What to feed a baby catfish

Nutrition, Feeds, and Feeding | Mississippi State University Extension Service

Nutrient requirements and feeding characteristics of channel catfish have been extensively researched. This research has provided the basis for the formulation of efficient, economical diets and for the development of feeding strategies - both of which have been instrumental in the success of the catfish industry.

Nutrition

Catfish farmers are able to feed a nutritionally complete diet that provides required levels of nutrients and energy in a readily digestible form. It is essential to provide a complete diet because natural food organisms only supply a small portion of the overall nutritional needs of catfish in intensively stocked ponds except during the early life stage. Forty nutrients have been identified as necessary for the normal growth and metabolic functions of channel catfish.

Protein is the most expensive nutrient of catfish feeds, so considerable work has been conducted over the last 20 years concerning the level of dietary protein and essential amino acids needed for cost-effective production of catfish. Data from these studies indicate that the dietary protein requirement for various life stages of catfish ranges from about 25 to 50 percent. Pond studies have shown that a protein level of 28 percent is adequate for food fish grow out when fish are fed to satiation daily.

Based on current knowledge, a digestible energy to digestible protein (DE/DP) ratio of 10-11 kcal/gram is optimal for growth of catfish raised from advanced fingerlings to market size. Ratios above this range may lead to increased fat deposition and reduced processed yield, and if the ratio is too low, that means some of the more expensive protein is used for energy which is not economical.

Catfish feeds contain grain and grain by-products that are rich in starch. In addition to providing an inexpensive energy source, starch helps bind feed ingredients together and increases expansion of extruded feeds so that the feed pellets are water stable and float in the water. A typical catfish feed contains 25 percent or more of digestible carbohydrates.

Fat is a concentrated source of energy and it can spare protein being used for energy. However, too much dietary fat will produce fatty fish which is undesirable for the consumer. Fat levels in commercial catfish feeds rarely exceed 5-6 percent. About 3-4 percent of the fat is inherent in the feed ingredients, with the remaining 1-2 percent being sprayed onto the finished pellets mainly to reduce feed dust or “fines,” but also to supply some energy and essential fatty acids. Both vegetable and animal oils/fats can be used for pellet coating, but animal fats (such as menhaden fish oil, catfish oil, and poultry fat or mixture) are typically used.

Catfish feeds are generally supplemented with a vitamin premix to meet dietary requirements and to compensate for losses due to feed manufacture and storage. Catfish feeds are also supplemented with phosphorus and a trace mineral premix to meet mineral requirements. Phosphorus supplements can be replaced by microbial phytase, an enzyme that can effectively release the bond-form of phosphorus in plant feedstuffs making it available to the fish.

Feeds

Catfish feeds are mainly plant-based, though feeds for fry and small fingerlings contain some fish meal and other animal proteins. Major ingredients used in catfish feeds generally include soybean meal, cottonseed meal, corn and by-products, and wheat by-products.

There are various types of catfish feeds. The type being used at any particular time is a function of life stage and size of fish being fed, whether the fish are fed during the growing season or winter, and if an antibiotic is incorporated.

Catfish fry in hatcheries are fed finely ground meal- or flour-type feeds containing 45-50 percent protein. Once the fry are stocked in nursery ponds, they are typically fed a meal-type feed containing about 40 percent protein. Some producers feed fry with ”fines” from 28 or 32 percent protein feeds for food fish grow out until they reach 1-2 inches in length. During this stage, catfish fry can obtain most of their nutrients from natural foods such as large zooplankton, small insects, and insect larvae, if the ponds are properly fertilized.

Larger fingerlings are fed small floating pellets (1/8 inch diameter) containing 35 percent protein. Advanced fingerlings (5-6 inches) and food fish are generally fed a floating feed of approximately 5/32 - 3/16 inch in diameter containing 28-32 percent protein. Some producers switch to a slow-sinking feed during the winter.

Antibiotics are administered to catfish through incorporation in feeds (medicated feeds). Three antibiotics (Terramycin^®, Romet^®, and Aquaflor^®) have been approved by FDA to treat bacterial infections in catfish.

