PlanetCatfish.com

How long can a Channel Catfish survive out of water?

I have never seen an actual study, but certainly not more than several minutes.
-Shane

I'm not sure about that. Yesterday, some friends and I caught some at a secret place near Woodland, California. The first one was placed on the ground for a few minutes, then was moved to a water-filled bucket when he tried to flop back into the river. I later took him home in a plastic bag with no water. It was a 30 minute trip, and when I got home at 7:30 PM, he was still alive. We put him in the refridgerator. Next day, at 5:00 PM, we took him out and he was STILL alive!

WhiscashPKMN wrote:I'm not sure about that. Yesterday, some friends and I caught some at a secret place near Woodland, California. The first one was placed on the ground for a few minutes, then was moved to a water-filled bucket when he tried to flop back into the river. I later took him home in a plastic bag with no water. It was a 30 minute trip, and when I got home at 7:30 PM, he was still alive. We put him in the refridgerator. Next day, at 5:00 PM, we took him out and he was STILL alive!

& what was the purpose of this? Are you eating the fish? If so it would have been better to prevent the suffering it has experienced. Chances are the conditions in the bag were "moist" & that being in the fridge has slowed down bodily functions but this is an unusual occurance for this type of cat to survive so long - especially in inhumane conditions

It was a 30 minute trip, and when I got home at 7:30 PM, he was still alive. We put him in the refridgerator. Next day, at 5:00 PM, we took him out and he was STILL alive!

There may have been some muscular reflex, but he was no longer "alive" and would not have recovered even under the best of conditions.
-Shane

Yes, we ate the fish.

.......after it sat an a fridge for a day, alive?