Does anyone know a tank size for bullhead cats?

sweatyfish

Feeder Fish
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Sep 27, 2023
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It would work great for the Bullhead! :) For the minnows...not so much...

You're not going to produce an ecosystem in 100-gallons that produces a self-replicating food supply for a foot-long catfish, except possibly as the source of an occasional snack or treat. That's just not enough space to expect a colony of minnows to evade and elude the cat. At night, when the minnows are dormant, the cat likely won't be and will gradually...or quickly!...catch and eat them.

Bullheads aren't picky eaters. You certainly don't need to feed them live food.
Thank you, it's hard to find a lot of information about keeping bullheads
 
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T92

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Sep 22, 2023
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Excuse my ignorance, we don't often see Bullheads where I'm from, but am I correct in assuming that when you're talking about them in general like this, that it could be any of the common species like the black, brown and yellow? If so, wouldn't a 100G tank be a little cramped? What's a realistic max size in captivity?

I've never kept any myself, so there's definitely no finger-pointing intended here, I'm only curious.
 

sweatyfish

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Sep 27, 2023
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Excuse my ignorance, we don't often see Bullheads where I'm from, but am I correct in assuming that when you're talking about them in general like this, that it could be any of the common species like the black, brown and yellow? If so, wouldn't a 100G tank be a little cramped? What's a realistic max size in captivity?

I've never kept any myself, so there's definitely no finger-pointing intended here, I'm only curious.
Largest ones I've caught are only about 10" while they technically can get bigger they don't most of the time
 

thebiggerthebetter

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Right, I've never seen in captivity or caught or seen caught in the wild bullheads over 12-14 inches of any kind. The 1.5ft-2ft giants must be rare in the wild and not existent in captivity.
 

Omrit

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By minnows I assume you mean mosquito fish(Gambusia affinis) ? If you provide some sort of floating plant with roots they will likely last a while, but they will disappear eventually. When I kept native fish I raised these in a horse trough outside to feed to them.

I wouldn't worry about a bullhead in a tank that size. Maybe it is my area, but I have never seen a bullhead over 10 inches.


If it were me I would get something else to go with it. One of the smaller pickerel/pike species would be nice if you could get one that is bigger than the bullhead. Various other bream type fish are options too, but they are less fun than the pickerel in my opinion.
 
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sweatyfish

Feeder Fish
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Sep 27, 2023
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By minnows I assume you mean mosquito fish(Gambusia affinis) ? If you provide some sort of floating plant with roots they will likely last a while, but they will disappear eventually. When I kept native fish I raised these in a horse trough outside to feed to them.

I wouldn't worry about a bullhead in a tank that size. Maybe it is my area, but I have never seen a bullhead over 10 inches.


If it were me I would get something else to go with it. One of the smaller pickerel/pike species would be nice if you could get one that is bigger than the bullhead. Various other bream type fish are options too, but they are less fun than the pickerel in my opinion.
Only issue with pike/pickerel is because of where I am pike are illegal and very invasive and pickerel are also pretty high concern
 

Omrit

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Only issue with pike/pickerel is because of where I am pike are illegal and very invasive and pickerel are also pretty high concern

If it is invasive doesn't that mean you can put it in your tank you just can't release it later? If owning one is really illegal then you have other options. One of the bream species would be an option if so.
 
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kzimmerman

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Fwiw, we have some gigantic bullheads around here, I routinely catch them at 15-16” with my biggest right around 18”. They can get huge, and should probably have a 24” deep tank.

I’ll have my wife try to find some pics later.
 

thebiggerthebetter

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