Pond Boss
Posted By: John Fitzgerald CC eating FA? - 07/18/17 10:37 PM
I caught a 3.5+ pound CC from my pond this morning. Upon cleaning, I noticed the stomach was pretty full and contained about 1/3 catfish pellets and 2/3 filamentous algae. I have cut back on feeding due to the heat and possibility of low dissolved oxygen. Maybe they are used to having full stomachs?
Posted By: farmallsc Re: CC eating FA? - 07/18/17 11:31 PM
No joke? Maybe that's why my pond is getting cleaned. I had wondered how 18 Tilapia could have possibly eaten it all.
Posted By: sprkplug Re: CC eating FA? - 07/19/17 12:26 AM
The CC in our pond swim around with their mouths open, eating pellets. Whatever is around the pellets, gets eaten also. From what I've seen, our catfish don't target FA, it just gets consumed incidentally.
Posted By: catmandoo Re: CC eating FA? - 07/19/17 02:00 AM
I will try to find some photos and posts I made a number of years ago about bullheads that had lots of filamentous algae. We culled about 150 lbs., of really big bullheads out of Pond Boss Sunil's pond in southern Pennsylvania. I took a cooler-full of them home for a father's day fish fry.

My sick brain wants me to see what is in the gut of every fish clean. Of the 100+ big bullheads I cleaned from Sunil's pond, nearly all were filled with filamentous algae, plus some fish skeletons, small snail shells, etc.

We kind of came to the conclusion that the bullheads were after the food in the filamentous algae, and not necessarily the algae itself.

My catfish eat anything that fits in their mouths.

Ken
Posted By: John Fitzgerald Re: CC eating FA? - 07/20/17 03:53 AM
I cleaned another CC this morning. Two lbs 1 oz, 18" long. All it had in its intestinal tract besides the piece of hot dog I caught it on was FA. This was after I had fed pellets, so not all of them are coming to pellets, at least not every day.
Posted By: esshup Re: CC eating FA? - 07/20/17 04:58 AM
Could the FA be incidental and not being digested as fast as the other items?
Posted By: Quarter Acre Re: CC eating FA? - 07/20/17 02:41 PM
I saw this phenomenon once in a very small non-maintained pond (1/16 acre?). The CC had very large heads compared to their body. The pond did not seem to be overpopulated because catching was difficult whether LMB or CC. I don't recall ever catching any pan fish. My assumption was that they had a severe lack of food sources and FA was kindof like when the fridge and cabinet gets bare and it's time to have some bran flakes with Koolaid.
Posted By: John Fitzgerald Re: CC eating FA? - 07/21/17 04:14 PM
Maybe. I caught one CC this morning after feeding at 3 pounds 11 ounces and 22" for a RW of 94%. Empty stomach, so wasn't one of the pellet eaters. Intestines contained only FA. I have cut back on feeding due to the heat and lower water levels. RW has gone down somewhat, but they still have some fat stores, but nothing like a month ago.

As a side note, I also caught and released an albino CC only about 13" long, and maybe 3/4 pound. It has to be a recruit from the three two to 2.5 pound albinos I put in during winter of 2015-16. The other albinos I stocked in early in May of 2016 are all now over 17 inches, as I have seen all of them and even caught and released a few of them.
I was told by one of the Lonoke fish farmers that spawn survival of albino CC is nearly impossible in uncontrolled conditions, but....

That's a 24 inch cutting board in the picture.



Attached picture IMG_20170721_103258[1].jpg
Posted By: John Fitzgerald Re: CC eating FA? - 07/25/17 09:12 PM
Caught another one this morning at 2 lbs 12 oz and 20-1/4 inches. They are definitely getting skinnier from the cutting back of feed. This one was stuffed with FA and a large crawdad.
Posted By: peachgrower Re: CC eating FA? - 07/25/17 09:34 PM
John, I'm assuming you eat them?? Can you tell a difference in the ones that are pellet eaters and the ones that are eating normal stuff? Just curious since are checking to see if they are pellet eaters or not.
Posted By: John Fitzgerald Re: CC eating FA? - 07/25/17 09:41 PM
No, we cannot tell any difference in taste. It tastes just as good or better than the commercial Delta Pride USA brand sold in grocery stores.

They have all been pellet eaters in the past, or they would not be nearly this big. Food has been cut back since June 19 due to the heat and to avoid low D.O.
Posted By: farmallsc Re: CC eating FA? - 07/26/17 12:19 AM
@John

Where did you buy your albino cc?
Posted By: John Fitzgerald Re: CC eating FA? - 07/26/17 12:26 AM
Originally Posted By: farmallsc
@John

Where did you buy your albino cc?

One of them came with my original stockers in fall 2015. I got three adult brooders in winter 0f 2015 from War Eagle Minnow Farm near here, and bought 10 fingerlings 4 to 10 inch in spring 2016 from Moore's Fish Farm in Inola, OK. As far as I know, about 10 to 12 survive, from about six pounds plus to the one I caught and released last week at less than a pound (spawn)?