Feeding

Feed is the largest cost in catfish production, accounting for more than 50 percent of total variable costs, so how fish are fed directly affects profitability of catfish farming. Despite considerable research, feeding catfish is far from an exact science. It is a highly subjective process that differs among catfish farmers. The variation in feeding practices is a product of several factors such as cropping system, fish size, ability to manage water quality, experience of feeding personnel, and difficulty in estimating fish inventory.

In general, fish should be fed once a day with as much feed as they will consume without adversely affecting water quality. However, depending on water quality and health status of the fish, it may be advisable to restrict the daily feed allowance or to feed less often. Long-term feed allowance should not exceed 100-120 pounds for traditional ponds, and about 300 pounds per acre per day for split ponds and intensively-aerated ponds.

Most catfish producers feed once a day, 7 days a week during the warmer months. Research has shown feeding twice a day improves growth of fingerlings, but there is no benefit by feeding twice a day for food fish grow out.

Feed is typically blown onto the surface of the water using mechanical feeders. Feeds should be scattered over as wide an area as possible to provide equal feeding opportunities for as many fish as possible. Feeding with prevailing winds allows the feed to float across the pond and minimizes the amount of feed washing ashore. Overfeeding should be avoided since wasted feed affects water quality and increases production costs.

MSU Publications

A Brief Overview of Catfish Nutrition

Reducing Catfish Feed Cost

Catfish Protein Nutrition: Revised

Composition and Formulation of Channel Catfish Feeds

Comparative Quality of Foodstuffs for Catfish Feeds

Plant-Based Catfish Feeds

Feed Conversion Ratio for Pond-Raised Catfish

Phytase Studies for Channel Catfish

Summary of Nutrition and Feeding Studies for Pond-Raised Hybrid Catfish

SRAC Publications:

Feed Ingredients and Feeds for Channel Catfish
https://srac.tamu.edu/serveFactSheet/258

Feeding Catfish in Commercial Ponds
https://srac.tamu.edu/serveFactSheet/24

What Do Baby Catfish Eat?

27 Answers

Charlie Proofer answered

cliff1066™

Many catfish like to eat raw or fried meat such as raw beef, hot dogs, small insects and brine shrimp. Make sure though that when you do feed your baby catfish, you are torn all meat up into really tiny pieces otherwise they might not be able to eat them or they might even choke.

Adult catfish will not get full off eating brine shrimp so this is only recommended for babies. If you do feed brine shrimp to adult catfish then make sure that you give them something else so that they are satisfied. You can buy cubed brine shrimp from the majority of pet stores. They can also live off pond algae but a diet based just on algae is not recommended. A variety of foods is best.

Catfish also love to eat chunks of white bread and wholemeal bread. However, if you do feed them bread, make sure that it is torn up into small bits for babies, and slightly larger for the adults.

Remember that catfish are ground feeders, you can tell this from the way they always tend to swim along the bottom of the tank or pond, so don’t give them any food that floats because they won’t reach it.

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It is also essential that you do not overfeed your catfish, especially when you first get them and are enthusiastic about raising them because overfeeding will kill them.

If you want to find out more information on what baby catfish like to eat, then visit your local pet store. The owner might be able to give you some information or there might be a book there that you can buy and read through.

All catfish are different so it is important to try new foods with it and see which ones that they prefer. Some like to eat hot dogs whereas others prefer brine shrimp.

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Anonymous answered

Many like to eat raw or fried meat. Mainly raw beef, fried hot dogs, insects, soft newborn leaves, brine shrimp. Only feed brine shrimp to babies, because adult catfish will not full off of brine shrimp. They also love little slices of white or wheat bread. Small small pits for babies, but bigger slices for adults. They also can just live in algae pond water and live off of that for about 5 days. DO NOT OVER FEED YOU'RE CATFISH, BIG OR SMALL!!! They will die if fed to much. I advice you to feed them only around 1 time a day or every 2 days. This is sorta off subject, but it's smartest to just raise 1-3 at a time!

