Bass & Aquariums 2024

Btech reply :

Hey my little girl is about to turn 2 years old. She Loves the tank at BPS and can spend all day while i shop watching fish with her mom. I was thinking for her 2 year birthday to get her an aquarium, gold fish are way too common.

Can / Do they have little largemouths', gars and catfish like the bigger ones in BPS? I dont want to make a HUGE tank as our house isnt large enough but figured some small ones would do just fine for her to watch.

I have never owned an aquarium - what am i getting into? Is it expnsive to keep thse fish? what kinds could i put together to make somthing similar to BPS? (She likes the gar and fat cats) id like to add some lmb and stripers if they come in a TINY size.

Thanks for your help.

Tim Ford reply :

If I understand you correctly, you're asking if there is a such thing as tiny gar, striper, and bass that you could put in a home aquarium. If so, the answer is no. If you have a huge aquarium, you may be able to keep some small bass, but eventually, unless you have an aquarium the size of the one at BPS, I'd say the fish is going to outgrow it.

CFFF 1.5 reply :

Keeping bass and bream in an aquarium is a ton of work and it will end up smelling pretty bad. I had the bright idea of getting an aquarium for two small 3 - 4" bass and a few bream. That lasted about a year before both the bass were probably 8" and needed to be fed constantly. Unless you have an abudance supply of minnows don't even think about it. It was a ton of work and they are dirty fish and will end up smelling up your house. They are easy to keep becuase they can adapt to the water, but you have been warned.

firefightn15 reply :

Brian, I know very little about aquariums except for a smaller one I kept a few years ago. One of the things i kept in it was a plecostomus. Not sure what type of species it is, but it looks like a cross between a carp and a catfish. They were ugly, but a cute ugly. I think she would get a kick out of 'em. Hope this helps.

Maxximus Redneckus reply :

keeping bass in many places is illegal they are a sportfish not that it stopped me before but like some say they are needy fish food ewise

CWB reply :

I've had aquariums all my life. I've also put just about everything that swims in one. If you want to go with non-tropical fish, I would suggest small Bluegills and Perch. Bass will grow too fast and will get very expensive to feed. Not too high of a survival rate either. Get some large roaches at the bait shop as well. I would recommend a tank of 100 gallons. Believe it or not, the bigger the tank, the easier it is to maintain. My son has some minnows in his turtle tank that are going on 2 years old. Small bullheads are cool but if they get too big they will eat everything in the tank.

jacker reply :

I dont know about the legal side of this, but we used to have a 100 gallon tank and have 5-6 8"-12" bass in it at once. I thought they were very easy to take care of and keep alive, and tons of fun to watch. And if they are kept in a fish tank, they will not outgrow a tank, they will not grow any larger if they are confined in a tank.

If you keep your water ph balanced, and keep it airated they will do fine.

check if its legal, and if it is go for it! they get very tame too, they would actally eat out of our hands.

jeosbo01 reply :

I have kept aquariums for over 20 years and like CWB I've kept just about anything that swims. I would stay away from bass as a first fish, if for no other reason because they are messy and can quickly foul a tank up. Most of the natives you are likely to be familiar with will outgrow a modest sized tank, but there are some really neat smaller natives to be found from time to time if you know where to look.

I have a black madtom catfish that I pulled out of a bag full of crappie minnows last year that is really cool, kind of like a little channel cat and they max out at about 6 inches. There are also some smaller sunfish around. Tropical Fish Hobbyist magazine just had (last month and the previous months issue) a 2 part article on North American sunfish that had alot of good info. I don't have a ton of experience keeping natives but will be happy to help you in any way I can...just let me know

SnowBass23 reply :

If you do a search on bass in aquariums you should be able to find a bunch of slugfests where this topic comes up every once in a while. ;D

I also have many years of experience with breeding different fish and I too kept bass for a while. I'd agree they are far more pain than they are worth. In no time they will have outgrown any size tank you put them in (anything that a novice could reasonably expect to use anyways ) . Bream, or even tropical fish are far easier to keep and just as enjoyable. As others have mentioned it is illegal in many states to keep them for home viewing because of their sportfish status.

Can you do it? Sure. But, is it a good idea? That's up to you. If you really want to expose her to fish and their habits, I'd look into some of the smaller cichlids. They are tropical, so readily available from pet stores, and have a lot of the personality that bass will exhibit, just on a more manageable scale. Good luck.

fishinfiend reply :

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keeping bass in many places is illegal they are a sportfish not that it stopped me before

I always enjoy reading your posts. ;D

Little Luey reply :

I have kept aquariums since I was 17 yo, they are fun to keep but make sure you read up on the fish you want to keep.

