/ictaluridae/ictalurus/punctatus/1.jpg "Ictalurus punctatus(1) Juvenile - Click to enlarge")
/ictaluridae/ictalurus/punctatus/2.jpg "Ictalurus punctatus(2) - Click to enlarge")
/ictaluridae/ictalurus/punctatus/3.jpg "Ictalurus punctatus(3) Juvenile - Click to enlarge")
/ictaluridae/ictalurus/punctatus/4.jpg "Ictalurus punctatus(4) Adult - Click to enlarge")
/ictaluridae/ictalurus/punctatus/5.jpg "Ictalurus punctatus(5) Adult albino - Click to enlarge")
/ictaluridae/ictalurus/punctatus/6.jpg "Ictalurus punctatus(6) Albino - Click to enlarge")
/ictaluridae/ictalurus/punctatus/7.jpg "Ictalurus punctatus(7) Albino - Click to enlarge")
/ictaluridae/ictalurus/punctatus/8.jpg "Ictalurus punctatus(8) Dorsal view - Click to enlarge")
/ictaluridae/ictalurus/punctatus/9.jpg "Ictalurus punctatus(9) Juvenile - Click to enlarge")
/ictaluridae/ictalurus/punctatus/10.jpg "Ictalurus punctatus(10) Juvenile - Click to enlarge")
/ictaluridae/ictalurus/punctatus/11.jpg "Ictalurus punctatus(11) Close-up of head - Click to enlarge")
/ictaluridae/ictalurus/punctatus/12.jpg "Ictalurus punctatus(12) Stamp - Click to enlarge")
/ictaluridae/ictalurus/punctatus/13.jpg "Ictalurus punctatus(13) - Click to enlarge")
 Cat-eLog Data Sheet | |
|---|---|
| Scientific Name | Ictalurus punctatus (Rafinesque, 1818) |
| Common Name(s) | Channel Catfish |
| Type Locality | Ohio R., U.S.A. |
| Synonym(s) | Silurus punctatus |
| Pronunciation | ick tal oo russ - punk TAT uss |
| Etymology | Ictalurus: From the Greek ichthys, meaning fish, and ailouros, meaning cat; literally "fish cat" (=catfish). punctatus meaning spotted alluding to the smattering of back and lower body black spots on primarily younger fish. |
| Species Information | |
| Size | 700mm (27.6") SL. Find near, nearer or same sized spp. |
| Identification | The albino variety is more often encountered for sale than the normal colouration. |
| Sexing | Unknown |
| Habitat Information | |
| Distribution | Native in Southern & Western USA, introduced in other areas, for example, Massachusets. Great Lakes (hover or click on these areas to show maps or find other species found there) North American Atlantic Drainages, Saint Lawrence (hover or click on these areas to show maps or find other species found there) Gulf Coast Drainages, Mississippi (hover or click on these areas to show maps or find other species found there) |
| pH | 6.0 - 8.0 |
| Temperature | 12.0-21.0°C or 53.6-69.8°F (Show others within this range) |
| Husbandry Information | |
| Feeding | All prepared foods, youngsters can be grown very quickly on bloodworm or more cheaply on commercial fish meal. Will eat constantly, but care should be taken not to pander to this tendency as the strain on filtration becomes immense. Large individuals can be fed weekly. |
| Furniture | An active catfish when young, becoming less active with age. A large swimming area is necessary to get the best from this fish. The water column need not be more than 30cm if dimly light. |
| Compatibility | Peaceful but predatory. |
| Suggested Tankmates | Large central American cichlids fit the bill both in terms of size and water conditions. |
| Breeding | Commercially farmed in large ponds and so breeding is easily accomplished on the correct scale. This scale however does not encompass the home aquarium. |
| Further Information | |
| References | Am. Monthly Mag. Crit. Rev.v. 3 (5) (Sept. 1818) - pp355 A Field Guide To Freshwater Fishes North America North American Native Fishes for the Home Aquarium American Aquarium Fishes |
| Registered Keepers | (1) Lornek8, (2) VirgoWolf, (3) kntrygrl4lyfe (k: 2), (4) ElectricYellowPlecostomus, (5) Plecofanatic1989, (6) joepleco, who also notes: "I catch these every year (spring) in a drainage outlet of a park lake near my house. Its cool to see them swarm in a big ball by the hundreds, even cooler to scoop up 10 or more by fish net and take a couple of the 1 inchers home and raise a few of t", (7) maynardwix, (8) steelhead99, (9) Plunt (k: 2), (10) San, (11) Dinyar, (12) necrocanis, (13) geekshow, (14) blurock (k: 3), who also notes: "One blue and Two Albino Names- Blue Channel: Baker Albino Channels: Glacier and Rainier ", (15) doesdavid, (16) Bake, (17) pmbooper (k: 3), who also notes: "2-4 inch channel cats in 200 gal.-1-12 inch channel cat in 1000 gal. ", (18) bapachu, (19) darkhighlord, (20) wwajfd, who also notes: "Will outgrow any Aquarium. Grew 6 inches a year. From 4 inches to 22 inches in 3 years.", (21) Hoyo12, (22) Leah1976, (23) ewurm, (24) pickles4601, (25) Viktor Jarikov, who also notes: "Biggest one in the tank, about a foot, housed in his own section behind a divider", (26) Bimmerboy12, (27) sequoiacat, who also notes: "I have the albino variation.", (28) Bisclavret, (29) shivamotiram, (30) arapaimag (k: 2), (31) Missytown6, (32) Duster1971, (33) Seagirt, who also notes: "Thinks she's a koi and swims and eats with them.", (34) Margie, who also notes: "Lives in koi pond. Overwinters at 39 deg F.", (35) catfish-pigeon, who also notes: "Albino type. Active at all hours". Click on a username above to see all that persons registered catfish species. You can also view all "my cats" data for this species.  Add this species to your "my cats" page. |
| Breeding Reports | None. |
| More Resources |
 - CotM  1998 January -
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| Hits | 9886 hits. |
| Last Update | 2006 Aug 04 09:20 (species record created: 2001 Apr 19 00:00) |
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