What Does the Yellow Catfish Eat? A Comprehensive Analysis of Its Feeding Habits
The yellow catfish, also known as huangjiaoding, huanggu fish, ge'a, huanglading, cige'ba fish, cihuanggu and so on, is a fish of the genus Pelteobagrus in the family Bagridae. It is an omnivorous fish that mainly feeds on benthic small animals, small shrimp, small aquatic insects and some invertebrates. Let's take a look below at what the yellow catfish eats!
What does the yellow catfish eat?
The wild yellow catfish is an omnivorous fish with a mainly carnivorous diet. Its food includes small fish, shrimp, various terrestrial and aquatic insects (especially chironomid larvae), small mollusks and other aquatic invertebrates, and it sometimes also preys on small fish. Its feeding habits vary somewhat with the environment and season.
The feeding habits of the yellow catfish also differ with size. Individuals with a body length of 2-4 cm mainly feed on copepods and cladocerans. Individuals with a body length of 5-8 cm mainly feed on zooplankton and aquatic insects. Individuals over 8 cm feed on mollusks (especially earthworms) and small fish, etc.
Farming feed for the yellow catfish
For artificial farming, fresh live animal feed or artificial compound feed can be used. Animal bait such as small fish, small shrimp, snail meat and livestock and poultry offal can be minced, then mixed evenly into a dough with native flour as a binder and placed on a feeding tray for feeding. Special compound feed can also be used.
When feeding, ensure fixed times, fixed locations, fixed quality and fixed quantity. Feed about 5% of the fish body weight each day, twice a day, with 1/3 in the morning and 2/3 in the afternoon. Be careful to keep the water fresh and the dissolved oxygen sufficient.
The living habits of the yellow catfish
The yellow catfish mostly moves in still water or slow-flowing rivers and lives a benthic life. During the day it rests on the bottom layer of the lake, and at night it swims to the upper layer of the water to forage. It has a relatively strong ability to adapt to the environment, so it can also live under poor environmental conditions. Young fish mostly forage along the shores of rivers and lakes.
The yellow catfish is a warm-water fish. Its survival temperature is 0-38°C, the optimal growth temperature is 25-28°C, the pH range is 6.0-9.0, and the most suitable pH is 7.0-8.4. Its tolerance to low oxygen is average. It grows normally when dissolved oxygen in the water is above 3 mg/L, surfaces for air when it is below 2 mg/L, and suffocates and dies when it is below 1 mg/L.