How to Breed Brown Bullhead Catfish

This is a video series that I created in my shop that details how to breed Brown Bullhead Catfish for small scale aquaculture and aquaponics.  It's a bit different than how the big producers aka "Big Catfish" spawn their channel cats.  I get a lot of questions about different types of catfish, but I only work with this local species.  This pair, Sylvia and Sylvester, were born in my facility and were my breeders for about 5 years.  Over the late spring and summer, they spawn three times beginning at the end of May.

My setup is an aquarium fitted with an airlift/siphon/bucket filtration system.  Some folks have boasted to me that their catfish breed in their ponds without any effort on their part.  Indeed, they will, but if you wanna be a bona fide farmer and maximize production for food, then I recommend a managed breeding program; otherwise, most of the larvae and fry will be eaten by other fish.

I like using catfish for aquaponics.  They do well in the confined quarters as opposed to bass or bluegill that scare easily and can be aggressive toward one another.  They can handle a wide range of temperatures and water conditions.

Drew's Catfish Breeding Videos

Thanks for sharing! I raised a few 'rescued' bullheads from a friends leaking tank many years back, and was impressed with how resilient they were and how large they grew.

I'd be super curious to learn more about your results over time. Have you continued raising? How's hatching your own fry worked for you?

Nick Katz wrote:Thanks for sharing! I raised a few 'rescued' bullheads from a friends leaking tank many years back, and was impressed with how resilient they were and how large they grew.

I'd be super curious to learn more about your results over time. Have you continued raising? How's hatching your own fry worked for you?

After the USDA took over the regulation of catfish, they made it impossible for small and boutique farmers to operate.  They put wild catch guys totally out of business.  I was producing for a local restaurant and we were receiving rave reviews from customers.  It was a nice niche, but not worth building a multi-million dollar facility for inspectors.  So, sadly, I shut down that operation.