Comparison of Culture Traits of Channel Catfish,Ictalurus punctatus,and Blue CatfishI. furcatus

Construction of Genetic Linkage Maps and Comparative Genome Analysis of Catfish Using Gene-Associated Markers

“…It is anticipated that it will become one of the most important aquaculture fish species in Asia as well. Blue catfish (I. furcatus) is also economically important 1 because the hybrid between channel catfish and blue catfish exhibits superior performance for several commercial traits (Dunham et al 1987(Dunham et al , 1990(Dunham et al , 1993Dunham and Argue 1998;He et al 2003). Since these interspecific hybrids are fertile, it is possible to generate synthetic breeds using introgression strategies (Liu 2003;Liu et al 2003).…”

Improvements in Channel Catfish Growth after Two Generations of Selection and Comparison of Performance Traits among Channel Catfish, Blue Catfish, and Hybrid Catfish Fingerlings in an Aquarium Rack System

“…With regard to weight and FI comparisons, some studies have demonstrated that hybrid catfish outperform channel catfish when reared in ponds (Dunham et al 1990;Li et al 2004), and others have reported just the opposite ). Reports of growth comparisons between blue catfish and channel catfish are also inconsistent (Dunham et al 1993). These inconsistencies among reported growth comparisons of ictalurids may be the result of many variables, including parental stocks, environment, feeding regimes, and stocking density.…”

“…These inconsistencies among reported growth comparisons of ictalurids may be the result of many variables, including parental stocks, environment, feeding regimes, and stocking density. Even so, the degree of poor performance observed for blue catfish and hybrid catfish in the present experiment is generally contrary to the results of studies conducted in ponds, suggesting a potential genotype-rearing environment interaction.Earlier reports have suggested that blue catfish do not tolerate handling or environmental stress as well as channel catfish do (Dunham et al 1993). As a result, poor performance of blue catfish in high-density culture systems is often blamed on stress.…”

“…In the early 1990s, interest in another ictalurid, the blue catfish I. furcatus, as a potential culture species prompted several studies to compare culture characteristics of the blue catfish to those of the channel catfish (Dunham et al 1990(Dunham et al , 1993Tidwell and Mims 1990). More recently, a slow economy and the threat of foreign fish imports to the profitability of U.S. catfish farming have prompted further interest in the blue catfish as well as renewed efforts in genetic improvement of channel catfish and hybridization between channel catfish and blue catfish.…”

“…More recently, a slow economy and the threat of foreign fish imports to the profitability of U.S. catfish farming have prompted further interest in the blue catfish as well as renewed efforts in genetic improvement of channel catfish and hybridization between channel catfish and blue catfish. Several studies comparing the performance of channel catfish, blue catfish, and their hybrid in ponds have been published (Dunham et al 1990(Dunham et al , 1993Tidwell and Mims 1990;Argue et al 2003;Bosworth et al 2004;Li et al 2004). However, little has been published regarding the impact of genotype-environment interactions on performance evaluations.…”