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FLESHY

Polypterus
MFK Member
Jan 7, 2006
5,542
20
92
Central Wisconsin
Hey guys - thought I would maybe post this here and see if people could come up with suggestions as to how they got theirs, what is working best for that species etc etc.

American eel - honestly I would take any freshwater anguilla at this point - but ours would be preferred.
Sheepshead
Bowfin
Burbot
Paddlefish
Flathead Catfish
Okefenokee Sunfish

So where, how, and what you did afterwords to keep them in good shape.

I have several man made ponds of varying sizes, pools, and a large 8'x4'x2' tank I am preparing to build to hold these badboys...I also am completely legal in the state of WI - as this will be done in correlation with a university and I am on their collecting permit.

I would perfer that all my fish be on the smaller size - but not so small that it becomes a pain to feed them.

Just want to hear what you think - and any and all information that I could get on these guys. Ill probably be adding more species as we go as well.
 
[TABLE="class: grid, width: 500, align: left"]
[TR]
[TD]Common Name:[/TD]
[TD]Flathead Catfish[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Scientific Name:[/TD]
[TD]Pylodictis olivaris [/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Maximum Adult Size:[/TD]
[TD]~5' long and 120 lbs.[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Years Experience:[/TD]
[TD]4+ years[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Collection Method:[/TD]
[TD]
  • Fishing
  • Can be collected via electrofishing with limited success
[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Approximate Size of Current Specimen(s):[/TD]
[TD]
  • ~42"
  • ~18"
  • Potentially more in there if they bred (not confirmed)
[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Housing:[/TD]
[TD]40' x 80' pond[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Tankmates/Pondmates:[/TD]
[TD]
  • Smallmouth bass
  • Sauger/saugeye/walleye
  • Carp
  • Bullhead
  • Alligator gars
  • Longnose gars
  • Spotfin/steelcolor shiners
  • Sunfish (presumed to be bluegill)
  • Common snapping turtle
  • Spiny softshell turtle
[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Food:[/TD]
[TD]
  • Small live fishes (bass, sunfish, and minnows)
  • Whole dead fish
  • Hot dogs (occasional treat)
  • Catfish pellets (if in a large quantity)
  • Turtles (the big one ate an adult male red-eared slider once; not an intended food item)
  • Pretty much anything that's alive that can fit in their mouth
[/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]
 
Wow - nice write up wiggles - I really want a P. olivaris. Its interesting in a pond so large that you feed your fish. Its interesting that they come to be fed and that you can tell that it ate a turtle. If I put that fish in my pond I would lose it - granted mine is almost an acre.
 
FLESHY said:
Wow - nice write up wiggles - I really want a P. olivaris. Its interesting in a pond so large that you feed your fish. Its interesting that they come to be fed and that you can tell that it ate a turtle. If I put that fish in my pond I would lose it - granted mine is almost an acre.
Click to expand...

They only get pellets once every other week or so and hot dogs maybe once a month as a treat, if that. The rest of the prey items are foods that are already in there that I have watched them eat.

I saw the turtle get eaten which is the only reason why I knew that the catfish took it down. One minute it was swimming at the surface, the next minute the catfish came up and got it for dinner; I was pretty surprised that it ate such a large turtle.
 
40x80 isnt too big when I think about it either...I mean its big - but not so big that you dont have any idea what is going on in there.

Got any crocs coming out of that pond yet?
 
FLESHY said:
40x80 isnt too big when I think about it either...I mean its big - but not so big that you dont have any idea what is going on in there.

Got any crocs coming out of that pond yet?
Click to expand...

I'm still waiting to see if I'll produce any crocodile gars; the gars that are in there are pretty young still and have a couple of years to go still.
 
I keep Okefenokee Sunfish. But I did not collect them in the wild. But the person I got them from did. I keep them in a 20 gallon with 1 filter running on half power. I try to keep the water movement low. Got lots of plants. They are housed with 2 swamp darters, a dwarf cray, and 6 fathead minnows. No issues, but I want to take the minnows out because I don't think they belong in the set up. The minnows are really active, while the sunfish sorta just hang in the vegetation. They seem to only eat live foods. I feed the tank frozen bloodworms but not sure if they eat any. But I know they eat live blackworms and daphnia, which I feed both to them. I have put scuds in there for them and they eat them too but the bigger ones they struggle with.


I keep these sunfish in a small pond I made too and they do breed in there. I have collected some babies and put them in the 20 gallon. These in the 20 have not bred yet that I know of. But I think they will soon cause I can see a few of them dancing around from a distance, then when I approach with my video camera they dart back into the weeds.
 
Thanks Pyramid - Im really hoping to get some on this collecting trip.

Looks like I might be in the tampa area during my trip - If I get to go this winter. Let me know if anyone knows how to get these species in that area.
 
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