How to Keep a Bullhead Catfish
Determine the size of the bullhead you are going to keep as a pet., Gather materials to replicate a natural environment., A good filter makes the job easy., Use a pre-cycled tank., And now for the fun part, feeding the bullhead!, How long will your...
Step-by-Step Guide
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Step 1: Determine the size of the bullhead you are going to keep as a pet.
When choosing a tank size remember that a bullhead needs 5 gallons (18.9 L) of water for every inch of its body.
For example a 5 inch (12.7 cm) bullhead would need a 25 gallon (94.6 L) tank and an 17 inch (43.2 cm) bullhead would require an 85 gallon (321.8 L) tank.
Get a 10 gallon (37.9 L) tank for the early stages of the bullhead's life (0-4 inches), a 40 gallon (151.4 L) breeder tank for the adult stages of the Bullheads life (5-10 inches), and a 55 gallon (208.2 L) tank if the fish grows over 10 inches (25.4 cm).
Larger tanks are always recommended. -
Step 2: Gather materials to replicate a natural environment.
A fairly thick layer of gravel is appreciated by bullheads because they love to dig nests and dig for food.
Sand and leaves make good substrate, and you must add hiding spots for the bullhead, like rock caves, hollow driftwood, or a thick forest of aquatic plants, otherwise the bullhead will feel paranoid during daytime and shy away from interesting means of feeding. , The best filter for bullheads would have to be canister filter as it has a high bioload capacity.
Get a filter that is rated for 20%
- 30% more gallons than your tank.
For example a filter that is made for 40 gallons (151.4 L) being used on a 30 gallon (113.6 L) tank.
Bullheads like current and oxygen which filters also provide. , Once you've added the bullhead/s, put stress coat in. (A slime coat enhancing liquid sold at pet stores that relieves a new fishes stress.) , Bullheads are opportunistic feeders which means they will eat a huge varied diet depending on what they have the opportunity to eat.
Bullheads will eat any alive or dead fish that fits in their mouth, any vegetation or muck they can manage to find, any kind of meat they find, but most interestingly they don't eat each other! A varied diet is the key to a healthy happy bullhead.
Try frozen blood worms, frozen brine shrimp, sinking fish foods, floating fish flakes, fish fillets, and feeder minnows that are all available at pet shops.
You can also feed your Bullhead live bluegills, largemouth bass, tadpoles, frogs, crickets, flies, salamanders, scuds, crayfish and any live animals you find that will fit in their mouths.
The two foods you should feed a Bullhead the most if you want it to grow big and strong are minnows and blood-worms.
Blood worms work as an excellent source of fat and minnows are an excellent source of protein.
You can even train your bullhead to come up to the top of the tank and eat out of your hand. , Well bullheads can live anywhere from 5-12 years depending on the species and they will grow relatively fast.
In the first year of life a bullhead will grow to 8 inches (20.3 cm) and then slowly grow until it maxes out at a length of 12–18 inches (30.5–45.7 cm) and weighs 1-5 pounds depending on the species of Bullhead. , Bullheads are extremely tough fish and rarely get hurt without another animal involved.
There are 3 main places a bullhead can get injured. the most common is an injured tail.
Bullheads tend to get bullied by fin nipping territorial fish when kept in captivity which is a good reason to only keep bullheads with bullheads and don't keep fish like sunfish and bass live with a bullhead cause in the end you'll have an injured bullhead and a dead bass/sunfish.
If a bullhead's tip of its tail gets nipped at it will easily heal back and the bullhead will continue to operate as if he is not injured.
If the bullhead's tail is tore to the bone though he will never grow it back but instead will just be a tailless fish that amazingly swims around and functions as if he never lost his tail.
The second most common injury is the loss of a barbel (whisker) which will most likely never grow back but since a bullhead has six barbels in the first place it doesn't matter so much.
The third most common injury is the loss of eyes from being attacked by another fish which is an unfixable problem and the bullhead will have to rely on his whiskers for the rest of his life which is okay because catfish feed at nighttime anyway which is when eyes don't help much. , -
Step 3: A good filter makes the job easy.
