Pond Size for Channel Catfish?

LimeCat

Feeder Fish
Mar 30, 2021
4
8
3
30
To introduce myself, I love these native catfish and my goal is to build a pond for them. The problem is most info out there is for raising then in stock ponds. This would be a pet so I'd want a bit of a smaller pond for viewing/interaction. Anyways:

1. Will a full grown channel cat be happy in a smaller pond around 6' x 12' and 3.5' deep for its entire life? How about a pair?

2. I've read that they get up to 50" but the ones I see kept online are usually around 30" is this just young age? Maybe they got confused with blue cats? If they really get 50" even the size I have above seems cramped.

Thanks~
 

wednesday13

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Mar 2, 2008
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They can get that large...my states record is 41.5” almost 38lbs... takes a long time tho. Longest i kept one alive was around 15 yrs to only 28-30”. 40-50” range would b an easy 25yrs.. possible, but not too plausible in captivity. Are you talkin dug in pond outdoors or indoors? Not that it matters much but thats a good size space for 1-2 channels. There not terribly big for a catfish. They are pretty flighty tho and startle easily. My 28-30”er did fine in a 9’x4’ tank. “Optimal” no, but they get on fine. Far worse a catfish you could choose for a 6’x12’. Pretty responsible plan IMO, i say go for it and enjoy. The albinos really look good in a pond ??
 

LimeCat

Feeder Fish
Mar 30, 2021
4
8
3
30
They can get that large...my states record is 41.5” almost 38lbs... takes a long time tho. Longest i kept one alive was around 15 yrs to only 28-30”. 40-50” range would b an easy 25yrs.. possible, but not too plausible in captivity. Are you talkin dug in pond outdoors or indoors? Not that it matters much but thats a good size space for 1-2 channels. There not terribly big for a catfish. They are pretty flighty tho and startle easily. My 28-30”er did fine in a 9’x4’ tank. “Optimal” no, but they get on fine. Far worse a catfish you could choose for a 6’x12’. Pretty responsible plan IMO, i say go for it and enjoy. The albinos really look good in a pond ??
Good to know- this will be an outdoor pond. The albinos are really neat. Did yours ever accept being handfed? Read another post where someone did and thought it was the coolest thing haha
 
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tlindsey

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Aug 6, 2011
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To introduce myself, I love these native catfish and my goal is to build a pond for them. The problem is most info out there is for raising then in stock ponds. This would be a pet so I'd want a bit of a smaller pond for viewing/interaction. Anyways:

1. Will a full grown channel cat be happy in a smaller pond around 6' x 12' and 3.5' deep for its entire life? How about a pair?

2. I've read that they get up to 50" but the ones I see kept online are usually around 30" is this just young age? Maybe they got confused with blue cats? If they really get 50" even the size I have above seems cramped.

Thanks~
Welcome aboard
 

wednesday13

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Mar 2, 2008
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Good to know- this will be an outdoor pond. The albinos are really neat. Did yours ever accept being handfed? Read another post where someone did and thought it was the coolest thing haha
Hand feeding larger cat species is very fun i agree... channels are pretty smart/friendly. You shouldnt have much trouble in doing so. Like most other bigger cats they grow more bold/personable with age and will interact with you more. Just always feed at the same spot in the pond. Theyll get to know ya and always be waiting. As someone else stated they do take quite a long time to reach the 18-20” mark. A good candidate for tank mates would honestly be koi. Check ur local fish hatcheries u may be able to get a “jump start” on ur stock in the 6-12” range, even the white ones ?... pretty common hatchery/pond fish in most all states these days. The 2-6” ers will take a cple yrs to even reach 12” in most cases.
 

thebiggerthebetter

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Dec 31, 2009
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My experience and thoughts agree entirely with what Weds13 says, except the channels for me grew faster, 30" in a few years even from 3" and then stopped growing or slowed down 100x.

If the pond is unprotected, white fish in it will attract many kinds of unwanted predators, from house cats to herons.

If the pond will freeze in winters, you will have to keep a hole open in the ice.

If you have channels in the wild and you fish, you could stock a couple that way to get bigger ones; but of course white ones are more pleasing as you can see them better...
 
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