If a channel cat is swimming near the top as we are fishing, is he sick? What is the spawning habits and feeding habits of channel cats? Also, will the cats eat the tadpoles in my pond?
First, welcome to Pond Boss.
Your catfish are probably not sick. Some of mine seem to like to sun themselves on lazy afternoons. I have a huge koi in the pond that has a catfish buddy that is about 18 inches long. The two of them like to swim the perimiter of the pond together near the surface.
My catfish are now probably spawning. Over the weekend I caught a couple of females that were really fat with eggs. Older catfish from a while back dug caves in the banks of my pond. I've also put in buckets and pieces of culvert for them. That is where they will spawn. I don't expect any to survive the bass, but they should provide forage.
The catfish will certainly eat the tadpoles if the tadpoles get much past the shoreline.
Good luck,
Ken
