OMBINED CULTURE OF CHANNEL CATFISH 
ND GOLDEN SHINERS IN WADING POOLS 
D. Homer Buck, Richard J. Baur, Charles F. Thoits Ill, and C. Russell Rose 
E RAISING of golden shiners (Notemigonus crysoleucas) 
a bait minnow, and of channel catfish (Ictalurus puncta- 
) as both a food and sport fish, has become an important 
ustry throughout most of our southern states. It has 
n customary to raise the two species separately, but 
re is increasing interest in combining the cultures. Mar- 
(1968) has listed various methods by which some grow- 
have combined the two on a limited basis, but he points 
that almost nothing exists in the literature about raising 
ows and catfish in combination. 
‘his study was undertaken to provide information not 
y available on the behavior, comparative efficiencies, 
degrees of compatibility of channel catfish and golden 
ers when in different combinations and under different 
jal limitations. The Java tilapia (Tilapia mossambica) 
also used in 1968 to measure the influence of such a 
d species upon its companion fishes: it was not used in 
1969 experiments. 
he project was provided major financial assistance by 
Bureau of Commercial Fisheries through the Commer- 
Fisheries Research and Development Act of 1964. The 
les were conducted at the Sam A. Parr Fisheries Re- 
ch Center, Marion County, Illinois, which is a cooper- 
facility of the Illinois Natural History Survey and the 
lois Department of Conservation. Thanks are due 
rge W. Bennett for his critical review of the early 
uscript. The final manuscript was edited by O. F. Glis- 
orf, technical editor, and the cover design was prepared 
loyd LeMere, technical illustrator, at the Natural His- 
Survey. 
MATERIALS AND METHODS 
I major experiments were conducted in 1968 and 1969 
astic pools 10 feet in diameter and 30 inches deep. 
ted observations were made in aquariums. Some pools 
fitted with dividers (Fig. 1), which permitted the 
ical association or separation of the species, as desired, 
also provided variations in spatial densities. Such di- 
‘ were constructed of 3/16-inch-mesh nylon netting on 
es of galvanized tubing. The netting permitted a circu- 
1 of water and distribution of metabolites or other 
borne products throughout the pool area. 
all outdoor experiments in both years all pools were 
ded a substrate of light sandy soil. In all pools to be 
in an individual experiment the soil substrates were 
ulously standardized in two steps—pulverizing dried 
Paper is published by authority of the State of Illinois, IRS Ch. 2eubars 
tis a contribution from the Section of Aquatic Biology of the Illinois Natural 
Survey. Dr. D. Homer Buck is an Aquatic Biologist, Richard J. Baur a Re- 
\ssistant, and C. Russell Rose a Field Assistant, all at the Survey; Charles F. 
IT was formerly a Research Assistant at the Survey, and is now employed by 
Hampshire Fish and Game Department. 
soil to the fineness of fine sand by passing it through a mill 
designed for grinding livestock feeds, and thorough mixing 
in a cement mixer. Each lot of mixed soil was evenly divid- 
ed among all pools. Each received about 6.5 cubic feet of 
mixed soil, sufficient to cover the bottom to a depth of about 
1 inch. 
Water used in all experiments was pumped from a 3.5- 
acre pond. All fish populations were seined and weighed 
every 14 days and the weights were used to establish new 
feeding levels. Shiners received their food in the form of a 
meal; catfish were fed small pellets. Turbidities, dissolved 
oxygen, pH, free COz, alkalinities, and ammonia (NHs) 
were monitored twice weekly, usually in the late morning. 
Outdoor pools were not shaded, and summer temperatures 
of surface waters were recorded as high as 96° F. 
INDOOR EXPERIMENTS IN 1968 
Culture in Plastic Pools 
Methods.—Our initial experiment ran from January 11 
to May 24, 1968, a period of 134 days. In partitioned 10- 
foot-diameter plastic pools we stocked channel catfish and 
golden shiners in two ways (Fig. 2). In one pool the two 
species were physically separated (two groups of each spe- 
cies, four partitioned areas) but shared the same water cir- 
culating through the separating nylon screen. In a second 
pool the species were physically associated (two mixed 
groups, two partitioned areas). Total areas and water vol- 
umes in the two pools were similar, and total numbers (100 
catfish, 450 shiners) and initial weights of each species in 
each pool were equal. Also, over the course of the experi- 
ment each pool received the same total amount of food. 
Actually, original stock on January 11 included only 15 
catfish in each group (30 in each pool), but on January 19 
the numbers were increased to 50 in each group (100 in 
each pool). These final densities were equivalent to about 
55,500 catfish and 250,000 shiners per acre. Individual 
Fig. 2.—The partitioned circles illustrate the manner in which the 
pools used in the indoor experiments were divided by nylon screens to 
permit a mixing or separation of the groups of 50 channel catfish (CC) and 
225 golden shiners (GS). 
