallytakeeightdaystohatchandanothereightdaysforthefrytopreparetoleavethenest.Duringthistime,themalewillfirstprotecttheeggs,thenthefryuntiltheyleavethenest.

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Monoculture of Channel Catfish in Farm Ponds--Page 2

Table 1.

Feeding Rates Fingerling Stocking Rate(fish per acre)

Channel Catfish Stocking Rates

100

200

300

400

500

No Feeding (south of MO River)

No Feeding

Occasional Feeding

Every Other Day Feeding

Daily or Demand Feeding

(north of MO River and in the bootheel)

forspawningtodiscouragenaturalreproductionofcatfish,whichcouldaffectthegrowthofthenewlystockedfishinthepond. Existingfishpopulationswillalsoneedtoberemovedfromthepondtodecreasecompetitionandallowmaximumgrowth. InformationconcerningintensivechannelcatfishproductioncanbeobtainedfromtheMissouriFishFarmersAssociationoryourcountyExtensionAgent.Formoreinformationonpondconstructionandpreparation,contacttheNaturalResourcesConservationService.Ifyouneedadviceaboutremovingexistingfishpopulationsordeterminingpondwaterquality,contacttheMissouriDepartmentofConservation.

Stocking Gettingagoodstarttoacatfishpondrequiresanadequateinitialstockingoffingerlingfish(fourtosixinchesinlength).Pondsshouldbestockedinthespringwhenwatertemperaturesarebelow65degreesinordertoreducestressonthefish. Thenumberofcatfishstockedwilldependonwhetherorhowoftenyouwillfeedthecatfish.Ifyouwillnotfeedthefishorwillonlyoccasionallyfeedthem,thepondshouldbestockedattherateof100to300fishpersurfaceacre. Ifyoudonotplantofeedthecatfish,itisagoodideatogetthestockingofftoagoodstartbyprovidingforageinthepondsbeforeintroducingthecatfish.Anidealforagewouldbefatheadminnowsstockedatarateofabout1,000persurfaceacre. Channelcatfishthatwillbefeddailyinpondsthatdependsolelyuponsurfacewaterrun-offwithnoaerationsystemcanbestockedatamaximumrateof

500four-tosix-inchfingerlingspersurfaceacre.SeeTable 1formorecompletestockingrates. Catfishshouldbepurchasedfromareputabledealerinordertoobtainhealthystock.Foralistofcommercialfishdealers,contacttheMissouriDepartmentofConservation.Specialpermitsarenotrequiredtoraisechannelcatfish,butreceipts must be kept as proof of purchase. Intheeventnaturalreproductionoccurs,smallfingerlingsshouldberemovedbyseiningortrapping.Repeatedandfrequenteffortsmaybenecessarytoremoveanadequatenumberofthesmallcatfish.Excessfingerlingscouldbestockedinotherpondsorsoldtoneighbors.

Feeding Bothfloatingandsinkingpelletsareavailableforcatfishfeeding.Floatingfeedallowsyoutoeasilydeterminethecorrectamountoffeedperday(theamountthefishwillconsumeinabout15minutes).Youcanalsodeterminesizeandhealthofthefishby

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Monoculture of Channel Catfish in Farm Ponds--Page 3

Table 2.

Length of Fish(inches)

Average Weight(pounds - ounces)

Length/Weight Conversions

0 - 0.30 - 1.00 - 2.00 - 5.00 - 8.0

0 - 13.01 - 5.0

1 - 14.0

468

1012141618

Table 3.

Surface Water Temperature

Feeding Frequency

Catfish Feeding Guide

Do Not Feed

Once A Week

Twice A Week

Every Other Day

Every Other Day

Every Day

Every Day

Do Not Feed

Under 45°

45° - 50°

51° - 55°

56° - 60°

61° - 65°

66° - 70°

71° - 90°

Over 90°

Percent of Total Fish Weight to Feed

observingthemastheyfeed.Floatingpellets,however,aremoreexpensivethansinkingpellets. Sinkingfeedrequiresyoutoestimatethetotalweightoffishinyourpond.Table 2willhelpyoudeterminetheaverageweightofthefish,basedonaveragelength.Youcanthenmultiplyaverageweightbytheestimatednumberoffish.Recalculateeverytwoweeksduringthegrowingseasonbymeasuringtenfish.Theestimatedpopulationshouldbereducedtoaccountforknownmortality. Adisadvantageofsinkingfeedisthatdiseaseorwaterqualityproblems,whichcausefishtostopfeeding,cangoundetected,leadingtoaddedproblemsandwastedfood. Somegeneralguidelinesforusingartificialfeedingare:

