Ictalurus punctatus

Geographic Range

The native range of Ictalurus punctatus is the Neartic in lower Canada and throughout the midwest of the United States. Channel catfish have been introduced in the Palearctic in Cyprus, Czech Republic, Romania, Slovakia, and Spain (Elvira, 2001) as well as Malaysia (FFRC, 2004).

• Biogeographic Regions
• nearctic nearctic
  • native native
• palearctic palearctic
  • introduced introduced
• oriental oriental
  • introduced introduced

Habitat

Channel catfish can live in both fresh and salt water and brackish water yet they are generally found in freshwater environments. Ictalurus punctatus are found in many bodies of water such as lakes, reservoirs and ponds and also in areas of moving water such as streams, creeks and rivers. The depth at which they are found varies but during most of the day they are found in deep holes, overhangs, other various locations that provide shelter or are at the bottom of a body of water. The surfaces at the bottoms of these bodies range from rocky, sandy and gravelly but channel catfish prefer muddy surface bottoms and clear water (eNature.com and Inc, 2003; State of Tennessee, 2004).

• Habitat Regions
• temperate temperate
• freshwater freshwater

• Aquatic Biomes
• benthic benthic
• lakes and ponds
• rivers and streams
• brackish water brackish water

• Wetlands
• marsh marsh
• swamp swamp

Physical Description

Ictalurus punctatus is a bilaterally symmetrical ray-finned fish without scales. The difference between channel catfish and other U. S. catfishes is the deeply forked caudal fin with the top of the fin larger than the bottom portion. The channel catfish is speckled, with a darker back to a light whitish belly, but the color can vary from blue, black or olive. Generally in muddy water they are olive to yellowish white and in clear water they are blacker in color. There are two barbels on the upper jaw (maxilla) and four on the lower jaw (mandible). They have 24 to 29 rays in the anal fin. The upper jaw protrudes in front of the lower jaw. The dorsal and pectoral fins have hard spines whereas the other rays are soft like the anal and caudal fins. Males generally have larger heads than females and males are darker in body color than females. There is little difference anatomically between young and old fish other than size, but at very early age channel catfish lack pigmentation (Wang, 1996).

• Other Physical Features
• ectothermic ectothermic
• heterothermic heterothermic
• bilateral symmetry bilateral symmetry

• Sexual Dimorphism
• sexes colored or patterned differently
• sexes shaped differently

Development

After fertilization the eggs are protected and also aerated by the male. The eggs are adhesive and their size ranges from 2.4 to 3.0 mm in diameter (Chapman 2000). The temperature of the water determines how long before the eggs are hatched. If the water is 24 to 26 °C hatching takes 7 to 10 days but if the water is 24 °C it takes 6 days (Wang 1996). Optimally the eggs will hatch in 4-6 days at 25-27 °C (Chapman 2000).

The yolk sac is still present in the larval stage, and it is still large in comparison to the larvae in this stage. The larvae do not have teeth or pigment. They remain close to the nest at first but then move into shallow waters.

The next stage is the juvenile; these individuals are found in shallow waters and generally only have up to 10 rays on the pectoral fins. Juveniles stay together for several days or weeks and feed on small invertebrates. When an adult channel catfish reaches about 6 months the sex is distinguishable. Between the age of two and three years they are able to reproduce (Chapman, 2000).

• Development - Life Cycle
• indeterminate growth indeterminate growth

Reproduction

Ictalurus punctatus is monogamous and has an extensive courtship behavior that might only last one mating season. The male and female mate in the summer but the relationship is established earlier in the year. Mating takes place when the male swims along the female in the opposite direction. Their tails wrap around the others head to begin mating. When the male’s body shivers the female is stimulated and the eggs and milt are released. The mass of eggs is deposited in a nest built by the female or by both the male and the female. After mating has occurred the male chases away the female and then guards the eggs until they hatch (Mayhew, 1987).

• Mating System
• monogamous monogamous

Channel catfish spawn in the summer. After hatching the juveniles take from two days to two weeks until they are independent. Channel catfish make nests in hidden places, for example, in enclosed cans, under overhangs or in deep holes that provide extra protection from predators (Chapman, 2004; Northwest Power and Concervation Council-Subbasin Planning, 2004).