As someone said before keeping sportfish is ilegal in many states. bass will outgrow a fish tank very quickly, the only way it will not is if you don't feed it correctly, the idea that the fish will remain small in a small tank is not true, it is about genetics and what the type of fish will get to be, ever wonder why the bluegills are not as big as the bass or the catfish in the same pond? by that thinking they should all be the same size since they swim in the same pond, and they are not.

I agree with the advice to get some minnows in a tank, cheap, not too needy. You don't need a heater or a light for them.

If you want to go tropical, try mollies or guppies, colorfull and fun to watch.

In the old times there was a rule, 1" of adult fish for 1 gallon of water.

So, if you buy a fish that will grow to 8" when it is an adult, the smaller tank you should have it is a 10gal. I disagree with this rule also because the 10gal tank is 20" I believe, so the fish does not have enough room to swim and turn around. It is wise to keep small fish in a small tank, your maintenance is less.

mpspeer reply :

I used to have a LMB in about a 60 gallon tank. I only kept it for a month or two, but if used to eat out of my hand.

If I stuck my finger in there it would strike it too! haha.

It is harder to maintain than "normal" aquarium fish.

mrlitetackle reply :

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Posted by: CFFF 1.5 Posted on: Today at 9:30am
Keeping bass and bream in an aquarium is a ton of work and it will end up smelling pretty bad. I had the bright idea of getting an aquarium for two small 3 - 4" bass and a few bream. That lasted about a year before both the bass were probably 8" and needed to be fed constantly. Unless you have an abudance supply of minnows don't even think about it. It was a ton of work and they are dirty fish and will end up smelling up your house. They are easy to keep becuase they can adapt to the water, but you have been warned.

agreed.....i had a buddy try this in the past with pretty much the same results!!!!

Low_Budget_Hooker reply :

Man I hate this topic,lol.

a search will show why.

fyi- NO fish can outgrow a tank. A fish will only grow to where it can still turn around in the tank comfortably, after that, the growing stops.

But in short, a Bass, in my opinion, has no place being kept as a pet. There are plenty of fish already in captivity at the store you can choose from.

Btech reply :

Lbh i was simply wondering if they had some sort of species like a bass in stores. just thought it would be nice to watch them grow with her.

id like to keep domestic if posible i know the forign ones are pretty and colorfull but while she enjoys watching and pointing. Id like to lern from keeping them,.

Thanks guys this info is very helpfull.

jamarkwe reply :

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Man I hate this topic,lol.
a search will show why.

fyi- NO fish can outgrow a tank. A fish will only grow to where it can still turn around in the tank comfortably, after that, the growing stops.

But in short, a Bass, in my opinion, has no place being kept as a pet. There are plenty of fish already in captivity at the store you can choose from.

This info about fish only growing to the size of their tank is wrong...

Don't try to keep bass, pike or any other fish that has potential to grow 2ft+. Start off with a nice little 40g with maybe a few African cichlids. They come in very vibrant colors and stay small... Your daughter will love them...

I once had this little guy in a 30g. Then as he got bigger I put him in a 90g... once he was to big for that he went into my 190g... Now he and his friends live in a beautiful indoor pond at my friends house 8-)

he was 18" in this pic and about 1.5 to 2 yrs old. Feed him a diet of Raw shrimp and large Cichlid Pellets...

husonfirst. reply :

Like everyone else says, it's a lot of work to clean and maintain. I had a small pike that I bought at a pet shop once and that thing was an eating machine.

Deerkiller reply :

Had a bass for about a year. changed the water once a month or so, takes 20 minutes. put a new charcoal filter in the aerator at the same time. no need to feed them daily. not that tough. try raising a puppy, haha

jeosbo01 reply :

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fyi- NO fish can outgrow a tank. A fish will only grow to where it can still turn around in the tank comfortably, after that, the growing stops.

LBH, this is somewhat true in most cases but not for the reasons most people think. A fish will not simply stop growing so that it is able to fit comfortable within a tank, there is not "growth switch" they can just turn off at will.

What happens in the majority of cases that lead to the proliferation of this myth is that they reach a size at which the tank is no longer able to support the bioload (read poo) generated by the animal and they essentially slowly poison themselves to death. I have seen many oscars and red tailed catfish who grow terrible deformed because of being kept in tanks too small for them, a very hardy fish may survive in poor conditions for a while, but they will eventually die due to poor water quality and the stress associated with it and with not being able to turn around. I'm no tree hugger, but intentional animal cruelty is a big sore spot with me. If you can't provide for the animal and it's ultimate size please don't get it, it won't grow into your tank then simply stop growing...

Also, EVERYONE, please never keep a fish in an aquarium and then release it back into the wild. Doing so opens the possibility of introducing non-native disease and pests into our waters, and it is quite illegal in most places...