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Jack answered

My baby catfish eat lunch meat like ham and turkey it works well trie it

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Anonymous answered

I have about 25 to 30 baby catfish in a 10 gallon aquarium. I feed them once a day, because you can over feed them. They eat grounded up bread crumbs, cubed frozen brine which you can buy at your local pet store, any kind of chicken liver, and algae.

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Anonymous answered

I caught 4 baby catfish and I have been feeding them little bread crumbs they will eat almost anything

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Anonymous answered

I had a baby catfish about 2 - 3 inches long. I no longer have it because I gave it too much food. Its a shame I hadn't done some research sooner. I fed it dried bloodworms n baby shrimp. I sure do miss the lil guy =(

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Anonymous answered

I'm 10 years old and I caught 6 baby catfish .I feed it very small cut up worms

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Anonymous answered

Try woms and the bigger the catfish the bigger the worms but cut the up so they're not too long to swallow

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Anonymous answered

If you buy them at a pet store they eat pellets of shrimp

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Anonymous answered

Any thing that is green even peas

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himanshu sharma answered

Though cat fish are omnivorous but I think and according to my experience they are primarily algae eater fish .

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Anonymous answered

Baby catfish love to eat fried hot dogs I'm only twelve years old and I caught five baby catfish off of fried hot dogs.

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Anonymous answered

Baby Catfish Eat the bottom of plants, small leaves,and very small bugs that are present in the sand. They eat food that are present on the ground under the water so try not to give them food that floats. Yes you can give then fish food that is easily available in the market.

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Anonymous answered

My catfish eats fish food and algae.

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Shumaela Rana answered

A baby cat fish likes to eat small insects and soft newly born leaves and the stems of the plants.

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Anonymous answered

I was at the river with my friend and caught a baby flathead/yellow catfish and it wont eat anything what should I do?

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Anonymous answered

Baby cat fish eat cut up worms

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Anonymous answered

My baby cat fish have been eating cubed blood worms

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Anonymous answered

I raised some baby catfish for like two years.I fed them cubed brine from the pet store.They loved that stuff.I had like 7 in a twenty gallon tank.I took them back to the river I caught them in because I was getting different fish for the tank.They reminded me of piranha the way they attacked the cubed brine.

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Anonymous answered

The eat pellets

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Anonymous answered

I just caught 2 new born baby catfishes and I don't know what to feed it
so I was hopping someone would help me

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Anonymous answered

My baby catfish ate flake food when he got 1 1/2 cm. Just crush it up in your fingers and feed once a day.

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Anonymous answered

I just caught 3 baby catfish and I don't knowif they can live with other fish

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Anonymous answered

Did you ever hear of you are what you eat? Well same gose with you taste like what you eat. One thing I do is I feel my few catfish baccon. Ummm baccon, but not to much they have arteries and a heart too. So I feed it small fish plus cheap, but not too cheap of meats. And all of the stuff I feed myself & my fish comes from the local farms in my area because legally the epa states that heavy metels and other toxins that can't be removed from a body can be in that food sold in US stores. These foods are found in supermarket foods and when you eat it you get all of those toxins. That can't be removed from your body. Feed you animals weel and you may reep the rerwards with baccon. Ummm

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Anonymous answered

My baby catfish eats tiny leaves, tiny bugs, and catfish pellets. They r ground eaters so no floating pellets!

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Anonymous answered

Cut up pieces of hot dog

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Anonymous answered

Baby catfish eat baby food

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Answer Question

What to feed aquarium catfish: the basics of a proper diet

Contents

1 What is special about catfish 2 What are catfish food 3 How to properly feed catfish

1 minute

estimated reading time

Alexander Kuznetsov, Candidate of Veterinary Sciences, tells how to feed aquarium catfish so that everyone is full.

What's special about catfish

Aquarium catfish are very different from other fish. First of all, these are bottom fish: they spend most of their lives at the bottom and rarely rise above. Many of them have a lower mouth. Sometimes it is even modified into a special sucker, and therefore it is difficult for catfish to feed along with everyone else. Such a mouth is needed to find food in the ground or scrape it off rocks and snags. In addition, many catfish are shy and refuse to swim out for general feeding.

