Channel Catfish

Channel catfish have a well developed sense of smell and taste. Their nostril pits (nares) contain sense organs with high concentrations of olfactory receptors. In channel catfish, these organs are sensitive enough to detect several amino acids at about one part per 100 million in water. Also, the channel catfish has taste buds distributed over the surface of its entire body. These buds are especially concentrated on the four pairs of barbels (whiskers) surrounding the mouth, which have about 25 buds per square millimeter. This combination of strong senses of taste and smell allows the channel catfish to find food in dark, stained, or muddy water with relative ease. They also possess a Weberian apparatus, which amplifies sound waves that would otherwise not be perceptible. There is a misconception that the barbels of channel catfish sting upon contact.

Channel catfish are native to the Nearctic realm and are widely distributed in southern Canada, the eastern and northern United States, and parts of northern Mexico.

Adult channel catfish, over 45 centimetres (18 in), prey on fishes such as yellow perch and sunfish. The diet of adults consists of snails, clams, crustaceans (such as crayfish), snakes, frogs, small fish, insects, aquatic plants, algae, seeds, grains, nuts, and occasionally even small birds and small mammals. Younger channel catfish are more consistently omnivorous, eating a large variety of plants and animals.

Catfish have a well-developed taste perception and are called "swimming tongues" due to the presence of taste buds all over the skin and inside the oropharyngeal cavity. Specifically, they have high sensitivity to amino acids, which explains their unique communication methods as follows. The catfish has a facial taste system that is extremely responsive to L-alanine and L-arginine. More specifically, their facial taste system senses heightened levels of L-amino acids in freshwater. Feeding behavior to food is due to amino acids released by food. This is reported to cause maxillary and mandibular barbel movements, which orient the catfish's posture and food search. When the food stimulates the taste receptors, it causes more excitation which is seen in exaggerated biting, turning, or mastication.