Blue channel Catfish?

[Viktor Jarikov]

thank you, Bas!

Mats, would not stress be a factor? I imagine there are a lot of scary sounds and vibrations and tossing around fish would feel along the way... I cannot imagine that the "gentle humming" of jet turbines and loud airport sounds agree well with fishes... well, they scare me sometimes ... temperature changes, pressure changes, etc... there is probably only so much they can take, right?

[MatsP]

I'm sure there are a dozen other factors - the ones I mentioned are the most immediate/frequent killers [as to my best understanding].

Sure stress and other factors are probably also affecting things.

--
Mats

[apistomaster]

Hi Viktor,
Yes I did "cross my wires" with you and crikinanny.

The Channel Cat fingerlings may be shipped cheaply by USPS Express mail. These are very hardy fish as I discussed in a previous post.
If the fish are allowed to fast for 48 hours prior to bagging the shipping water will remain clean. This is the least expensive method between hobbyists sending only a few fish.
All the private overnight delivery carriers do require testing not just any box and packaging but everyone your business is likely to use. You may have to open a free account then discuss this with your account manager. It may not be mentioned on their general web sites. That is why mainly commercial dealers offer Fed Ex or UPS next day delivery options. Thousands of hobbyists like my self ship hundreds of fish every year via USP Express mail. It is about half the cost and overnight shipping is necessary when shipping during the winter but many like myself mainly ship through April and October. Channel Catfish are very hardy and easy to ship if they are only 3 to 6 inches and 2nd day delivery is nothing provided they are packed correctly. I have only had trouble shipping large Corydoras sterbai but I sent out about 160 L333 and L134 plecos this year alone and only one fish managed to puncture its bag and arrived DOA. These species are much more delicate than Channel Cat fingerlings so if crikinny is willing to ship some to you you are only out the postage is something should go wrong for some reason.
It is, to be perfectly frank, silly to worry about vibrations, being tossed or stuck in the cargo hold of a jet. Fish are not bothered by these things. Just mark the boxes "Perishable" and "Keep Warm" so they are put in a pressurized compartment. I have been sending and receiving tropical fish by mail since 1968 when I became involved with keeping and breeding Killiefish.
Killiefish hobbyists pioneered the use of mailing fish. Even at the annual National Conventions of the American Killiefish Association many prefer to mail the fish they acquire rather than pack them in their luggage because it gives them a day to prepare for fish which were not on their wish list.
And again, these are more delicate and expensive fish than Channel Catfish.

[Viktor Jarikov]

Nice! Edifying!

It is, to be perfectly frank, silly to worry about vibrations, being tossed or stuck in the cargo hold of a jet. Fish are not bothered by these things. Just mark the boxes "Perishable" and "Keep Warm" so they are put in a pressurized compartment. I have been sending and receiving tropical fish by mail since 1968 when I became involved with keeping and breeding Killiefish.

Well, such things differentiate seasoned veterans like yourself and green horns like me I like being told flat out when I am wrong - there is nothing wrong with that from my perspective. Moreover, I see it is being done for my own good and I am grateful. Still, I guess I know so little about fish: they are not bothered by loud sounds and strong vibrations but e.g., if a tank is too narrow and cat's barbels simultaneously touch both front and back glass, that stresses them out. Hmmm, maybe the length of time needs to be thrown into consideration. 1-2-3 days of noise vs. years of too small of a space, right?

[crkinney]

It was just a Brain fart Shipping large fish could be a mess .when and if I catch some smaller cats I will be happy to post on this stite to see if anyone has a need.

[apistomaster]

All my comments were intended to pertain to small specimens of >6".
It seems like shipping anything larger when it comes to Channel Cats wouldn't be worthwhile. Large fish may be caught in every State but Alaska to the best of my knowledge.

Of course it bothers fish to be in a tank which is being tapped by visitors and I will not tolerate it but when it comes to shipping the experience is short and fish have short memories. Millions of fish are shipped every year within the USA and only an occasional shipment goes awry. Mostly very delicate species.
I do not buy any of my fish locally including all my large wild Discus and they are much more delicate than Channel Catfish and I ship out hundreds of young and expensive plecos each year. So far this year I have sent out about 160 and only had one fish puncture its bag and died from a lack of water.
With these small plecos I pack them in small breathable bags which i first electronically seal of the corners which is where they normally poke their spines through. Essentially they are in small water balloons so they can't really slosh about. These are very good bags for shipping most small fish but with Channel cats I recommend using conventional bags where there is more air than water. Double bag at a minimum and consider triple bagging them and be sure to eliminate corners. The easiest way to do that is to slip the second bag over the 1st from the opposite direction. This will assure there are no corners at either end for their barbed fins to gain purchase and puncture the bags. The third bag should line the entire box. This is both good practice and is in compliance with the applicable USPS regulations. I do not see any reason why 6" Channel cats can't be shipped successfully using USPS Express Mail. In some locations the fish arrive the next day but they are guaranteed 2nd day delivery and that is generally the case in most instances. I use FedEX overnight for expensive fish year around when I am the buyer but I have put off sending in test packages for myself so I can ship overnight. I will get around to it because it would allow me to ship year around. I presently only ship April through October. Even with overnight shipping of tropical fish the number of problems do increase due to cold winter temperatures despite aides like chemical heat packs.

