General:  Active and hardy; will quickly outgrow small tanks. Most of the fish we sell are for outdoor ponds in Western Pa.  Because they grow so big the are usually not suitable for most indoor aquariums..

Housing:  Requires a tank of 150 gallon or more.  They are active, so provide plenty of swimming room.. They can be housed with large Cichlids such as Oscars in big tanks.

In Ponds:  They are tolerant of cool water and can be housed with goldfish and koi in most outdoor ponds.  They become very tame.

Temperatures:  50-78 degrees.

Size:  Can grow to 4 foot in nature.  Rarely grows beyond 15" in aquariums.

Feeding:  Standard foods with pellets.  They eat most anything.

How Many?   They can be kept as singles or groups

Natural Habitat:  Native to North America.  The channel cats sold at Elmer's are farm raised in North Carolina.

Color Varieties:  Blue Channel Cat,  Gold Channel Cat

Notes:  Never release this fish, or any fish into the wild.

Scientific Name:   Ictalurus punctatus