Moore's did not have any albino CC this spring.
Posted By: John Fitzgerald Re: CC eating FA? - 08/13/17 01:03 AM
Update: I caught a 20" CC this evening at 3.0 pounds, RW at 105%. Its stomach and digestive tract was stuffed with FA.
Posted By: farmallsc Re: CC eating FA? - 08/13/17 08:21 AM
I've caught 3 of my CC, I turned 2 loose and cleaned 1. Mine didn't have any FA in his belly. I was too tired or I would have cleaned the other 2. The one I caught sure tasted good though
Posted By: John Fitzgerald Re: CC eating FA? - 08/17/17 02:26 PM
I know I still have a considerable number of 2 to 5 pound CC in my older pond. Some are albinos and I can easily see them. When I feed pellets (about 8 oz twice a day), only two large albinos (maybe 5 lb) and about two or three regular CC come to eat the pellets. I can see other albinos and sometimes regulars swimming around about two feet down under the pellets, but they never come up. About four or five CC are getting all the pellets that the big BG don't get. Is it common for CC to quit eating pellets once they exceed three pounds or so?
Posted By: farmallsc Re: CC eating FA? - 08/17/17 03:18 PM
Originally Posted By: John Fitzgerald
I know I still have a considerable number of 2 to 5 pound CC in my older pond. Some are albinos and I can easily see them. When I feed pellets (about 8 oz twice a day), only two large albinos (maybe 5 lb) and about two or three regular CC come to eat the pellets. I can see other albinos and sometimes regulars swimming around about two feet down under the pellets, but they never come up. About four or five CC are getting all the pellets that the big BG don't get. Is it common for CC to quit eating pellets once they exceed three pounds or so?



You've cut back on feeding? I did too, but still feed 1 can in morning, 1&1/2 cans in the evening. My can is an old ranch style bean can. I try to make my 50# last a month. I was close last month. I liked 4 feedings having enough to last a month.
Posted By: John Fitzgerald Re: CC eating FA? - 08/17/17 03:20 PM
I am now feeding the bulk of my feed to the CC that I stocked in the new pond this past March. I am hoping to get them ready for harvest starting about next May.
Posted By: farmallsc Re: CC eating FA? - 08/17/17 03:27 PM
Originally Posted By: John Fitzgerald
I am now feeding the bulk of my feed to the CC that I stocked in the new pond this past March. I am hoping to get them ready for harvest starting about next May.


Yeah. I think you will be at a minimum of 2# by then and probably more.
Posted By: John Fitzgerald Re: CC eating FA? - 08/25/17 07:13 PM
Update: I caught a 3 lb 2 oz CC today at a RW of about 117%. I have cut way back on pellets fed in the older pond, just enough to keep them interested in top feeding. This one was stuffed with FA, stomach and entire intestinal tract. Nothing but FA. New source of free CC food?
Posted By: Rainman Re: CC eating FA? - 08/26/17 12:34 AM
John Fitzgerald, it's not uncommon to get a lot of FA in the stomach as your FF forage for other foods in the FA. The CC cannot digest FA at all, and it will pass through almost unchanged, but a lot of yummy, nutritious critters live in/on the FA....
Posted By: John Fitzgerald Re: CC eating FA? - 08/26/17 01:14 AM
Originally Posted By: Rainman
John Fitzgerald, it's not uncommon to get a lot of FA in the stomach as your FF forage for other foods in the FA. The CC cannot digest FA at all, and it will pass through almost unchanged, but a lot of yummy, nutritious critters live in/on the FA....


They must be getting more than adequate nutrition from whatever is living in the FA, as they are high R/W and I only feed enough to keep them feed trained, as I have had water quality issues early this summer and been taking a lot of CC out.
Posted By: John Fitzgerald Re: CC eating FA? - 08/26/17 07:19 PM
Rainman,
I understand CC can digest corn ok. How is that different from digesting FA?
Posted By: Rainman Re: CC eating FA? - 08/28/17 12:38 AM
John, I don't know that CC can digest whole kernel corn...and doubt they could any better than a human will, unless well chewed. Filamentous algae cells are small, and need a pH lower than what a CC's stomach acid is to break the protein barrier at the cellular level on FA to extract nutrient....additionally, the pharyngeal teeth will not grind the algae enough to help weaken the cellular structure....Like poorly chewed whole kernel corn, FA will pass through the entire digestive tract virtually unchanged on exit...
Posted By: John Fitzgerald Re: CC eating FA? - 08/28/17 01:02 AM
I am referring to the corn in commercial CC feed.
Posted By: Rainman Re: CC eating FA? - 08/31/17 04:25 AM
That corn is well ground, like being VERY well chewed so yes, that is very digestible.
© Pond Boss Forum