Did anyone ever try to raise catfish in a barrel? It seems like a whole lot of work and pretty expensive, but then fresh catfish.... Mmmmmm. How to Raise Catfish in a Barrel | eHow.com
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Having owned my own custom fish store in the past I would say that while yes, this could work, the variables for going wrong are so high that I probably wouldnt even attempt it.
Fish breeders often raise up small fish in large vats... much larger than a barrel, doing what it says about changing up to 90% of the water daily, but those fish are usually sold and gone at 1-3" max. I would think even in the shade the water would reach critically hot temperature often. Once these fish get about 3/4lb they will be putting off so many waste products from breathing, eating and crapping that you wouldnt be able to keep the water untoxic in such a small area... and you are what you eat LOL.
So, yes it could be done, but you would have better success doing it in a concrete vat in the ground with alot more volume of water.
Easier to grab a six pack of beer, a couple of fishin' rods and a thing of chicken livers
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Never raised em in a barrel but when we catch eater size cat's we bring them home and keep them in 55 gallon plastic barrels (in the shade) for about 2-3 weeks periodically changing the majority of the water. This takes the muddy taste out and they skin like a breeze... Works the same for snappers except the time frame is more like 2-3 months and no food.
Hmm, sounds interesting, but lets see some real life application.
Sounds to me like an overgrown fish tank, but personally I would use something larger than a barrel. I don't know that a barrel can sustain than many fish without oxygen depletion or a toxic buildup of organic waste. Even a few guppies can kill a 20 gallon tank in a few days, who knows how quickly 40 catfish can cloud up 55 gallons!
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Hmm, sounds interesting, but lets see some real life application.
Sounds to me like an overgrown fish tank, but personally I would use something larger than a barrel. I don't know that a barrel can sustain than many fish without oxygen depletion or a toxic buildup of organic waste. Even a few guppies can kill a 20 gallon tank in a few days, who knows how quickly 40 catfish can cloud up 55 gallons!
Got to thinkin about it, and I agree, 40 fish in a 55 gallon barrel probably isnt that great an Idea, but since I live in an semi rural area what about a med size stock tank like what some use for water for there horses or cattle? I dunno just a thought if someone was hell bent on raising their own fish and didnt have the $$ or space for a pond.........
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I had a fish tank for years raising swordtails and fancy guppies. If you had a aerator and a water filter setup for a 50 or 100 gallon aquarium in your 55 gallon drum in deep shade, I can see this working as long as you had electricity and cleaned the filters at least once a week
I'm with rimfirenut on the catfish. They suck off the bottom. We keep ours at the river. Bass and striper have been fair here this year. We catch and kill any gar, they kill everything.
I tried raising some young ones in a rain barrel; didn't last very long. A lot of work that usually doesn't pan out. You can make yourself a pond and raise them in the pond but you'll need to keep the water flowing.
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We clean catfish out in a 500 gallon stock tank this is how we handle cleaning the poo . I bought a old pool pump and sand filter at an auction I attached it at the bung socket at the bottem of the tank. Made a cleaning wand out of a old pool vaccum pole and use it just as in a pool . I use a part cleaning vat pump as an airerator . It is some work but well worth it when you catch 15 or 20 cats that weigh 10 + pounds . We keep them in there for a month or better feeding them small bluegill and crawdads . The kids love catching the food so that part is easy . We leave this running from march thru october and have never had any trouble keeping them alive as long as they are lip hooked and not gill of gut hooked . You can cut the hook off inside a gut hooked cat and leave it inside but we only leave them in the tank max of 10 days . We mark them with calf tags through the dorsel fin makes sorting alot easier .
