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| Black Bullhead
Ictalurus melas (Rafinesque,
1820)
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| Temperment |
Sociability |
Min. Tank |
Availability
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Area |
| Beware |
Solitary |
55 gallons |
Common |
Bottom |
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The bullhead is a North American species of robust catfish found
throughout the mid-eastern United States. It has been introduced elsewhere.
They are quite popular as gamefish, both for their game, and excellent
palatability.
The black bullhead is a broad-headed powerful catfish which is a mottled
black-brown to vanilla-yellow. The whiskers are long, and the nostril
whiskers look like horns. All the fins are rounded, the pectorals and dorsal
contain a sharp and dangerous spine.
In order to have one you have to catch it. Fry are easy to collect with a
dip-net, larger bullheads are best caught with a killie trap baited with
meat and left overnight in shallow water. Avoid handling them with bare
hands as their fin-spines can inflict a painful sting.
All bullheads are easy to keep and adapt well to captivity. As long as there
is space and plenty of food, a bullhead will thrive for many years in your
aquarium. They grow fast. Water conditions are unimportant but this is not a
reason to neglect the quality. Bullheads prefer neutral water with a
temperature between 60 and 82 degrees F. Since they are nocturnal give them
a "lights out" period everyday. They will eat anything from cucumber slices
to live fish. They are useful as scavengers, but they require their own
share of food as well. They are excellent companions with any fish that is
fairly peaceful and won't fit into their mouths. They look great with other
native gamefish. Like all native fish they are best released where found the
next season.
Breeding is accomplished in ponds and other large bodies of water.
There are around 4 species of bullhead, all found locally with the exact
same requirements as the black bullhead. These are great native fish to
start with. |
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