It is important to feed these special fish in such a way that there is enough food for everyone, and the food is appropriate for their needs and characteristics. It is important that the food sinks to the bottom so that other aquarium fish do not have time to eat it.

What are catfish food

Especially for aquarium catfish, food is produced in the form of tablets and plates. They are quite large and quickly fall to the bottom, where catfish can find such food. The shape of tablets and plates maximally takes into account the species characteristics of these fish. Tablets do not crumble, do not create dust and are stored in water for a long time without impairing its properties.

Depending on the species, the needs of bottom fish are different. Among them there are omnivorous and herbivorous representatives. Herbivores include all Loricariidae - the so-called "sucker catfish": ancistrus, pterygoplichts, plecostomuses, sturisomes, otocincluss and others. Their diet should be 70% plant-based. In addition, they need a high fiber content for healthy digestion.

In the diet of omnivorous catfishes (corridors, corakatums) and loach fishes (botsia), both vegetable and animal protein should be present. Therefore, different feeds are produced for these two groups.

Herbivorous catfish are suitable for the Tetra Pleco line. All feeds in it contain high-quality herbal supplements: spirulina, zucchini. And for omnivorous bottom dwellers - the Tetra Wafer line. The feed of this series consists of two types of plates: green and brown. The former are a source of herbal ingredients, enriched with spirulina to maintain immunity. Tetra Wafer contains crustaceans as a source of animal protein and carotenoids for active growth and bright color.

How to feed catfish

It is enough to feed catfish only once a day. In this case, it is advisable to throw the tablets in places inaccessible to other fish. Catfish are active mainly in the evening and at night, moreover, they are often shy. Therefore, I recommend feeding them after turning off the light.

If you follow these simple rules, you can be sure that all your catfish in the aquarium will be full. A properly selected diet will keep them healthy and clean water.

Aquarium catfish: maintenance, care, compatibility, feeding, description, photo, video. | AQUARIUM FISH

Care and maintenance

Keeping and caring for catfish is not a complicated process. They are kept under normal aquarium conditions at 22-28 °C . Water hardness 6-12 . Acidity is neutral. If your acidity deviates a little in one direction or another, there is nothing to worry about. But it is very important that the water is not salty. Most species are not whimsical to the oxygen regime, since the catfish has skin respiration or the ability to breathe atmospheric air.

The breathing process consists in the ascent of the catfish to the surface, taking in air and sinking to the bottom until the air is completely consumed. The soil doesn't really matter. To make your catfish comfortable, you need to equip an aquarium for him. Since the catfish is a bottom inhabitant of the aquarium, you need to make some kind of shelter for it.

It can be made from stone, different types of driftwood, it can be artificial houses, castles and plants. As for living plants, you need to look at a specific type of catfish, since many of them are herbivores and the plant may not live long with you. But still, if you want to plant plants in an aquarium, and your catfish is herbivorous, then you need to choose plants that are large and with a well-developed root system. It is very important to make a territory for catfish and put a snag. Without such a shelter, the catfish will not be comfortable and its life will be significantly shortened, and thanks to the snag, the catfish will receive important cellulose for life.

Preparing to buy an aquarium catfish

When making a decision to purchase a pet, the necessary preparation should be made. Having qualitatively studied the features of the lifestyle and hobbies of the pet, you can guarantee the acquisition of the necessary things.

In addition, catfish are called "household orderlies" for their love of eating soil. Fish destroy scales and food waste from the bottom of the aquarium, thus maintaining the cleanliness of the reservoir.

High-quality cleaning of the aquarium is carried out by catfish pets, which is why the owner of the reservoir can forget about cleaning the aquarium. However, it does not hurt to purchase a quality filter, since the fish get their food in an original way. They raise the settled remains from the bottom surface, moving with their body, after the food begins to float, the catfish eat it.

When organizing a new addition to the aquarium, it is important to pay attention to the already accustomed inhabitants of the reservoir. Not all fish get along with new neighbors and can eat them. Guppy fish and neon fish are a favorite delicacy of catfish, therefore, in order to avoid fatal outcomes, the fish should be separated.