-
Step 4: Use a pre-cycled tank.
-
Step 5: And now for the fun part
-
Step 6: feeding the bullhead!
-
Step 7: How long will your Bullhead live?
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Step 8: Tend to an injured bullhead.
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Step 9: Do a 25% water change at least once every week.
Detailed Guide
When choosing a tank size remember that a bullhead needs 5 gallons (18.9 L) of water for every inch of its body.
For example a 5 inch (12.7 cm) bullhead would need a 25 gallon (94.6 L) tank and an 17 inch (43.2 cm) bullhead would require an 85 gallon (321.8 L) tank.
Get a 10 gallon (37.9 L) tank for the early stages of the bullhead's life (0-4 inches), a 40 gallon (151.4 L) breeder tank for the adult stages of the Bullheads life (5-10 inches), and a 55 gallon (208.2 L) tank if the fish grows over 10 inches (25.4 cm).
Larger tanks are always recommended.
A fairly thick layer of gravel is appreciated by bullheads because they love to dig nests and dig for food.
Sand and leaves make good substrate, and you must add hiding spots for the bullhead, like rock caves, hollow driftwood, or a thick forest of aquatic plants, otherwise the bullhead will feel paranoid during daytime and shy away from interesting means of feeding. , The best filter for bullheads would have to be canister filter as it has a high bioload capacity.
Get a filter that is rated for 20%
- 30% more gallons than your tank.
For example a filter that is made for 40 gallons (151.4 L) being used on a 30 gallon (113.6 L) tank.
Bullheads like current and oxygen which filters also provide. , Once you've added the bullhead/s, put stress coat in. (A slime coat enhancing liquid sold at pet stores that relieves a new fishes stress.) , Bullheads are opportunistic feeders which means they will eat a huge varied diet depending on what they have the opportunity to eat.
Bullheads will eat any alive or dead fish that fits in their mouth, any vegetation or muck they can manage to find, any kind of meat they find, but most interestingly they don't eat each other! A varied diet is the key to a healthy happy bullhead.
Try frozen blood worms, frozen brine shrimp, sinking fish foods, floating fish flakes, fish fillets, and feeder minnows that are all available at pet shops.
You can also feed your Bullhead live bluegills, largemouth bass, tadpoles, frogs, crickets, flies, salamanders, scuds, crayfish and any live animals you find that will fit in their mouths.
The two foods you should feed a Bullhead the most if you want it to grow big and strong are minnows and blood-worms.
Blood worms work as an excellent source of fat and minnows are an excellent source of protein.
You can even train your bullhead to come up to the top of the tank and eat out of your hand. , Well bullheads can live anywhere from 5-12 years depending on the species and they will grow relatively fast.
In the first year of life a bullhead will grow to 8 inches (20.3 cm) and then slowly grow until it maxes out at a length of 12–18 inches (30.5–45.7 cm) and weighs 1-5 pounds depending on the species of Bullhead. , Bullheads are extremely tough fish and rarely get hurt without another animal involved.
There are 3 main places a bullhead can get injured. the most common is an injured tail.
Bullheads tend to get bullied by fin nipping territorial fish when kept in captivity which is a good reason to only keep bullheads with bullheads and don't keep fish like sunfish and bass live with a bullhead cause in the end you'll have an injured bullhead and a dead bass/sunfish.
If a bullhead's tip of its tail gets nipped at it will easily heal back and the bullhead will continue to operate as if he is not injured.
If the bullhead's tail is tore to the bone though he will never grow it back but instead will just be a tailless fish that amazingly swims around and functions as if he never lost his tail.
The second most common injury is the loss of a barbel (whisker) which will most likely never grow back but since a bullhead has six barbels in the first place it doesn't matter so much.
The third most common injury is the loss of eyes from being attacked by another fish which is an unfixable problem and the bullhead will have to rely on his whiskers for the rest of his life which is okay because catfish feed at nighttime anyway which is when eyes don't help much. ,
About the Author
Jean Chapman
Brings years of experience writing about cooking and related subjects.
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