I'm seeking some advice/recommendation/observation regarding releasing a channel catfish I have in an indoor aquarium. The tank is 25 gallons and shared by several other fish-GF, rosy reds, Corydora catfish, a loach, a nearly blind BG from my pond. Its temp is a constant 74 degrees.
I bought this CC from a local aquarium store back in the summer. It's been in warm warm water all its life. My intent was to release it into my 1/4 acre cool water pond during Spring warmup.
My question is would it be acceptable to release said catfish into our pond now? There's no ice on the pond and has only had skim ice a few mornings since Thanksgiving. Other winters the pond is frozen over for 1 to as many as 3 months straight. I would acclimate the fish to the present pond temperature over the course of a full day or more in a separate container.
Any of you stocking experts care to hazard a guess on the likelyhood of success? There's only 1 LMG with gape large enough to eat this CC; it's a 4 pounder who has all the forage she's accustomed, to huddling around her in the deep where they all winter.
