Will Catfish Eat Snails and Shrimp?

Catfish are known to have a diverse feeding preference. If you are raising catfish, you will soon notice that you can feed them many kinds of food and they will eat, including snails and shrimps. Snails can be mostly found at the bottom of the river; they can end up as food for catfish in those depths.

It should be noted that there are also many species of snails and shrimps. And not all species are food for the catfish. Basically, catfish can eat food that can fit into its mouth. So it the shrimp or snails are too big, they are safe from catfish.

Will Catfish Eat Snails and Shrimp?

The digestive system of catfish is quite amazing. Considering the number of aquatic animals and other things catfish can eat, we have to say these fish species have a remarkable system. There are big catfish species such as the Mekong catfish that won’t bother with snails and shrimps as food. The huge size of these catfish species makes it necessary to eat bigger meals. It will take hundreds of snails to get a Mekong catfish satisfied.

From this perspective, we can narrow down the catfish species that eat snails and shrimps to the flatheads and other species that are about the same size as the flathead catfish at the adult stage.

The cherry shrimp is one of the smaller species that make an excellent meal for catfish. It is rich in protein and can improve the health and weight of catfish. However, the cherry shrimp also has a commercial value.

Many fish farmers do not raise shrimp for the purpose of feeding them to catfish. Shrimps can fetch significant profits when they are sold in the market. So a major percentage of the shrimp that fall victim of catfish as food is in the rivers and lakes.  This also applies to the snails.

Because catfish can eat shrimp and snails, it is not a good idea to raise these two aquatic species together in a pond. However, you may be able to pull off raising catfish with shrimps and snails in the same pond if the catfish species is one of the smaller ones. For example, if you are raising Cory Catfish, it can do well with shrimps in a fish tank because Cory catfish only grow to about 4” as adults.

Some anglers have had good fishing experiences using shrimp to bait the channel catfish. We all know that catfish behavior in many parts of the world can be different. The fish may be attracted to only one particular type of bait. If anglers realize catfish in their rivers always bite shrimps, they will use this information to plan and have excellent fishing expeditions. Channel catfish is another species in the catfish family that has a large appetite and shrimp are actually a good meal for them.

In conclusion, if you decide to raise snails or shrimps, it is best to keep them away from your catfish. On the other hand, you can select smaller catfish species to live in the same fish tank with snails or shrimps; there will be no threat because of the catfish’s small size.

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