Stocking a Pond

Introduction   |   Planning   |   Construction   |    Stocking

Catfish Ponds

Channel catfish grow well alone, with few disease problems, stocked at 100-150 per acre. When stocked alone, fish will grow faster with supplemental feeding. Natural foods include decaying organic matter, plant material, crawfish, small fish, and insects. The relatively low stocking rate (100-150 per acre) ensures good growth to a harvestable size in a reasonably short period of time. It is not desirable to encourage catfish spawning because of potential crowding and disease problems. To control the possibility of unwanted spawning, add a few bass to the ponds to eliminate any fingerlings less than 6 inches.

One of the most common mistakes pond owners make is stocking too many catfish. In general, the natural maximum carrying capacity (number of fish a pond can support) in most farm ponds is about 500 pounds of fish per acre. This means that no more than 500 pounds of fish can be maintained without aeration and additional feeding. When catfish are stocked and grown to acceptable catchable sizes (1 to 3 pounds), this carrying capacity is exceeded when more that about 150 catfish are present. Attempts to exceed this natural limit in farm ponds without supplemental aeration, feeding, etc., will usually result in stress and ultimate disease in the catfish. In extreme cases, oxygen can be depleted and catastrophic losses may occur.

Recreational catfish ponds are intended to be much less intensively managed than their commercial counterparts in the Mississippi Delta. For information on commercial catfish farming contact the Thad Cochran National Warmwater Aquaculture Center

Specific Fish Stocking Information

• Bass and Bream
• Catfish
• Hybrid Sunfish