Channel catfish - Natural food and feeding habits

In nature, channel catfish are opportunistic omnivores, feeding upon a wide range of plants and animals, depending on fish size, age and feed availability. Young fish feed primarily on aquatic detritus, aquatic insects and zooplankton, while adults feed mainly on insects, snails, crawfish, green algae, aquatic plants, seeds, small fish and terrestrial insects (Wellborn, 1988). Channel catfish feed at night (after sunset and before sunrise). Young fish generally feed in shallow waters, while the adults prefer feeding in deeper water, downstream from sand bars. Adults are sedentary, and generally do not move from one area to another, while young fish move more extensively, mainly at night for feeding. In turbid waters, channel catfish detect their food with their taste buds, which are found over the entire external body surface, inside the mouth and pharynx, and on the gill arches. Eyesight is also used for finding food in clear water (Wellborn, 1988).