White catfish(amerius catus) observations.

[bassfisher91]

Nope, not an albino channel catfish, rather it is a separate species related to bullheads and a US native fish. Is anyone else one keeping these? I currently have two, one about 10" and the other a big ugly 18 incher. They are interesting in that small specimens look almost exactly like a channel cat but when they grow they develop a massive bullhead like head on them. They also have bright blue eyes which are impressive in larger specimens. As far as temperment, mine are passive to the point of getting beat up by other cats if I'm not careful. As far as personability, I'd rate mine as less personable than channels and much less personable than bullheads. They are more outgoing than my flathead however and still handfeed and let me pet them on occasion. Compared to the other natives though they are not, imo, a great captive, I'd rate a brown bullhead the highest in that sense. I will post up a pic of mine if I can get them off my phone.

Another thing I've noticed is that there seems to be a great difference of regional variation in these fish. I've seen them with the big head, with a more proportionate head, blue eyes, yellow eyes, all kinds of differences. Perhaps separate subspecies? Below are two pictures off the internet that show the differences. Mine look more like the top picture than the bottom.

 

[Evz jardini]

I've got a 12" cat that's nit quite a channel cat or a bullnose but somewhere Inbetween ive looked on google images in the past and can't find an exact match , I can't upload pics onto the site with this phone I know this don't help , was just wondering what your thoughts were ? Hybrid ?

 

[bassfisher91]

I've got a 12" cat that's nit quite a channel cat or a bullnose but somewhere Inbetween ive looked on google images in the past and can't find an exact match , I can't upload pics onto the site with this phone I know this don't help , was just wondering what your thoughts were ? Hybrid ?

<br>
<br>
I'm not too sure what you guys have access to over in the uk but what color are its chin barbells and does it have a square or forked tail? If you could describe it better such as color and body shape I'm sure someone can help you out.&nbsp; I can tell you it is most likely not a channel/bullhead hybrid though as although they have been made, they are not very common and I've never seen a picture of one.

 

[Chicxulub]

I actually caught what I am almost certain was an eight pound white cat while u was stationed in Ft Sill, OK. It was 30" long and was unusually thin bodied and large headed for a channel cat. It put up a devil of a fight, too. It was a really cool fish with an awesome set of jaws.

He tasted good all fried up, too.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I717 using MonsterAquariaNetwork App

 

[bassfisher91]

I actually caught what I am almost certain was an eight pound white cat while u was stationed in Ft Sill, OK. It was 30" long and was unusually thin bodied and large headed for a channel cat. It put up a devil of a fight, too. It was a really cool fish with an awesome set of jaws.

He tasted good all fried up, too.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I717 using MonsterAquariaNetwork App

An 8 lb white is a beast for anywhere! We rarely get them over 5 lbs here and the state record is a 10lber...I would love to catch an 8 one day . I saw your thread on your blue cat, that makes two rarely kept natives in one day one here lol.

Also, just noticed I misspelled the name in the title...should be "ameiurus catus" not whatever I put in the title. Sleep is important boys and girls

 

[Evz jardini]

Its chin barbels are mostly white , its tail is forked , colour is slightly bluer than a brown bullnose but with the same yellow tinge , its eyes are distinctive large but its pupil is a slit shape rather than round like channel cats ( only way I can describe is like a dogfish shark type eye) its body is rounder and more chunky than channels and fin on top of back is large matching size to one on bottom of its body , hope this helps bit more ill try upload a pic asap instead of rambling crap lol

 

[thebiggerthebetter]

Nice. I'm afraid I never seen one in flesh but they did catch my interest in reading. I thought all Ameiurus genus species were called bullheads (erroneously?). They are the only bullhead species with a forked, channel-like tail.

Out of bulheads i've only kept Ameiurus serracanthus, aka Spotted or FL bullhead. Very nice, interactive, brave personality.

30"+ ?? Wow. Never thought they grew so big. PCF lists 2' max http://www.planetcatfish.com/common/species.php?species_id=263. Got a photo with a tape measure?

 

[Chicxulub]

It was a LONG time ago, but it was around 2'. I distinctly remember eight pounds but I'll admit I might be off some on the length.

I'm 6'3. And a LOT heavier now days lol.

 

[bassfisher91]

^^very impressive! Its hard to tell without seeing the barbels but that looks like a white to me between the head, eyes and tail. They sure have crazy looking heads.