• Key Reproductive Features
• iteroparous iteroparous
• seasonal breeding seasonal breeding
• sexual sexual
• fertilization fertilization
  • external external
• oviparous oviparous

Channel catfish parents invest a lot into their offspring. After spawning the male chases the female away from the nest, but she does not leave completely. She will protect her eggs from a distance. The male and female will attack predators and chase them away with an open mouth but will not eat them. The male also provides the juveniles with a source of food by burrowing, a process where the fish swim down into the mud on the bottom of the body of water and thrash from side to side stirring up food particles for the offspring to eat (McKaye et al., 1994). The female also provides food for the juveniles by positioning her body about a meter above the nest and then releasing eggs for the juveniles to eat. Together the male and female provide protection and food for their young (Vallentgoed, 2004).

• Parental Investment
• pre-fertilization
  • provisioning
• pre-hatching/birth
  • provisioning
    • male
    • female
  • protecting
    • male
    • female
• pre-weaning/fledging
  • provisioning
    • male
    • female
  • protecting
    • male
    • female

Lifespan/Longevity

The life expectancy of a channel catfish is around 14 years old but they can exceed this number. In captivity the channel catfish is generally harvested after 2 years (Wellburn, 1988).

Behavior

Ictalurus punctatus are solitary except during mating courtship and protection of young. They are active during the night, moving around and finding food after dusk. During the day they will be most likely found in deep water with little activity. There is no clear cut home range for channel catfish. Like many river fish, channel catfish will migrate up and down stream (Northwest Power and Conservation Council-Subbasin Planning, 2004).

• Key Behaviors
• natatorial natatorial
• nocturnal nocturnal
• motile motile
• solitary solitary

Communication and Perception

Taste buds are found on the interior of the mouth and over the body of the fish. The channel catfish responds to food sources through its ability to sense various amino acids in their environment, allowing them to differentiate among prey (Caprio et al., 1993). Another characteristic of channel catfish is the ability to hear sounds. With the help of the Weberian apparatus, which connects the swimbladder to the ear, they are able to amplify vibrations coming from the swimbladder (Vance and Connaughton, 2002). The pectoral spine moves in the pectoral girdle to create sound. Various frequencies can be produced which could be the source of communication to nearby channel catfish or other organisms (Vance, 2000).

• Communication Channels
• acoustic acoustic
• chemical chemical

• Other Communication Modes
• vibrations vibrations

• Perception Channels
• tactile tactile
• acoustic acoustic
• vibrations vibrations
• chemical chemical

Food Habits

Ictalurus punctatus can be thought of as one large mouth because there are taste buds located all over their body. The olfactory system is used mostly in consumption of food. Adult channel catfish, over 45 cm, consume fishes such as yellow perch and sunfish . The diet of adults consists of snails , algae, snakes , frogs , insects, aquatic plants, and even birds occasionally. Younger channel catfish are more consistently omnivorous, eating a large variety of plants and animals (Northwest, 2004).

• Primary Diet
• omnivore omnivore

• Animal Foods
• birds
• amphibians
• reptiles
• fish
• insects
• mollusks
• aquatic crustaceans
• other marine invertebrates
• zooplankton zooplankton

• Plant Foods
• seeds, grains, and nuts
• algae
• phytoplankton phytoplankton

• Other Foods
• detritus detritus

Predation

The spines on the dorsal and pectoral fins are great anti-predator devices. A predator trying to eat a channel catfish could get impaled by a spine. Only large fish are capable of eating a channel catfish. The darker color of the channel catfish helps camouflage it in the bottom of a clear river, but in muddy water visibility is minimal and this would have less of an anti-predator adaptation. Juvenile catfish have many predators, including many birds, other carnivorous fishes and some insects. Also channel catfish eggs are an easy source of food for many animals but the protection from the parents enables the success of the future offspring (Northwest Power and Conservation Council-Subbasin Planning, 2004).

