Pond Boss Forums STOCKING A NEW POND Types of fish to choose Albino channel catfish

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Just got 50 albino catfish from them in Troy, IL this morning. They were a lot smaller than the 6" - 8" albino catfish I got from Nemo's at Farm and Home's fish sale.

Mike do you have med/large predators in your pond?

No, only 2 were albinos and I never saw them after stocking. My statement was relating to CC fry and young being mostly food for other predators. They tend to be more of a put and take fish.

I wonder how CC manage to reproduce successfully in our local lakes and rivers? All sizes in abundance there.

I don't really understand that either. Maybe it's just more numbers.

Different habitat and predator density between private ponds and lakes/rivers. There is most likely more cover for the fish to hide in also.

Probably. The upper White River that feeds Lake Sequoyah and Beaver Reservoir is full of log jams and large boulders, and the upper reaches of the lakes are recipients of all the logs and trees washing down. Catfish are fairly dominant in these habitats; abundant CC, Blue Catfish and Flatheads.

I got my albino's from the farm and home sale in Alton two weeks ago. Released 33 of them into my pond have not seen a single one of them since. I am hoping that will change when the water temps come up a little higher.

If they were already pellet trained, they should surface feed when your water temp approaches 65 degrees. We had a cool snap yesterday and today, and my albinos were not very active this morning.

I havent taken temp of my pond in a couple weeks but it was in the upper 50's two weeks ago when Rex put my bass in. So I am hoping to start seeing them in the next week or two. Its also difficult to see what is feeding on the pellets that get thrown further out away from the bank.

My albino CC number 14 out of 75 CC stocked. The feeding response of the albinos is excellent; I frequently see 8 to 10 at once in and near the PVC feed ring. Only see a couple of regular CC feeding in the PVC ring. Why would the regular CC be so feed ring shy while the albinos flock to it? If I throw food way farther out in the pond I see what might be dozens of catfish getting the pellets. The albinos and BG come to the feed ring in swarms when I walk out on the dock. The albinos seem to have different feeding habits even though they are the same species as regular gray-blue CC. My pond is clear enough to see any fish that comes inside the feed ring.

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Still no explanation for this behavior, and since the water warmed more it is even more pronounced. The albinos will swim on the surface scooping up a lot of the pellets, while the regular ones quickly pop up and get a pellet, then go back down. The albinos seem to be consuming nearly half the pellets, while being greatly outnumbered.