To create optimal conditions for catfish, it is necessary to fill the aquarium with stones or dense vegetation. These fish prefer to stay in the shelter before dark. In the daytime, they like to clean the bottom of the aquarium. However, catfish are not easy to see, as they have a special protective coloration and almost merge with the stones.

Compatibility of catfish

Basically, catfish are peaceful, do not get into a fight with other aquarium fish, sometimes there are conflicts between themselves.

It happens that even a stronger catfish starts chasing a weak one, and, alas, kills him.

But this is extremely rare. The compatibility of catfish with other fish depends on the type of catfish.

Non-aggressive neighbors should be selected for peaceful, herbivorous. And to predators - larger fish that can stand up for themselves.

Reproduction and breeding

The breeding process in catfish is quite simple, and if you have only fish of this species in your aquarium, you don’t even need to put them in a separate aquarium. Otherwise, for catfish spawning, it is better to allocate a container with clean water with a capacity of 30 to 50 liters. Usually 3-4 males are left per female. It is highly desirable that the place where spawning takes place has a lot of algae and soft soil.

If you want to encourage your pets to breed, you need to change the water temperature within a few days within 17-25 ° C and aerate the aquarium. Spawning usually takes place early in the morning. When the eggs have already been laid, you can leave natural light or darken it a little. A week after spawning, the female will be ready for a new spawning. The fry develop quite quickly and almost immediately they can be fed with finely chopped bloodworms or “dust”.

Feeding

Feeding catfish is very easy. They eat up the fish food that lies at the bottom, thereby cleaning the bottom of the aquarium. Almost everything is eaten: pieces of fish, shrimp, tablets, ice cream food, flakes well, since most catfish are predators, they can eat small fish in an aquarium, perceiving them as food.

Drawing a conclusion, we can say that catfish in an aquarium are a necessary fish. Unpretentious and not in need of additional care, resistant to various diseases, well, very original and beautiful. Having a catfish, your aquarium will always look unique, and you will always be able to rejoice and enjoy the beauty of your pet.

In the following articles you can find the most necessary information about the content of aquarium catfish, the species that are of interest to you, the variety of aquarium catfish, feeding, care, as well as compatibility tables of catfish with other inhabitants of the aquarium.

"Orders" of the aquarium

You can often hear from pet store sellers that small and large catfish purify the water in the aquarium and the owner does not have to do this. Catfish, combing the soil at the bottom, really pick up everything edible, partially cleaning the pollution. By the way, this does not mean that your pet's nutrition should be left to chance.

It is also important to note that the natural habitat of these fish is silty water. But this also does not mean that you can not clean the aquarium at all and only occasionally change the water. Enhanced water aeration is really not needed, and clean water and an aquarium are the key to the health of your fish. If other fish live in your area, they simply need cleanliness, and the catfish will quickly get used to it and will not experience any inconvenience.

General information about catfish

All types of aquarium catfish, of which there are a huge number in nature, are surprisingly similar in appearance. More than 1200 thousand different waterfowl variations of this species live in aquariums alone. Otherwise, these fish are called cleaners, because they eat the remains of uneaten rotting food lying on the bottom.

And many amateurs buy such “orderlies” precisely because of their accuracy. You can buy such curious specimens at any pet store. These aquarium fish instead of scales have a lamellar cover consisting of bone tissue. This feature distinguishes them from other waterfowl. Catfish mainly live at the bottom of glass reservoirs and are active only at night. They feed on plant foods, but sometimes they do not disdain to feast on the remains of "the master's bottom table."

Catfish are very popular among aquarists, so the demand for them is very high. They buy shells for the reason that they are: peaceful enough; feel great in water at a temperature of 18 ° +25 ° C; adapted to hard water; feel confident with its medium acidity with plus / minus deviations in different directions.

Nature endowed catfish with intestinal breathing. Looking out of the aquarium, they swallow air with their mouths, which is then processed into pure oxygen. If the catfish often lingers at the surface of the water, it means that it is difficult for him to breathe. Aquarium orderlies