Nova Scotia west to the central eastern U.S.A. but widely introduced elsewhere.

HABITS:

Prefers quiet clear waters with moderate to abundant aquatic vegetation. Fry and fingerling brown bullhead feed on zooplankton and chironomids while adults feed on insects, fish, fish eggs, molluscs, and plants. Brown bullheads have been reported to feed at all times of day but feeding activity increases at night.

SPAWNING:

Unlike the channel catfish female brown bullheads are monogamous and females prepare the nest, or sometimes male and female prepare the nest together. Spawning occurs from April through July depending on geographic locality. They spawn in a similar manner to other ictalurids and will spawn naturally in ponds. The female expels eggs thirty to fifty at a time and they are fertilized by the male. Females lay 2000-13800 eggs per spawning event. The eggs are guarded and aerated by one or both parents. Spawning occurs when water temperatures reach 21-26 degrees Celsius. Eggs are adhesive and stick together in a gelatinous mass. Eggs hatch in 5 days at 25 degrees Celsius or 6 days at 20.6-23.3 degrees Celsius.

GROWTH:

The catfish can reach a maximum size or 18 inches and weigh about 4 lbs., but it is peculiar in practice to see a fish that exceeds 1 lb. Brown bullheads sexually mature at about 3 years of age.

USES:

Brown bullheads have potential as a food fish but has poorer dressout and does not grow as large as channel catfish. Also, their flesh is difficult to preserve as it has a higher concentration of red muscle and becomes soft at warm temperatures.

CULTURE:

Culture techniques employed are the same or similar to those used for channel catfish. Bullheads accept a wider variety of feeds than channel catfish and require less management. They reproduce well in ponds and can withstand cooler temperatures than channel catfish. Unfortunately due to slower growth than channel catfish and their red flesh consumer demand and prices are low, so fish are seldom cultured.

REFERENCES: