PlanetCatfish.com

Hi All,

About 3 years ago my much better had bought me a catfish as a "bottom feeder" according to the pet shop bloke, for my tank. At the time a catfish was a catfish and ignorance denied me investigating further. The little guy was around 2" long and very slim when he was introduced to my 4ft tank with 3 goldfish already accomodated (approx 2")As time passed the goldfish grew and were a constant source of amusement as they came up to the top for feeding and took food from my fingers, whilst "Bob" my soon to be identified Channel cat remained in his plantpot feeding on the sinking pellets provided plus the odd treat of river shrimp. The problem is this. Bob has now grew to around 9" long and is developing a nasty streak. Admittedly I have discovered that any catfish with long whiskers is the the aquatic version of Attilla The Hun as soon as lights go out and this is my dilemna. The goldfish were bought for the kids and as cheesy as it may sound are now firmly established as a part of the family....trouble is that Bob has so much character that I cannot bear to pass him on to someone else. So after much expense and crawling I have managed to convince the wife that Bob needs his own pond in the back garden to allow him to thrive. I have been given the green light but am in much need of advice. I do not want to risk any harm to the beast and need to know exactly what equipment is required. I am aware of the need for a filter and possibly UV light but with so much knowledge on this forum I guess I can't go wrong asking here. By the way, I am in Liverpool UK if that will make any difference to the advice offered. Sorry this has been a long and boring read but I want to make sure that Bob stands the best chance possible.

Seeing that you have had 'Bob' for some time now, and it being kept in doors all that time, I wouldn't advise putting Bob into an outdoor pond till next year after the frosts have gone. He then should acclimatise to the variants of out door temperatures, prior to the onset of a cold winter. If you put Bob out doors now he may not survive a bad winter if we have one. As to pond requirements,size, concrete pond or pond liner, this would have to be down to what is acceptable to both you and your wife. But the minimum water depth you should aim for is 20 inches, this is because if Liverpool has a bad winter compared to a 'normal winter' the pond wont freeze to that depth, once you have decided upon the size of your pond, you then multiply the length by the width by the depth and then multiply by 6.25 this will roughly give you the capacity in gallons. You can then look for a pump that can move this amount of water in one hour. As to a filter, they are usually graded to what amount of gallons they are compatible for, but my own personal opinion is that one can never have too much filtration. With regards to a UV light these help not only to keep the water relatively clear but will also eradicate some water borne diseases. However the tube has to be replaced every 6 months or so and this can prove costly. But you could construct your pond and have a qualified electrician install a safe electric supply for your pump and UV light in readiness for next year.
On another note, (and I know this isnâ??t your intention)
For anyone in the UK that have these type of catfish in with your gold fish and are contemplating releasing them into a canal, lake or river this is against the law and there is a very large minimum fine for anyone caught doing so.

I understand where you're coming from. The "Atila the Hun with whiskers" sounds about right. I acquired an 88 gallon tank from a coworker with a (at the time) 5-6 inch channel cat, and several large goldfish. Here we are about 9 months later, and the channel cat appears to be around 15-16 inches long (he's rather shy around people so he won't really eat from my fingers) and the tank is now devoid of goldfish. He's a bastard, but I love him. The problem now is that he's just too large for the tank and I have yet to find a new home for him.