Channel Catfish

COMMON NAMES: Spotted or ChannelCatfish.

SCIENTIFIC NAME: Ictalurus punctatus. DESIGNATION:Coldwater

GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION: Widely distributed in eastern North America and southwards as far as northern Mexico.

SIZE: Up to 1.2 m (c. 4 ft).

WATER PREFERENCES: Not critical. Good temperatures preferred, but will tolerate lower tropical temperatures.

DIET: Large live foods, such as earthworms, and meat-based foods.

BREEDING: No aquarium sprawling has been reported.

DESCRIPTION: Owing to the large size of this species (as well as its predatory habits), only juvenile specimens are suitable for the 'average' coldwater aquarium. I.punctatus is available in wild-type and albino forms.

Other species also available are I.(Ameiurus) melas, the Black Bullhead and I.(Ameiurus) nebulosus, the Brown Bullhead. Both are predatory.

Channel Catfish Information

• It is one of the most important freshwater fish breed in North America. The fish is commercially cultured and is one of the most commonly caught fish in the continent. There are about 39 breeds of cat fish variety out of which only six are commercially cultured in North America. The species that are cultured on commercial basis are the blue catfish, white cat fish, the black bull head, brown bull head, yellow bull head and flathead catfish.
• Though highly cultured in North America but the fish originates from the Gulf regions and the prairie and Mississippi valley to the North of Canada and Mexico. They were not found in the Atlantic regions at all.
• The body of the channel cat fish appears to be cylindrical in case they are cut into cross section wise. Like all the other cat fish family they are devoid of scales.
• The fins of the fish have a soft ray like appearance except the dorsal and the pectoral fins that are of hard and body structures. While catching the fish if they are not properly handled the bone fins may get inside the skin of the hand and may inflict severe and painful wound.
• The adipose fins lying in between the dorsal and the caudal fins lack the ray like appearance.
• One of the most typical characteristic of the cat fish breeds is that they have some typical adaptations called the barbells located round the mouth of the fish. There are four under the jaw of the fish while there is one on each of the tip of the upper jaw or the maxilla.
• It is a typical North American fish and has forked tail and 24 to 29 rays in the anal find.
• The color of fish is dominated by the type of water they stay. A catfish might appear to be black when in clear water while brownish yellow if they are spotted in muddy water. The young cat fish has irregular spots on its body but they disappear as they grow.