Miscellaneous Experiments With Channel Catfish in 

 Cages, Ponds, and a Modified Raceway 



D. Homer Buck, Richard J. Baur and C. Russell Rose 



Abstract 



Results of a series of experiments involving channel cat- 

 fish ( Ictalurus punctatus ) are reported. In the first only very 

 minimum differences in individual growths and rates of food con- 

 version were found when high density (7,413 per hectare) and low 

 density (1,483 per hectare) populations were maintained and fed 

 in identical halves of a pond separated by a screen which per- 

 mitted free circulation of water. The results suggest that it 

 might be practical to feed out high density populations of cat- 

 fish in fenced-off portions of large bodies of water that might 

 not otherwise be manageable. 



A second study measured the success of stocking channel 

 catfish fry in 1-acre (0.4-hectare) ponds at four differing 

 densities, and considered the practicality of providing supple- 

 mentary feed at such small sizes and light densities. Rate of 

 recovery averaged 7.4 percent higher, average total length 5.4 

 percent higher, and average weight 12 percent higher in fed 

 than in unfed populations. Feeding increased survival by 22 per- 

 cent, and weights of final standing crop by 76 percent. 



A third study compared the efficiency of feeding cat- 

 fish in cages with the feeding of equal numbers free in ponds. 

 Higher rates of survival (97.3 vs. 70.1 %) and heavier final 

 average weights (145 vs. 73 grams) produced final standing crops 

 in the uncaged populations that were more than 2.5 times as heavy 

 as those confined to cages. Differences were due in part to use 

 of a food designed for pond catfish which did not provide the 

 caged fish with certain elements gained by the pond fish through 

 natural foods. 



A fourth test was conducted to determine if channel cat- 

 fish could be successfully reared in cages floated in a boat slip 

 |in a highly congested area of a public fishing lake. Production 

 was not inhibited by pedestrian traffic on the dock, or by the 





