The male selects the site, often a natural cavern or hole, clears the nest and guards the eggs and young. A female may lay 2,000 to 21,000 eggs that hatch in six to 10 days depending on water temperature. Males protect the fry until they leave the nest in about a week. Feeding Habits - Feeds primarily at night using taste buds in the sensitive barbels and throughout the skin to locate prey. Although they normally feed on the bottom, channels also will feed at the surface and at mid-depth.
Major foods are aquatic insects, crayfish, mollusks, crustaceans and fishes.
Small channels consume invertebrates, but larger ones may eat fish. Contrary to popular belief, carrion is not their normal food. Age and Growth - Maximum size attained in Florida is about 45 pounds. The fish's weight generally averages two to four pounds. Studies indicate 14 years as the maximum age, but some fish probably live 15 to 20 years.