How to Feed Catfish

Catfish are fish with long facial protrusions that resemble the whiskers of a feline. They are often raised to big-enough sizes to be eaten by humans, or they are just placed in tanks with other fish to help keep the water clean. Raising catfish requires supplementary feeding practices in addition to the food it is able to find itself. Feed pellets with distinctive flotation and protein levels are fed to catfish to ensure proper nutrition.

Things You'll Need

  • Floating feed pellets (28 to 32 percent protein)
  • Sinking feed pellets (28 to 32 percent protein)
  • Fish tank thermometer
  • Stopwatch
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Instructions

    • 1

      Feed only 1/12 of a cup of pellets per catfish daily to start. Examine the fish tank thermometer in the tank. Spread the floating feed pellets onto the top of the tank if the water reads 65 degrees F or higher. Mix 1/2 floating pellets with 1/2 sinking if the tank temperature drops to between 60 to 65 degrees. Use all sinking feed if the temperature drops below 60 degrees, as the catfish will no longer surface.

    • 2

      Sprinkle these pellets as evenly as possible across the top of the tank for a smooth distribution. Start the stopwatch after the feeding. Stop the watch after 25 minutes. Examine the tank for the amount of food remaining.

    • 3

      Reduce the amount of pellets fed daily to 1/16th cup per catfish if there are full visible pellets leftover. Continue to decrease amount of food spread across the tank daily until the fish consume all the pellets within 25 minutes.