Hi, I just joined this forum a few minutes ago. I am hoping someone can answer my questions. First off here's the story. I have a 1 acre pond in my yard. We have LMB CC BG GSF in our pond. Someone snuck in and used carp minnows for bait and now there is more carp in the pond than all other fish combined. We are goin to drain the pond and restock it. The other day as we were gettin ready to poison the fish and begin draining, I saw a baby channel catfish. He was the cutest thing ever. I immediately took him to the side yard and put him in the koi pond. Anyway, it has been a few days and I have been feeding him hotdogs and leftover chicken. He is about 4 inches long. I have a 120 gallon tank in the basement that I used to use for my oscars but they are all gone now. I went to the pet store and got a new gigantic canister filter and some sand and some logs rocks and other cover items and also some fake plants for him to hide in. Is this suitable for him? I know how big he will get, and once he outgrows the tank I will release him into the pond. I can't let him go now because the pond is drained. I would feed him worms chicken liver dead fish and crayfish for food.
How to care for a baby channel cat
- Thread starter Catfishy
- Start date
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FWFishTanks
Aquarium Advice Addict
Welcome to the forum Catfishy! 
Your setup sounds good for a temporary home. As for the diet, maybe add some vegetable matter every so often, like veggie pellets, just for variety and some nutritional benefits. The scape of the tank sounds good for a channel cat, channels like some structure to squeeze into. As you probably know, weekly water changes are a must, 50% is a good amount, as big fish emit a big bioload. You could probably also add a sunfish in there if you add it when the cat is little. Change out the filter foam and carbon (if you use carbon) every few months. Good luck from a fellow U.S native fish owner. Hope you have fun raising that little catfish to an apex predator! 
Your setup sounds good for a temporary home. As for the diet, maybe add some vegetable matter every so often, like veggie pellets, just for variety and some nutritional benefits. The scape of the tank sounds good for a channel cat, channels like some structure to squeeze into. As you probably know, weekly water changes are a must, 50% is a good amount, as big fish emit a big bioload. You could probably also add a sunfish in there if you add it when the cat is little. Change out the filter foam and carbon (if you use carbon) every few months. Good luck from a fellow U.S native fish owner. Hope you have fun raising that little catfish to an apex predator!
FWFishTanks
Aquarium Advice Addict
In such a large tank and such a small catfish, you could probably get away with 50% every two weeks, but I would not get into the habit of not doing water changes weekly. Oh, I forgot to ask, is your tank cycled? If not, you can go to your local fish store and ask for established filter media. Once you get the media take it home (keep it wet to keep the bacteria alive), and drop it in your filter. This will basically cycle you tank instantly, as bacteria reproduces quickly.
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