Hey I need some MAJOR help here...
Does anyone know of where I can buy blue cat fingerlings any where in the southeast??? Prefurably georgia. It will be REALLY tough for me to go out to Texas to try to buy these fish. I really need a Good source in the southeast some where.

Please if anyone has sugestions, please tell me.

thanks!

Contact Greg Grimes lakework.com he's in Georgia and will be able to find you the blue cats you are looking for and can help you with anything you may need pond related.

I know greg well he knows of no one either...

Have you asked other hatcheries if they will ship to you? Not sure how well BC would travel with their sharp spines poking holes in plastic bags, but maybe there are other methods for shipping. I know many hatcheries ship other fish species - it would be worth calling and asking.

Bluecat can be shipped via air freight but they have to be newly hatched and still have their egg sacks, but you're going to pay more for shipping than you will for the fish. It's really alot of hassle, probably why nobody does it anymore.

I talked to a guy in Tx who said he has 4 to 6 inch fish who was going to ship the fish 50 at a time... What does everyone think of this? would it work?

I think its about 100 bucks to do this...

Is it worth it?

You are the one who is looking for the fish and does it make you happy?

Why do you want the Blue Catfish?

Why do I want blue catfish..... LOL... wow I have not been on here for a while!!! LOL

$100 seems a very modest investment in your dreams. Anytime I've had PK Shrimp air freighted to me I had guarantees of live delivery - with one in hand from the hatchery what do you possibly have to lose? If you are sure BC are going to serve your management goals then go for it.

+1 on what TJ said.

Please share the TX hatchery information with the Forum if you decide to do this. Would be helpful to have this resource available to all.

Well here is the Hatchery in Texas that said they would ship them over the air.

http://hennekehatchery.com/kenneth-henneke-hatchery.htm

Now when he says 100 bucks I don't know if that ment for JUST the shipping or it includes fish as well.

I need to know the detail legistics in doing this..Has anyone ever had fish shipped this way?

The fish are usually double bagged, with water and pure O2. They are shipped in an insulated box or cooler, maybe with ice packs to cool the water. 1 day shipping (overnight) to minimize loss. That price is probably just for shipping costs, snd that seems like a great price. Someone has to be home to put the fish in the pond immediately, first acclimating them to the pond water and temp.

I've been on the receiving end of crayfish and PS, although not from that supplier.

Several times in recent years I've gotten 4-6 inch catfish, 50 per bag, and double bagged like ESSHUP mentioned. The bags were also in cardboard boxes. These have been from local suppliers within 45 minutes of the ponds. But, they made it without incident. Catfish any bigger than that require a hauling tank, or they will puncture the bags.

These photos are from four years ago, but they show how they get packed.

I saw a farm online in TX that breeds Hybrid BC X CC and offer shipping.....if that helps

I think I am going to take this plung and make an Order for 50 of these as a sample and see how it turns out... sort of scared really... These are blue cats, not channels. They are more likely to puncture the bag.

I guess I need to see what Fed-Exes shipping is.

Hey Catmandoo how much did this opertation cost?
Do you remeber the deminsions of the box?

I don't remember what that batch cost but I believe that the hundred channel cats we got last fall cost about $75.

Also, just thinking about it, have you talked to Zetts? I'm not sure if they are open this time of year but they ship blue catfish. Just Google Zetts and you can see their catalog and their shipping info.

Was it 75 bucks to ship?? Man I am looking on Fedex and its 200 bucks to ship a box of 50!! Just too much I think!!

thanks

Well No luck with Zetts either... they only carry channels...

Well I have been striking out on this I have called almost everyone East of the Mississippi.

Here is what I get.

I have one guy in south carolina who is going to try to get his blues to spawn this spring last year he was unsucsefull. I can't figure why.. the guy's partner retired from the business use to be good at supplying blues, since this new guy has had it there have been no blues!

I have two dealers all the way out in Texas... that a VERY long drive that I think I am going to have to make. Todd Overton or Kenneth H.