• Feednomorefloatingpelletsthanthefisheatin15minutesorfollowthefeedingguide(Table 3) forsinkingpellets.

• Donotfeedwhenwatertemperatureisabove90degreesorbelow45degrees.

• Itisusuallybesttofeedcatfishinlatemorningafterdissolvedoxygenlevelshaverecoveredfromtheirlownighttimelevels.

• Feedinshallowareasofthepond–threetofourfeetdeep.

• Feedatthesametimeandplace.• Keepinmindthatadecreaseinfeedingactivity

mayindicatediseaseorwaterqualityproblems.

Youcantraincatfishtofeedinthesameareadailyandalsopreventwindandwaveactionfromwashingthefoodtothebankbeforeitiseatenbyconstructinga

feedingframe.Usevertical2”x6”redwoodboardsorPVCpipetoconstructa10’x10’floatingfeedingframeandanchoritinplacewithoneormoreconcreteblocks.Oncethefishhavebecomeaccustomedtofeeding,theframecanberemoved.Channelcatfishareaggressiveandfeedshouldbespreadoutasmuchaspossible. Catfishrequiremorefeedasthewatertemperatureincreases.SeeTable 3foraguidetocatfishfeedingbasedonwatertemperature.

0.5%

1.0%

1.0%

1.5%

2.0%

3.0%

Monoculture of Channel Catfish in Farm Ponds--Page 4

Harvesting Channelcatfishpurchasedfromacommercialsourcemaybeharvestedfromyourpondorlakewithavarietyofmethodsincludingseines,traps,trotlinesorjugs.However,themostenjoyablemethodofharvestisbyhookandline. Youcanlurecatfishwithavarietyofcommercialbaitscommonlycalled“stinkbaits,”preparedfromblood,cheeseanddough.Simplyformthebaitaroundatreblehookandallowittositonthepondbottom.Othergoodbaitsincludechickenliverandentrails,beefheartand,theangler’soldstandby,worms.Fishingisusuallymostproductiveinearlymorningandlateevening. Anglingwillonlyproduceapartialharvest.Ifalargernumberofcatfish,orallthecatfish,needtoberemoved,thepondmustbedrainedorseined. Lowerthepondleveldowntothreeorfourfeetdeepandsurroundthefishwithaseine.Theseineshouldbemadeofpolyethyleneortreatednylontopreventcatfishspinesfromtanglinginthemesh.Delayharvestingfish

ifthepondisextremelyturbidoraheavyalgalbloomispresenttoavoidproblemswith“off-flavor”fish. Ifyourpondisnotequippedwithadrain,seiningprovidesagoodmethodofremoval.Aliftnetorseinecanbeplacedonthepondbottominthefeedingarea,withoneedgeattachedtotheshoreandtheotherattachedtopulleysonstakesinthepond. Feedthefishoverthenetforseveraldays.Whentheyareaccustomedtofeedingovertheseine,liftthenetfromshoreandcapturethefish.Thetrapseinemethodcannotbeusedmoreoftenthanonceevery7to10days,asfishbecomewaryofthetrap.Specificsizefishmaybetargetedusingseineswithvaryingmeshsizes(Table 4).

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LM 7/96revised RLN/MRU 7/05

FIS 109

Whateverharvestmethodyouchoose,aproperlystocked,well-managedcatfishpondassuresacontinuoussourceofgoodfishingandgoodeating.

Table 4.

Mesh Size(inches)

Minimum Lengthof Fish Captured

(inches)

Seine Mesh Sizes for Catfish

1

1.5

2

Minimum Weightof Fish Captured

(pounds)

10

13

18

0.30

0.75

2.00