I am just going to update this thread for the sake of someone trying this in the future.
It seems that there is always one Bluegill and one Catfish, that outgrow all the others. Since I only have 10 gal aquarium and the dominant fish starts to crowd out the others, I always release the big ones and catch some smaller ones. The Bullhead catfish spend most of the time under rocks, or under the plant. When I feed, they start stirring, but only one is brave enough to come to the surface to get some food. When the lights go out, they loose their inhibitions. The Bluegill now come to the front glass when they see me and wait for the fish food to hit the surface. I am using aquarium fish pellets. I learned what I wanted to know about the food I feed at the pond. 1/4" pellets are too big for the 3.5" Bluegill. They wait for the 1/8" pellets to get soggy, take them in their mouths and spit out the hard part. Repeat.
Life is tough at the bottom of the food chain.
Now I am catching Tilapia out of my pond and putting them in two, 55 gal drums in my garrage so I have some stock in the spring. I will also release all my Bluegill and keep maybe just one 6" catfish. From what I read, I am worried that the Tilapia males will kill each other, until only one per tank remains. (not exactly sure how they would do this) Still not sure what to feed them.
If I can find used 75-100 gal aquarium this winter, I will try to get the Bluegill to spawn next year, after the Tilapia go back in the wild.