[Viktor Jarikov]

Thanx, Larry!!

Also, glad to see that I am not all that clueless and silly

[crkinney]

Viktor In referance to White cats, mud cats speckled cats these are just local names used by the comercial fishermen I hang around with.
A few years nago we had a glut of plecos. in the river .They would fill a hoop net and distroy it.You should hear what the call them lol

[pocel]

The common channel catfish (Ictalurus punctatus) is often called the "blue channel catfish" because sounds better than just plain channel catfish and it is clearly not the albino morph of the species. It creates confusion to what you are actually getting if you cannot make a positive ID between a channel catfish and a blue catfish(Ictalurus furcatus). Its pretty simple to tell really. channel are more silver and have the tell tell black spots. Channel cats tails are typically more deeply forked. and the anal fin is more rounded on a channel catfish than a blue cat wich is more rectangular.
just my take on the "blue channel cat"

[Viktor Jarikov]

Welcome. Thanx for the input. Just in case, http://www.planetcatfish.com/catelog/_s ... ies_id=261

[Colefishing]

i have one in my 75 gallon tank. he is very active even when my LED light is on. he has been growing around an inch a month and is very friendly to me when i come to the tank to look at him. however he is very territorial when my cichlids come over to his driftwood. he only allows my lima shovelnose in his area. they are very cool fish with a great personality.

[Viktor Jarikov]

Welcome. Thanks for sharing. Do you have a pic or two of him/them and your tank to share, by any chance? Of course, if you feel like it.

Be careful combining blue channel and a lima. One's got a huge mouth. The other is as skinny as a stick. After they grow a little together, this harmony may be over one day/night. After they grow a lot, it will most certainly be over - just a question of time. I do submit though that channels are far more of scavengers and far less of predators than the likes of TSNs - tiger shovelnoses, and RTCs, etc.

The rule of thumb tells us: if a fish fits in the mouth of a catfish, the catfish will attempt to eat it.. sooner or later but it will, regardless how well you feed it.

Also, chances are against you that you have Sorubim lima. It is much more likely Sorubim elongatus.

[Skiwee10]

Wiscash, it is so refreshing to see someone actually interested in brown bullheads - for all I know, you may be one of the kind because these fish are not showy-flashy and to somebody who lives in Carolina they are definitely not exotic, maybe to somebody in Thailand or Paraguay . I commend you on your ability to see beauty in humble places!

So you got yourself a (not blue but) channel cat too. Like Shane said, 10 gal is way way too small for them, unless they are like 2-3" each, and they will need large quarters when they grow up. I have a post with pics on channels and bullheads of perhaps tangential value to you but you may wanna check it out and more importantly, there is a link in it to a NY DEC website describing yellow, brown, black, and white bullheads in a nice fashion http://www.planetcatfish.com/forum/view ... 13&t=29628

Did you NOT note the temp ranges for the two fish as a part of your research/care/prep? If you provided the before/before the before/and after temps in your case, that could be informative for the readers in posterity (how did Larry Waybright know the temp, a lucky guess? summer time in Carolina?). Fish sizes are also good to know.

As for the bullhead availability: (1) again, not showy/flashy/interesting enough the the vast majority of USA hobbyists, and (2) I may be wrong, but LFSs shy away from native species (except say for channels and blue channels) - something about the laws that says LFSs cannot sell local fauna - you know, otherwise they would go out and fish out all they can and sell what they net out, which could deplete the local populations and destroy ecosystems. But I did see bullheads in LFSs every now and then as trade-ins - I think there is no law that says you cannot keep a fish you catch (legally) as a pet and that you MUST eat it

I also would love to have had all 4-5 types of bullheads but cannot find any sellers. Neither I could buy a flathead catfish or a wels so far. Well, wels is foreign (not illegal though), but flathead is native and abundant but cannot find any sources in Northern USA or USA for that matter.

I agree with crkinney's comments, except it is like always with wild animals (remember Sigfried and Roy?): you think you tamed and trained and changed them but one day the old killer-fish (or killer tiger) instinct kicks in and vualya (pardon my French), you got yourself a fish (man) eater back.

"plus channel catfish are punks unless the other fish can be swallowed" ---- I have not a clue what this means, could someone enlighten me on the latest and the greatest in English? Even if I understood "punks", I do not get the sentence.

Kydsexy: so far I only have had florida bullheads in my collection, they are nice, gentle, and sweet and have a beautiful marbled appearance. No bulling. No mess. But of course, people's experiences can differ vastly.

I can get you baby Yellow Bullheads (3-5 inches), Albino and Blue Channel Catfish (3-4 inches) and 6-8 inch Channel Catfish (pure strain)