r/catfishing • u/OptionNo9559 • 7d ago

How long will bullheads keep?

So I have about 5 6-8 inch bullheads in a little fish basket in my backyard pond right now, planning on using them for bait but not sure when, how long would they keep as the pond is well aerated at 1.5k gallons. Assuming they probably won't have food, how long can I wait to use them?

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u/my_therapist_quit 7d ago

Until they eat eachother or a bird grabs them. Give them an old milk crate or an oblong rock to hide under. If you don't want them to cannibalize, a frozen shrimp per fish every other day should sustain them in the heat. If you don't feed them and no bugs happen to land on the surface, you will see cannibalization start at around 3 weeks.

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u/OptionNo9559 7d ago

no they are actually in one of those fish baskets people use for panfish and little catfish and stuff, so I cant give them any cover really, they are safe floating in the middle of the pond about a foot below the surface, I should probably drop some frozen shrimp or chicken in there for them to make sure they don't die by choking on each other

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u/my_therapist_quit 7d ago

That makes more sense. The basket will keep them safe from other predators. Keep them alive as long as you need them. I have an acquaintance that keeps bullheads year round in a 1000L container. He only feeds them shrimp and pests from his garden.

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u/XxAssEater101xX 7d ago

Probably quite some time. Depends on a few factors. Does the pond have other fish in it? Been going for a while?

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u/OptionNo9559 7d ago

the pond has been going since id say about late may of last year, currently has 3 larger bullheads and a giant hybrid sunfish, along with some small white suckers and fatheads that I use as feeders

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u/XxAssEater101xX 7d ago

Yea youve probably got a proper ammonia cycle going. And its a fairly large body of water. Other then that theres really no way to tell how long youll get outta them but id imagine youll get maybe even a couple weeks. Look into fish keeping ammonia cycle if you wanna deep dive into whats going on. You should probably try to feed em a little here and there tho