These buds occur along the sides of the body. They are very thick near the tail fin also. Channel catfish will feed on any organic material, dead or alive. The ability to use a variety of food types makes the channel catfish a good culture fish. They learn to use commercial fish feed very quickly.
Channel catfish have excellent feed conversion ratios.
Conversion ratios of 1.5-2.0 are common. This means that channel catfish convert 1.5-2.0 pounds of feed into 1.0 pound of fish. Cattle, swine and chickens all have higher conversion ratios and are therefore less efficient converters than catfish. Another important quality of channel catfish is their capacity for surviving poor water quality. Channel catfish can withstand low oxygen levels for short periods by breathing at the surface.