Is it safe to put catfish into a rubber
lined pond? is it advisable? what would be the advantages
and disadvantages of having catfish in the pond?
The major problem with catfish is that
they get big very quickly, and may overwhelm your pond's
capacity to support the fish load you have. Small "armored
catfish" (Plecostemus) do okay in koi ponds during
the warm months, but are tropicals, and must be removed
and brought indoors during the winter. This is more difficult
than you might think, since they *really* like it in your
pond and will wedge themselves into impossibly tiny niches
between your rocks and fight to stay put.
I've never heard of problems related
to catfish barbels and liner ponds. We had Pleckys (which
are spinier!) for years without problems. Pleckys do better
with koi because their spines keep the larger koi from bullying
them.
