Blue channel cats

New here and saying " Hi ". I was wondering if wild Blue channel cats can be kept in a freshwater tank with other fish. I found a spot in a local creek with hundreds of 1-1.5 inch little cats and thought they might be fun to keep. Would they grow too big and become too aggressive? Thanks for any info.
Bunky

I would think they would grow pretty fast gobbling up any fish that would fit in their mouths. Just like the south American red tail cats.

Welcome to the site

Thanks for the welcome and the info. I've been keeping gold fish for a few years but they also grow too big, too fast for my 30 gal tank. I give them to a friend when they get to about 6" or 8" and he puts them in his pond. Most are about a foot now! A neighbor recently gave me another 30 gal. tank with 6 cory cats, 2 white cloud minnows and 2 other fish that I think are Danos. I seem to like the Goldfish more because they each seem to have a separate personalty. Thanks again for the input!
Bunky

Get a pond for those goldfish. 300-400 gallons shoud take care of it.

i am not sure if it is legal for you to take the fish from the wild for your aquarium. either way i think a channel cat will out grow most aquariums.

My stepdad had a pond on the land he use to live on and had alot of blue channel cats in the pond and he caught alot to put in his 100g and they did not last very long in the tank.The ones that did last a little while ate every fish that he put in there even the one that he thought were to big for the catfish.Also the cats made the water very dirty and he tried multiple filter systems to clear the water but nothing worked because the catfish were that dirty.Finally it got down to one catfish in the tank and it outgrew the 100g.Unless you just want catfish in the tank I wouldn't do it.One catfish that was 4" ate his 5" Oscar and he was amazed that the catfish fit that Oscar in his mouth but he did.That catfish was fat for 2 weeks after eating that Oscar.

Welcome aboard!!



Blue cats are not a suitable fish for aquarium life unless you have a tank that is at the very least 500 gallons. These guys will get BIG!! Also consider the size of their mouth. They will eat anything they can grab, including prize fish.

I'd suggest sticking with the smaller cats, expecially considering your tank size. The myth that fish will stunt to their surroundings is just that, a myth. Very few fish will stunt. Most will outgrow any tank too small for their adult size. If they do stunt, chances are, they are also unhealthy.

It may be considered a myth, but that's exactly what happens to the comet goldfish I use for mosquito control on the farm. In each of my troughs I have five of them. All thrown in at the same time as feeder fish.

In the 1,000G trough they will hit 6" by the end of the first summer, 10" by the end of the second. In the two 100G troughs they grow at half that rate. Same time period, Same food, just different size 'tanks'. During the warm months the water undergoes a 90% turnover every 2-3 days, so Nitrate buildup is not an issue with the livestock drinking it up.

Also kept my daughter's 'pet' feeder fish in a ten over a winter. Grew at an even slower rate than the outdoor ones. It was a full 1" shorter when I put it in the trough with it's fellows, and it was just 4". That's considered a 'normal' growth rate for tank-kept comets.

Just my experience as a goldfish/carp keeper of twenty years. Growth rate can be slowed in certain circumstances without the fish being unhealthy. This has also been found with research in game fish stocking. More room makes for less intense competition for everything from Oxygen to algae snacks = bigger trophy fish in less time. So my experience with Goldfish/carp in different sized troughs falls right into accepted theory.

Just a side note: In most states you HAVE to have a permit to keep wild caught native wildlife - game fish especially. Most states grant permits for Scientific and/or Educational collection.

Thanks for the info. I guess keeping Channel Cats wasn't one of my "brighter" ideas. Think I'll stick with my Goldfish tank and the tank my Neighbor gave me with the Corys. The Corys are pretty entertaining, when they're not hiding out!

I've thought of digging a small pond but at my age I've developed an aversion to manual tools, shovels in particular! The pond I would want would need to be about 8 or 10 feet long and 4 or 5 feet wide, at least. That's a lot of shovelin' for an old Guy!! There's also the problem of too much sun in the Summer and some really cold Winters. Would be nice though. Guess it wouldn't hurt to put it on my "maybe some day" list! Thanks again.

As my husband says - don't dig it, rent a fun 'toy' to do the job.

Granted, he went and purchased a used skidloader with a similar excuse.... LOL..

For under $150 you could probably pay a guy to bring out his bobcat and dig it. I'd make it a minimum of 5-6' deep in your neck of the woods. Call it a 'natural swimming pool', maybe your better half would agree.

Your husband sounds like a pretty smart guy.
I thought about having someone dig it for me but if my EX found out I was digging a 5-6 foot deep hole in my yard, I'm afraid I'd be found at the bottom of it !! LOL.
Thanks for the input.