How old is catfish

It belongs to the family Ictaluridae, order Siluriformes. Members of the order Siluriformes are found in fresh and salt water worldwide. There are at least 39 species of catfish in North America, but only seven have been cultured or have potential for commercial production.

They are the blue catfish, Ictalurus furcatus LeSueur ; the white catfish, Ictalurus catus Linnaeus ; the black bullhead, Ictalurus melas Rafinesque ; the brown bullhead, Ictalurus nebulosus LeSueur ; the yellow bullhead, Ictalurus natalis LeSueur ; and the flathead catfish, Pylodictis olivaris Rafinesque. Channel catfish were originally found only in the Gulf States and the Mississippi Valley north to the prairie provinces of Canada and Mexico, but were not found in the Atlantic coastal plain or west of the Rocky Mountains.

Since then channel catfish have been widely introduced throughout the United States and the world. Like all native North American catfishes, a channel catfish has a body that is cylindrical in cross-section, and lacks scales. Fins are soft-rayed except for the dorsal and pectoral fins which have sharp, hard spines that can inflict a nasty, painful wound if a catfish is handled carelessly. An adipose fin lacking rays is located on the back between the dorsal and caudal fins Figure 1.

One conspicuous characteristic of all catfish is the presence of barbels around the mouth. The barbels are arranged in a definite pattern with four under the jaw and one on each tip of the maxilla upper jaw. The channel catfish is the only spotted North American catfish with a deeply forked tail. There are rays in the anal fin. They are generally olivaceous to blue on the back, shading to the off-white ventrally. Their color, to a large extent, is dictated by the color of the water they inhabit.

In clear water they may appear almost black, while in muddy water they may be a light yellow. Young channel catfish are irregularly spotted on their sides, but the spots tend to disappear in the adults.

In natural waters, channel catfish live in moderate to swiftly flowing streams, but they are also abundant in large reservoirs, lakes, ponds, and some sluggish streams. They are usually found where bottoms are sand, gravel, or rubble, in preference to mud bottoms. They are seldom found in dense aquatic weeds. Channel catfish are freshwater fish but they can thrive in brackish water. Channel catfish generally prefer clear water streams, but are common and do well in muddy water.

During the day they are usually found in deep holes wherever the protection of logs and rocks can be found. Most movement and feeding activity occurs at night just after sunset and just before sunrise. Young channel catfish frequently feed in shallow riffle areas while the adults seem to feed in deeper water immediately downstream from sand bars. Adults rarely move much from one area to another and are rather sedentary, while young fish tend to move about much more extensively, particularly at night when feeding.

Feeding can occur during day or night, and they will eat a wide variety of both plant and animal material. It's not possible to estimate the age of a Flathead Catfish from it's weight alone. There is just too much variation in growth rates among individuals. Lapillus ear stone from 62 pound Flathead Catfish glued to glass slide. Lincoln penny for size reference. Photo by Cobin Hilling. Otoliths are calcareous accretions that permit detection of sounds and maintenance of equilibrium via the semicircular canals.

Because the grow continuously as the fish grows and grow faster when the fish is actively growing, annual rings are discernible. The otoliths of the Flathead Catfish are tiny compared to the size of the fish and can be a challenge to find. There are three pairs of otoliths -- asterisci, lapilli and sagittae.

To learn how otoliths are removed from large catfish, check out this post. In this Flathead Catfish, Corbin Hilling extracted the lapillus above , which is the largest otolith in catfish. Pull back on the fin with slow steady pressure while twisting until the fin detaches from the fish's body. Return the catfish to the water, if you do not want to keep the fish. Catfish will survive with only one pectoral fin.

Cut the detached fin in half lengthwise with a micro-tooth saw. Move the saw along the fin a few millimeters from the first cut and cut through the fin second time, removing a thin slice of the fin. Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences Department. University of Florida, NW t St. Lee, J. Commercial Catfish Farming. Danville: Illinois. National Aquaculture Information Center. Seafood Leader Magazine. Waterfront Press Co. Tucker, C. Channel catfish farming handbook.

Van Nostrand Reinhold. Florence: Kentucky. Channel catfish culture. Developments in aquaculture and fisheries science Amsterdam: The Netherlands. Original publication date July Frank A. Home Experts Topics. Species Account Taxonomy and Distribution Channel catfish Ictalurus punctatus belong to the family Ictaluridae, in the large catfish order Siluriformes.

Culture History The channel catfish is the primary species of farm-raised fish in the United States. Life Cycle Characteristics Channel catfish are reported to live up to forty years, attain approximately 1 m 40 in. Production Systems Several production and management schemes are used to commercially produce channel catfish.