Feeding pond catfish and where did they come from?

[beowulf]

We have a seasonal pond- usually dries up in September and begins to fill in late November or in December. Last year when it was almost dry (2-4") I went to collect some pollywogs to take to our grand daughters as we usually find them there. There were wiggling masses of what I thought were pollywogs in the water but when I reached in to grab a handful I got stung. I discovered they were catfish - about 2"-3" in size. I have no idea how they got there because the pond completely dries up every year and we did not stock the pond with catfish and the last time we had any catfish in there was at least ten years before and with many dried up pond years in the interim.

Anyway, we harvested about 140+ of the baby catfish (there were at least another 100+ we did not get out) and put them in various tanks around the ranch. This year when the pond filled we returned the fish to the pond - about 124 remained and now about 4-6" in size.

So, two questions:

1) where did the catfish come from? One possibility - we put in mosquito fish every year - bought at pet stores???

2) I have researched the kinds of kitchen scraps you can feed them, and bought bulk catfish food, but wonder if we can feed them bones with meat remaining since that is something we cannot compost.

Just wondering. I should mention - we are working on ways to keep the pond full year round this year.

 

[user.69169]

Passin cats drop dem off so dey can grow big enough for cat snacks.

 

[WoodChuckDad]

From what I have read eggs can get caught in bird feet and transferred from one body of water to another. So ducks and herron , etc.

 

[Tinhack]

If their prey just happened to have had an active egg sack, eggs can be released from bird droppings or their cleaning/eating habits. Nature provides it's own proliferation schemes. If it's there, it will expand. Happens here with cactus.

 

[oosik]

Does the water that fills the pond in the fall come from anywhere the baby catfish could be. You will hear the bird/foot transfer often. I've never seen it proven but, then again, who knows. It would certainly be nice if your pond was year round. The catfish could become quite large.

I've got a ten acre pond here. Five acres of open water - five acres of cattails. It's 80 feet deep and was created by Mother Nature. It's currently stocked with bass. I sit on the cliffs and watch them. I find it very calming to watch schools of bass swimming on by me. The really big ones look just like nuclear submarines. A picture off my front porch. View attachment 682794

 

[beowulf]

Does the water that fills the pond in the fall come from anywhere the baby catfish could be. /QUOTE]

Oosik, the pond is fed by two seasonal springs and rain run off from the hills. Here in central California foothills we typically get no rain from May to September or even December. I was really surprised to see so many - all small as the pond was drying up. Every year though, we are used to having 4-5 turtles show up and a lot of frogs.

I like your set up - really nice - our pond is quite small - likely started as a stock pond for cattle - and about 6-7 feet deep.

 

[KennyG]

If the mud in the bottom stays wet the catfish may be able to dig in and live through the dry season. I had my pond pumped dry and dredged and still have the catfish. They are real survivors.

 

[oosik]

Over the 80+ years we've owned this lake - there have been many types of fish stocked in it. My father was a fisheries biologist with the state and had access to these fish. This is a VERY, VERY old picture of me. Holding a silver salmon caught out of the lake. There have been, at times, two types of salmon and numerous types of trout stocked in the lake.

Trout & salmon pose a problem though. They will only spawn in running water - a stream. This lake is fed from springs - no streams. So ..... it was always a task - restocking the lake to keep the population up.

I found out, in a hurry, keeping the lake stocked with trout was very expensive. The answer - bass. Bass will spawn in and amongst the cattails. I've got five acres of cattails down at the far end. Water depth in the cattails varies from around 10 feet to 3 feet at the outlet. View attachment 682804

 

[drssg]

If their prey just happened to have had an active egg sack, eggs can be released from bird droppings or their cleaning/eating habits. Nature provides it's own proliferation schemes. If it's there, it will expand. Happens here with cactus.

Yep, life will find a way!

Mallards Ferry Fish Eggs Between Waterbodies Through Their Poop | Audubon

 

[beowulf]

drssg - ducks? Yeah, that makes sense.

We have visiting ducks every year - coming and going. Our first ducks were mallards I found in a feed store - four adult ducks crammed into a very tiny 2' x 2' cage. I wasn't looking to buy ducks but I couldn't stand to leave them there in that tiny cage so bought them - $1 each. I released them on our pond - clipping one wing - and built a floating duck house. They hatched more ducks eventually, and since then we have had a lot of ducks come and go.