Black bullhead
Ameiurus melas
Water parameters
Minimum tank: 300 L per individual at harvest size.
Feed and growth
- Feed protein
- 32% target
- Daily feed (warm)
- 1.80% of body weight
- Daily feed (cool)
- 0.60% of body weight
- Max density
- 50 g per litre
A 600 g adult eats about 10.8 g of feed per day at optimum. 10 fish at adult size: ~108 g daily.
Legality
Rules vary by jurisdiction and change over time. Verify with your local fisheries or wildlife authority before stocking.
| Jurisdiction | Status | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| California | permit required | verified 2026-05-13 |
| European Union (bloc) | check local regulations | Introduced in parts of Europe; restricted in some EU countries as invasive verified 2026-05-13 |
| New South Wales | prohibited | verified 2026-05-13 |
Unlisted jurisdictions default to "check local regulations".
Origin and habitat
Ameiurus melas is a small, stocky North American catfish, native across much of the central and eastern United States and into southern Canada and northern Mexico, from the Appalachians west to about Arizona and largely absent from Florida apart from the panhandle. It lives in ponds, marshes, slow streams, and lake edges over muddy or silty bottoms. Adults usually run 15–30 cm and 200–500 g, with the occasional fish to around 45 cm, well short of the channel catfish. It is one of the toughest freshwater fish on the continent, holding on through near-zero oxygen, water from 4°C to above 35°C, heavy turbidity, and pollution that would kill most cultured species, and it will bury itself in mud to ride out drought. It is a nocturnal, omnivorous bottom feeder, taking insect larvae, crustaceans, mollusks, small fish and eggs, plant matter, carrion, and detritus. The flesh is white and mild from clean water, though fish out of muddy ponds can taste off. Introduced to Europe in the nineteenth century, it is now a nuisance invader across France, Spain, and other countries.
Climate and outdoor ponds
- Climate
- temperate (handles seasonal swings)
- USDA zones
- 4–11 (winter low around -34°C or warmer)
- Heating needed
- no
- Cooling needed
- no
Care notes
A small, very hardy catfish for aquaponics where channel catfish are unavailable or a tougher, smaller fish is wanted. It grows more slowly and stays well smaller than channel catfish, with harvest around 200–400 g in twelve to eighteen months on a standard catfish pellet of about 28 to 32 percent protein; feed conversion is modest, somewhere around 2.0 to 2.5, less efficient than channel catfish. Its real strength is durability: it shrugs off water-quality swings that would kill channel catfish, tilapia, or trout, tolerates 4–35°C, and can sit through near-zero oxygen for a while without dying, though growth halts and chronic low oxygen stunts it. That makes it a fit for systems with patchy management, rough infrastructure, or harsh climates. Keep stocking modest, on the order of 10 to 15 g/L. Fingerlings turn up at bait shops, farm supply stores, and state hatcheries across the Midwest and eastern US, and it is legal to keep in most states without a permit, though it is treated as invasive in parts of Europe and prohibited in some jurisdictions. The flesh is fine table fare from clean water but smaller and less prized than channel catfish, so it suits personal consumption more than market sales. Overall a practical pick for cold-climate, low-budget aquaponics where reliability matters more than top efficiency.