Can Catfish and Loach Be Kept Together? An Analysis of Co-culture Feasibility

AbstractCatfish and loach cannot be kept together, not because of issues with the water area, but because loach are small in size and catfish are large, and catfish are carnivorous fish while loach are herbivorous fish. If catfish and loach are co-cultured together, the loach will very easily be eaten by the catfish.

Catfish are large in size and are carnivorous animals, while loach are small in size and are herbivorous fish, so catfish and loach should not be kept together, as the catfish will eat the loach.

Catfish Farming Techniques

1. Releasing fry

Fish fry have weak resistance and vary in size. If the fry are directly put into the pond for rearing, because their range of activity becomes larger, they consume more energy, and it is difficult for them to eat the feed put in, which will cause the death of the fry and will also pollute the water quality. Therefore, farmers should rear the fry in 2 stages: first concentrate them in a small pond for intensive rearing, and then put them into a large pond for rearing.

This way it is both convenient to manage and can reduce the loss of fry, enabling the fry to better adapt to the environment. The fry can more easily eat sufficient food in the small pond and can grow quickly.

When the fry in the small pond have been cultivated to about 15 cm, the larger fry can be selected out and put into the large pond for rearing, while the smaller fry are still kept in the small pond for cultivation. When the fry grow evenly and are uniform in size, they can then be put into the large pond for rearing. This way, big fish eating small fish can be avoided, effectively increasing the survival rate of the fry and raising fish output.

2. Reasonable feeding of bait

Catfish are carnivorous fish and relatively greedy feeders, so the correct feeding method must be mastered. The amount of feed depends on the number of fish; do not feed blindly. Feeding should be scattered and the bait spread evenly, with small amounts and more frequent meals, to prevent uneven hunger and fullness that leads to polarisation.

In the early stage of fry cultivation, animal feed should be the main type. As the fish grow longer and larger, gradually switch to plant-based feed, combining animal and plant feed. The daily feeding amount should be controlled at 5-8% of the fish body weight. According to the growth of the fish, adjust the feeding amount once a week or once every half a month, so that it is more reasonable and the fish can grow better.

3. Implement rotational catching and separate rearing

Catfish are ferocious fish. When feeding, big fish snatch the food and small fish cannot get food, so the size gap between fish bodies becomes more and more obvious. Therefore, after catfish have been reared for a period, rotational catching and separate rearing should be carried out, separating big fish from small fish. This can both increase fish output and balance the growth speed of the fish.

4. Advocate overwintering of catfish

When the fish have been reared to market size, when catching fish for sale, a small portion of adult fish can be moved into deep water ponds to overwinter. This can both solve the problem of low catfish sale prices in peak season and extend the supply time of catfish, and when catfish are scarce, the fish price can increase several times over, bringing good economic profit to farmers.