Ecosystem Roles

The channel catfish is neither commensal nor mutualist partner with other species. Ictalurus punctatus is mainly a predator and prey. Freshwater mussels , both commerical species and species of concern, may use Ictalurus punctatus as a host. The following freshwater mussels have been found to metamorphose on Ictalurus punctatus in lab trials: Anodonta suborbiculata , Arcidens confragosus , Cyclonaias tuberculata , Lampsilis hydiana , Megalonaias nervosa , Quadrula asperata , Quadrula fragosa , Quadrula nobilis , Quadrula pustulosa , and Strophitus undulatus .

Economic Importance for Humans: Positive

Farm raising of channel catfish for food is a multimillion dollar business (Burden, 2004).

• Positive Impacts
• food food

Economic Importance for Humans: Negative

There are no known negative impacts of channel catfish on humans.

Conservation Status

The IUCN Red List, CITES appendices, and the US Endangered Species Act list the status of Ictalurus punctatus as not significant or not present, meaning there is no threat of this species going extinct.

Other Comments

The original scientific name was Silurus punctatus but it has been changed to Ictalurus punctatus . The original description was made in 1818 by Samuel Rafinesque. The text of the document is quoted next, “Mud-catfish…Sp 8. Silurus punctatus , Raf. Body whitish with gilt shades and many brown unequal dots on the sides, 8 barbs, 4 underneath, 2 lateral long and black, dorsal fin 7 rays, 1 spiny pectoral fins 6 rays, 1 spiny, anal 27 rays, later line a little curved beneath at the base, tail forked unequal upper lobe longer (Rafinesque Esq., 1818).

Additional Links

Encyclopedia of Life

BioKIDS Critter Catalog

Contributors

David Schoonover (author), University of Michigan-Ann Arbor, William Fink (editor, instructor), University of Michigan-Ann Arbor.

Renee Sherman Mulcrone (editor).

References

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Caprio, J., J. Brand, J. Teeter, T. Valentincic, D. Kalinoski. 1993. The taste system of the channel catfish: from biophysics to behavior. Trends in Neurosciences , 16/5: 192-197.

Chapman, F. 2000. "University of Florida IFAS Extension" (On-line). Farm-raised Channel Catfish. Accessed October 25, 2004 at http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/BODY_FA010 .

Cummings, K., G. Watters. 2004. "Mussel/Host Database" (On-line). The Ohio State University Division of Molluscs. Accessed November 19, 2004 at http://128.146.250.63/Musselhost/ .

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Mayhew, J. 1987. " Iowa Fish and Fishing . Iowa Department of Natural Resources" (On-line). Channel Catfish. Accessed October 23, 2004 at http://www.iowadnr.com/fish/iafish/chancat.html .

McKaye, K., D. Mughogho, J. Stauffer Jr.. 1994. Sex-role differentiation in feeding and defence of young by biparental catfish,<Bagrus meridionalis>. Animal Behaviour , 48: 587-596.

Rafinesque Esq., S. 1818. Discoveries in natural history, made during a journey through the western region of the United States.. American Monthly Magazine , 3/5: 355.

Vallentgoed, T. 2004. "McMaster University" (On-line). Catfish. Accessed October 25, 2004 at http://www.science.mcmaster.ca/Biology/Harbour/SPECIES/CATFISH/CATFISH.HTM .

Vance, T., D. Connaughton. 2002. "An anatomical study of the Weberian apparatus in the channel catfish, Ictalurus punctatus." (On-line). Accessed October 25, 2004 at http://martin.connaughton.washcoll.edu/research.activities/student_abstracts/98vance1.doc .

Vance, T. 2000. Variability in stridulatory sound production in the channel catfish, Ictalurus punctatus. Bios , 71/3: 79-84.

Wang, J. 1996. "Fishes of the Sacramento-San Joaquin Estuary and Adjacent Waters, California: A Guide to the Early Life Histories" (On-line). Channel Catfish - Ictalurus punctatus (Rafinesque). Accessed October 25, 2004 at http://elib.cs.berkeley.edu/kopec/tr9/html/sp-channel-catfish.html .

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State of Tennessee. 2004. "Fisheries Management Division of Tennessee" (On-line). Channel Catfish Ictalurus punctatus . Accessed October 24, 2004 at http://www.state.tn.us/twra/fish/FishFacts/fishes/channelcat.html .

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