Flathead Catfish Questions
- Thread starter jakessvx1
- Start date
So these are the channel and larger flathead. They are both about 3". The smaller flathead is a bit more shy and about 2". They are the only fish I have in my 40 breeder and I don't plan for them to be there too long. I will be moving them to my 300 gallon pond after I get them a little size and make sure they are healthy. Once they get a about 10" I will be moving them to a pond that I'm working on that will be about 5500 gallons. I am noticing that the little flathead is showing signs of being picked on. I'm guessing at the hands of the larger flathead. I didn't anticipate such aggression while they are so small. Does anyone know if two flatheads will get along in 5500 gallon pond? Or should I give up on having two and find a new home for one of them? The channel cat gets along just fine so far with the flatheads.
Here are the 2 flatheads I have.( idk why I thought one was a bullhead, turns out it's a flatty) they are doing well in the 450 
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Well they are in a 6'x4'x30" tank and I know a few guys with ponds
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Sent from my iPhone using MonsterAquariaNetwork app
Any thoughts on putting a couple dozen blue gill in the 5500g? They would be able to provide food for your flathead, and a couple dozen might be able to reach self sustainability levels.
Side note: Whats wrong with Madtoms? They should be great for your 40g.
Side note: Whats wrong with Madtoms? They should be great for your 40g.
Do you have any problems with aggression? Do they interact much or avoid one another? It's cool how much color variation there is between them. Is that always the case or do they change with mood?
One thing I'm hoping to do is get the flatheads off of live food. If I can't manage that then I like your idea, but wouldn't the flatheads just eat the adult bluegill at some point? I'm also hoping to get a longnose gar in there as well.
Regarding the madtoms, I eventually would like the 40 breeder to be an amazon community tank. I don't want to do madtoms in the ponds, because they stay so small I would never see them and they would get eaten.
Flathead catfish are carnivorous. They are not going to eat prepared food. Period. No discussion. That's just the way the species Is. If you keep the flathead in the koi pond they will outgrow the koi and other catfish and they WILL EAT THEM. Again, that's just how they are. You will not ween flatheads on to pellets or blueberries or anything like that. Live or maybe maybe maybe cut fish will be just about all they will eat.