I talked with South east Pond Managment in Eastern Alabama and they are going to contact Auburn University and see what they have. Auburn produceses the 'Super Cat' which is nothing more than a cross between a channel and a Blue cat... they just might have some pure strain blue fingrlings

So thats as far as I got with it. If anyone know of anything else please comment and ad advice. It is WELCOMED!!

Hey Big Pond, jump on I-20 and head for Texas - Overton is South of Dallas on I-45 about 120 miles and Hennekey is another 120 miles.
Haul back as many as you can carry and gas bill will be cheaper than FedEx... (?)
Nice drive from Georgia - I have kin in Athens.

Todd Overton 100%. Do yourself a favor and have a couple beers with him when you're there - you'll thank me later. Also check out his operation - it's impressive.

Athens!! Yeah the Ponds are right around the corner form there!! ha ha ...LOL

Yeah... I think I am going to have to hit I-20 and head on west in a week or two while its still cold...

yes your right I have two chices Kenneth has 4 to 6 inch that are 65 Cents each

OR

Todd Overton has em 12 to 14 inches and they are a whoppoing 5.00 bucks a pound!!! :eek. I sure Ihope I can work something better than that...

I am not sure howmany of Todds I can haul back to Georgia. though.

It all depends on the size of predator fish in your pond. Will the smaller ones get eaten?

To be up front about it I do have bass in both ponds...So if I go with the 4 to 6 inch fishh I will have to do Cage culture on them until they get to a LARGE size... With 12 to 14 inch fish I don't need a cage. Atl least I think i don't need a cage..Bass could not be any larger than 10 lbs. I'M SURE!...
Got some big channels but they sould not pose a threat either.

But for the smaller fish that Kenneth has I would need a cage FOR SURE.
The cage will cost around 250 bucks as a guess.

Expensive cage..



Could be built for alot less..

Where can i find a good cage? and waht size would I need?

Through the search function.. It's been covered pretty extensively..

Thanks George and TJ for the referrals those are priceless. I usually have beer on tap, sometimes homebrew, always something interesting.

My current stock of blues are advanced size fingerlings, 12"+, avg weight 3/4 - 1lb, feed trained, experienced, conditioned, disease free, $5 per lb, and you will get what you pay for. We will sell out and then we plan to have more small fingerlings available in Fall 2012.

Come on BigPond, make the drive, you need a road trip.

IIRC, I built two cages, both about 4 1/2' x 4 1/2' x 4' deep for around $160. That includes plastic mesh, PVC fitting and pipe, zip ties, etc. I had chicken wire here that I used for a lid.

esshup,

What stocking rate would you have on a cage like this??

Where can I get the mesh? Are you selling these? If so can you ship it down south? It would seem to cost a pretty penny to ship because its big and aquward..

So again, if I had 4 to 6 inch catfish how many could I grow in this cage?

I bought the mesh from Stoney Creek http://stoneycreekequip.com/ and bought the rest of the supplies from Lowes. One roll of 50' x 4' was enough to make 2 cages like that. IIRC the mesh was the 1/2" mesh. I am close enough to them that I drove up there and purchased it from them rather than have them ship it. They offer special 3-way fittings or there are other PVC suppliers on the 'net that offer them. Lowes didn't have them, so I just used "T"'s and 90's. I had the chickenwire here that I used for the top, bleach bottles for floats. I used over 100 zip ties per cage. I drilled 3/16" holes in the bottom framework, and another set of holes about 1/2 way up the uprights so it'd float with the bottom down. Maybe I didn't have to do that, but I felt better doing so. The frame was made from 1" PVC and glued together.

As for stocking densities, in the beginning I think you could fit all the smaller CC in one cage, after a few months, and as they grow, split them into 2 cages. Bill Cody, Cecil or others that are more familiar with aquaculture might be able to give you a better answer.

Just curious, are there still no connections for blue catfish in or near GA? I know some lakes that have them but transportation would be somewhat illegal I would imagine