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Channel Catfish

Ictalurus punctatus

The channel catfish is a large, smooth-skinned fish with a bluish- or greenish-gray body and whisker-like barbels around the mouth. It lives in fresh and brackish rivers throughout the Chesapeake Bay watershed.

Appearance:

• Bluish- or greenish-gray body
• Silvery white belly
• Olive fins
• Small, dark spots scattered across the sides. These spots may disappear as the catfish gets older.
• Smooth-skinned
• Four pairs of light, whisker-like barbels around the mouth
• Deeply forked tail fin
• Usually grows to about 2 feet long, but can be as long as 4 feet and weigh more than 50 pounds

Habitat:

• Lives in fresh and brackish waters
• Prefers deep, slow-moving pools and channel waters with a clean bottom
• Bottom-dweller

Range:

• Found in the upper Chesapeake Bay and large streams, creeks and rivers throughout the Bay watershed
• Also found in lakes, ponds and reservoirs

Feeding:

• Bottom-feeder
• Eats algae, insects, mollusks, crustaceans, crayfish and other fish
• Uses its long barbels to taste for prey

Predators:

• Larger fish may prey upon adults and young
• Young are also eaten by fish-eating birds

Reproduction and Life Cycle:

• Spawns from late May-July, once water temperatures reach 75 degrees
• Moves upstream to spawn
• The parents build a nest in a dark, protected area such as under a rock or inside a hollow, submerged log
• The female lays pea-sized eggs, which the male guards. The eggs hatch in 7-10 days.
• Young catfish form schools after hatching. The male often leads and guards the schools.
• Can live as long as 14 years

Other Facts:

• Not native to the Bay watershed
• A popular recreational catch
• The Maryland state record channel catfish was caught near Mattawoman Creek and weighed 29 pounds, 10 ounces
• Catfish have poor eyesight, so they rely on their sensory barbels to find prey

Sources and Additional Information:

• Fishes of Chesapeake Bay by Edward O. Murdy, Ray S. Birdsong and John A. Musick
• Life in the Chesapeake Bay by Alice Jane Lippson and Robert L. Lippson
• Fish Facts: Channel Catfish – Maryland Department of Natural Resources
• Channel Catfish – Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries
• Animal Diversity Web: Ictalurus punctatus – University of Michigan Museum of Zoology