I keep finding channel catfish dead in my pond. These fish appear to be healthy, then just float to the bank. Coons then find them, and drag them out, then eat them. The catfish I found today do not have any marks on them, to suggest that they were killed by a predator. As a matter of fact, all of them were un marked!
Could I have a water quality issue like lack of oxygen, or something else? It is only catfish, in the 5 pound range, with no bass or bluegill showing up dead. Maybe these catfish are just old.
Any of you have issues like this?
I do feed the catfish about every two days!

Last September, I added 100 baby catfish 8” long. They seem to be doing great.

If you don't have enough oxygen your bigger fish will be the 1st to die.i found out the hard way years ago came home from work and had about 50 white bellies floating put a aerator in after that haven't had a issue since.

Is there a way to test for oxygen in a pond or lake? My pond is right at 4 acres, and it is 18 years old. It has lots of vegetation, but it is also full of under sized bass, that need to go!

I killed a bunch of my fish last year. Has it been hot and dry there? It was hot and dry here, and I was feeding daily. Went out one day to find about 40 of my biggest fish dead. It was lack of oxygen. I ordered this Aerator, but my pond is much smaller than yours (~1/2 acre). It solved the problem. You would probably need a bigger one, or else 2 of them.

If you are on Facebook, you might like this group. https://www.facebook.com/groups/162038234967760

Think there's kit/s you can buy to measure the oxygen level but like I mentioned if your biggest fish are dying it's probably a oxygen problem and yes bass will over run your pond when I built mine in 2005 I didn't put any bass in it and never have.ive stocked mine with bluegill,crappie, Catfish and hybrid sunfish plus grass carp and fathead minnows.

Google seven springs fish farm Evansville il
call and talk to Alex great guy can answer all your questions

Yes, likely lack of oxygen. A pond your size will need at least 1 large aerators. You will find an abundance of information on "Pond Guy". Google it and search for aeration. Lots of info, and they sell what you need, as well as information on how to achieve a healthy system.

Thanks everyone for the advice, it is definitely helpful and appreciated!

A lot of breeding age channel catfish die from the stress of spawning.

Keith

I darn near died of that last night...

Iam not sure if its true but I've heard Catfish won't reproduce in ponds and I've had them in my pond for 20 years and have never seen any small ones.

A lot of weeds in a pond, will cause the oxygen levels to fall as they die and cause carbon dioxide .
Helped my sister spread a chemical to kill the weeds in their small lake 3-4 acres .
A week later most of the biggest fish were dead.
Yes an aerator would help.

If you're handy with tools, you can make your own, out of barrels cut to have fins, mounted on a center post and bearings to allow for easy movement.
Most people buy a windmill type set up in the pond to just stir up the water , or some the produce forced air into the pond.
Should be easy to find what may work for you on line.

An oxygen sag is the first thing that comes to mind especially as temperatures increase and oxygen demand increases accordingly. The vegetation can really make this happen a lot quicker as it adds a lot of oxygen when its sunny, through photosynthesis but eats up the oxygen at night or during several overcast days due to respiration. Generally, fish kills in ponds with excessive vegetation happen commonly after a few overcast days. However, what I find odd about this situation is it seems to be limited to catfish and no other species including the bass appear to be dying. Catfish are often a little more tolerant of low DO (1 ppm) but ideally at least 3 ppm is recommended for warmwater fishes.

Have you caught any of the catfish recently to assess their condition? We have a very weedy lake and most of our bass get good length but no weight to them. I suspect its largely due to the fish not being able to feed adequately due to weed coverage. We are sitting at about 86% coverage the last time I measured it. Ideally, you want about 25%. Perhaps these bigger cats are not consuming enough food with the increased temperature if they cant get to it because of thick vegetation.

I would recommend contacting your county extension agent to see if they might be able to come out and sample your water to see if dissolved oxygen might be a culprit.

Must be a regional thing as none of the ponds I've fished in KS have aerators and our fish do fine.

Catfish reproduce fine in ponds in Ks. At least bullheads and channels

I know that I would feel like dying if the spawn was successful….
I remember growing up we had a ton of ponds in the area and the big cats were the first to go. Doesnt make any sense because Ive seen channel cats live a long time out of water, seems like theyre tougher than others but I guess not.

"Lots of vegetation"

Decaying vegetation sucks oxygen.

Still, cloudy days decrease oxygen.



Any ag spraying near by?

No ag spraying Marty. I will get the water tested for oxygen, and go from there!

Catfish often don't have decent spawning sites in ponds. There's often not any natural cavities for them to spawn in. Running water makes more shelves and cavities, that make good nesting sites. Eggs laid where they can't be protected by the male catfish don't often hatch and survive. The fish spawn anyways.

Keith

Alone on a Saturday night, huh?

Don’t forget about heat. If your water gets too hot it will kill your fish. Heat causes a thermocline or a separation of oxygen in the water column. The top of the water will have oxygen and the bottom won’t. The fish will have to stay at the top of the pond and will die from heat exposure. Aerators will not only add oxygen but help keep your pond cool by bringing the bottom cool water to the surface and mix it with oxygen and cooling the surface water. Eventually you will no longer have a thermocline and have plenty of oxygen at the bottom of your pond where the fish can stay cool throughout the summers heat.

Try asking a fisheries biologist. Busch Wildlife is the headquarters for E Mo area. # 636-441-4554.

When you test a pond for oxygen, do it at several depths. Then check it at night. You’ll find a significant difference between night and day. Plant respiration produces carbon dioxide at night and oxygen during the day. Aerators do add oxygen but also mix what’s naturally occuring.

Catfish may be more susceptable to bacteria that grows more when water temps get high, even more so then other species. What are your water temps and are they normal for this time of year for you? Also if your pond has been experiencing lower inflow that could increase, water temps, bacteria numbers and also contribute to thermo cline if you are not getting enough turbulance to keep the water cycling.

Bryce

I contacted a local lake management guy, and they will be by this week. He said with the rain we have had over the last few months, that he can almost rule out low oxygen! He is going to look at our pond, and give me some recommendations on what I need for future success!

During the spawn, large male catfish fight each other over nesting cavities, fight anything that tries to enter and don't eat while protecting the eggs and fry, all while in warmer water temperatures, where their bodies consume more calories. There's going to be some mortality.

Keith

That would be my 1st guess Keith. The only weird thing is the OP said they weren't tore up, no signs of scrapping.

Yes sir

Any updates on the oxygen level or what was causing the problem?

Iam not sure if its true but I've heard Catfish won't reproduce in ponds and I've had them in my pond for 20 years and have never seen any small ones.[/quote]


Catfish need cavities and holes to have a successful brood. You can put large plant pots, buckets, non-degradable boxes, etc. In a pond to increase the chance of success. Also being in a pond coexisting with other fish species will diminish the chance of a successful hatch into adulthood

Concrete blocks and old tires work very well too.

o2 levels depleted with high heat and humidity - they have pto aerators, solar powered or even pumps to move water up and splash water down adding oxygen

In the hatchery, when water temps heated up - we routinely monitored levels 3 times a day and responded accordingly

I fish a place with bubblers. I know to go fish the bubblers on the hottest morning of the summer. The bass stack up there and eat the crappie like wolves hunting elk.

Thats in a reservoir with 30 feet of water for acres and acres with a creek flowing through it with an overspill... and it still needs bubblers... well the fish sure seem to enjoy them on hot july and august days.

Point being if you have a pond... chances are your fish would enjoy a bubbler too.

I am hoping the pond guy gets by my place this week. No news yet!