Pond Boss Forums MANAGING AN EXISTING POND Evaluating and adjusting fish populations Do I need catfish for balance?

I have a .3 acre pond in So. Illinois that was stocked by the state fishery dept. I have LMB, BG, redear, and channel cats stocked in the pond. I have had some trouble with suspended clay and muddy water but have since taken care of it with alum and lime.
My question is this: Can I take some of the catfish out to decrease the amount sediment being stirred up without upsetting the balance of fish? Are the catfish necessary to control of any of the other fish populations? Thanks in advance.

BB

That's a good question unfortunately I don't know the answer but I am looking forward to hearing from the experts. I have catfish in my 2 acre pond also. I never fish for them and sometimes I think they are just a waste of space.

CC are totally optional in a LMB/BG/RES pond - you need not have any if you don't want them. Bigger ones over 2 pounds have a predatory effect, but much less so than the bass.

P.S. I'm not an expert, but I play one on the Internet.

I'm not so sure that larger catfish are not as predatory as bass. An old experienced fish hatchery guy that dealt with lots of catfish told me that a 5 lb catfish eats more fish than a 5 lb bass. I believe him or I believe that the catfish is eating just a many fish as that 5 lb bass especially if both fish are eating natural foods. Both could be gaining weight at just about the same rate thus eating about the same amount of food to gain that weight. I assume that the food conversion rate for bass and catfish is similar.

Thanks guys.

Brent

Brent, if you don't want to bring the sprayer back, I will bring the girls over and help remove some of the cats. Your pond was so muddy, I'll bet you had a sucessful CC spawn this year.