OK, I'll get off the soapbox now, gotta go pack...heading to Kenlake in a few hours (gotta get out of town before the KY Derby crowd gets here )

Low_Budget_Hooker reply :

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Quote
Man I hate this topic,lol.
a search will show why.

fyi- NO fish can outgrow a tank. A fish will only grow to where it can still turn around in the tank comfortably, after that, the growing stops.

But in short, a Bass, in my opinion, has no place being kept as a pet. There are plenty of fish already in captivity at the store you can choose from.

This info about fish only growing to the size of their tank is wrong...

based on.......?? care to elaborate??

Jeo- I understand your points and they are good ones. You also touched on some vital points regarding releasing and cruelty, but 20+ yrs of owning large fish only has shown me otherwise (as far as the "turning around" theory). Have you ever seen a fish that can't turn around in a tank? No. I haven't either. Actually, I have, an Arrowana, but it was put in the tank when it was already too big.

And they do "turn off", much like the switch you described but they can also be "turned on" (stop it,lol) again also. Ex: Raised an Oscar from a baby in a 50g. He reached his full size in roughly 2 yrs. He lived in that tank for another 4 yrs. When I rescued another Oscar, a 5 yr old, I gave the 6 yr old to a friend with a 125g. He grew another 1-2 inches and added weight extremely quickly and then growth stopped there. That fish is now going on 12? 13 yrs old? and hasn't grown again since he was introduced to the tank. Either has the 5 yr old I adopted which came from the same size tank he is in now. They are happy, healthy, and not growing. Genetically, they are programmed to grow every day of their lives, PROVIDED THEIR ENVIRONMENT ALLOWS THEM. (that can also be related to fish in the wild, i.e. not enough food, etc)

As for the bioload, absolutely, large fish require more care and water balancing but diet plays a large part in that also. Another trick is to keep the tank as cool as possible, thus slowing the metabolism. Driftwood also helps to balance abnormalities in the water, a must for large fish.

Now, I'm no rocket scientist and I'm not a biologist, but I did stay in a Holiday Inn last week so,... ;D

This might be a good topic to throw at Mr Lusk, a real fisheries biologist. I'll link him and he should reply if he has the time, but it is spring, his busy season, so it may take a bit

I'm not claiming to be the know all on this stuff, I just have a lot of personal experience. Please don't take me as cocky, I know when I write, I can come off that way but I love nothing more than to be proven WRONG,....learning is essential and I care about my pets, I want to give them the best care I can.

Little Luey reply :

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Quote

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Man I hate this topic,lol.
a search will show why.

fyi- NO fish can outgrow a tank. A fish will only grow to where it can still turn around in the tank comfortably, after that, the growing stops.

But in short, a Bass, in my opinion, has no place being kept as a pet. There are plenty of fish already in captivity at the store you can choose from.

This info about fish only growing to the size of their tank is wrong...

Really, care to elaborate??

I think I can help, the adult size of the Guppy is about 1.5", while the adult size of the oscar is maybe 12" or more, a plecustomus will grow to 24". I have kept guppies in tanks as large as 20gal, and I had a pleco in that tank as well, the pleco got bigger than the guppies, because it is in it's DNA to get to a certain lenght. The guppy never got any larger than 1.5". Fish have certain requirements, some need more room to move around, some not as much, some need more food than others, and they grow and poop accordingly.

Think of it the other way around, in a pond there may be bass, bluegills, catfish sharing the same living and swiming space. They are not all the same size, why? because the bluegills only get to be a certain size, different from catfish and bass.

Just like, I am 5'7" and my brother is 6', we both grew up in the same houses but something in his DNA predetermined he will be a few inches taller than I.

Little Luey reply :

I found this aritcle on the Oscar, here is a section of it

"Oscar is the popular name for a cichlid known as Astronotus ocellatus. In addition to Oscar, it is also called Velvet cichlid and Marble cichlid. Astronotus ocellatus is not very sensitive and can be kept even by less experienced aquarists, but you must provide it with an aquarium that is large enough. A 100 gallon aquarium is considered a minimum. In the wild, it is not uncommon for an Oscar fish to grow larger than 30 centimeters (12 inches). When Oscars are kept in aquariums they rarely grow larger than 30 centimeters (12 inches). "

http://www.ask.com/bar?q=fish+growth+rates+IN+AQUARIUMS&page=1&qsrc=2417&ab=0&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.aquaticcommunity.com%2Faquarium%2Fgrowth.php

It looks like your Oscar could not get to it's adult size in a 50gal. I have also seen fish not getting as big as they do in the wild, but I think this is more because the aquarium limits the growth, but a fish that is supossed to be 10" will get close to that IF it has all other needs met, water quality, food and space to roam.

