Consumer Education

I can tell you, finding catfish for our pond was no easy task. After fending off blue heron, pesky raccoons, snakes and even a very large snapping turtle, we couldn't keep a fish alive to save our lives.

So what's the alternative? a fish-less pond or...fish big enough to out-maneuver even the most devilish predator. Enter channel catfish. With their stealthy ways and friendly spirit, this was the fish for us. But we realized that this task wasn't going to be as simple as running down to Petsmart. We finally found a very nice fish farmer who was willing to sell us four 15 inch cats. These were big ole fish, almost two pounds each to be exact...Big enough to be predators themselves, but no. They don't devour smaller fish, and happily eat fish food and algae.

To get ready for our nearly three hour trip, we installed a power inverter hooked to the cigarette lighter that charged an aquarium pump. Otherwise we would have needed 100 gallons of water to get our fish home alive!

We arrived to find a large commercial fish farm with a huge pond and a sheltered area housing the fish tanks. We paid by the pound, thanked the owner over and over again, and set off back home, hoping the fish would make it alive. Before we left, he attached weights to the aquarium tubing (something we hadn't thought of) and set us on our way. I'll never forget that man. He didn't charge us any more than he would have if we were buying thousands of fish. And he didn't get tired of my questions about how to keep the heron away.

And yes, the fish made it home alive, and we arrived, not completely over-stressed. A message to the heron: You've met your match!