A guppy or a molly will not get to be 10" even if they are in a 125gal tank.

Low_Budget_Hooker reply :

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I found this aritcle on the Oscar, here is a section of it
"Oscar is the popular name for a cichlid known as Astronotus ocellatus. In addition to Oscar, it is also called Velvet cichlid and Marble cichlid. Astronotus ocellatus is not very sensitive and can be kept even by less experienced aquarists, but you must provide it with an aquarium that is large enough. A 100 gallon aquarium is considered a minimum. In the wild, it is not uncommon for an Oscar fish to grow larger than 30 centimeters (12 inches). When Oscars are kept in aquariums they rarely grow larger than 30 centimeters (12 inches). "

http://www.ask.com/bar?q=fish+growth+rates+IN+AQUARIUMS&page=1&qsrc=2417&ab=0&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.aquaticcommunity.com%2Faquarium%2Fgrowth.php

It looks like your Oscar could not get to it's adult size in a 50gal. I have also seen fish not getting as big as they do in the wild, but I think this is more because the aquarium limits the growth, but a fish that is supossed to be 10" will get close to that IF it has all other needs met, water quality, food and space to roam.

A guppy or a molly will not get to be 10" even if they are in a 125gal tank.

This illustrates my point exactly,growth was LIMITED due to tank size.

Joe Boss reply :

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Quote
I found this aritcle on the Oscar, here is a section of it
"Oscar is the popular name for a cichlid known as Astronotus ocellatus. In addition to Oscar, it is also called Velvet cichlid and Marble cichlid. Astronotus ocellatus is not very sensitive and can be kept even by less experienced aquarists, but you must provide it with an aquarium that is large enough. A 100 gallon aquarium is considered a minimum. In the wild, it is not uncommon for an Oscar fish to grow larger than 30 centimeters (12 inches). When Oscars are kept in aquariums they rarely grow larger than 30 centimeters (12 inches). "

http://www.ask.com/bar?q=fish+growth+rates+IN+AQUARIUMS&page=1&qsrc=2417&ab=0&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.aquaticcommunity.com%2Faquarium%2Fgrowth.php

It looks like your Oscar could not get to it's adult size in a 50gal. I have also seen fish not getting as big as they do in the wild, but I think this is more because the aquarium limits the growth, but a fish that is supossed to be 10" will get close to that IF it has all other needs met, water quality, food and space to roam.

A guppy or a molly will not get to be 10" even if they are in a 125gal tank.

This illustrates my point exactly,growth was LIMITED due to tank size.

The point is somewhat true. The fishes growth will slow down when it aprroaches the tank size with one exception, water changes. If you change a large portion of the water in the tank weekly that fish will grow to a size where it will not be able to turn around anymore.

I had an Oscar in a 20 gallon tank and was almost OCD about cleaning it. I had one of those tank vacuum thingies that attach to your bathroom faucet and suction up debris from the tank bottom. I changed the water in that tank at least once a week sometimes twice. MY Oscar grew to a point where he could barely turn around anymore. I had to upgrade to a 55 gallon tank. Through some research I found that fish release some kind of growth inhibitor in their waste. The regular water changes removed that inhibitor from the tank and thats why he outgrew it.

To the original poster Bass and aquariums are a bad idea. Start off with a different fish, like a red devil or managuense jaguar cichlid. They are bass like and easier to keep.

jamarkwe reply :

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Quote

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Man I hate this topic,lol.
a search will show why.

fyi- NO fish can outgrow a tank. A fish will only grow to where it can still turn around in the tank comfortably, after that, the growing stops.

But in short, a Bass, in my opinion, has no place being kept as a pet. There are plenty of fish already in captivity at the store you can choose from.

This info about fish only growing to the size of their tank is wrong...

based on.......?? care to elaborate?? Based on experience

Let me make myself more clear... IMO an 8"oscar in a 55g tank (48"x12")has already out grown the tank...I believe a Fish should have a decent room to swimaround the tank.. An Oscar should have a 90g minimum to itself...I repeat Minimum

After many a moons keeping Large Predators I have down sized realizing I don't have room in my 190g(72"x24"x26")to keep fish that grow larger than 12"... So now I keep it simple, yet unique. Heck the largest fish in there now are my 5 Clown Loaches with the biggest being 7"@ 5 yrs old.

Now I have personal seen with my own eyes a Redtail Catfish grow to 22" from a juvi in a 125g(72"x17") until I finaly talked my friend into killing for its own good.. Now I'm not the smartest man but that fish didn't turn off like a switch in the 1.5yrs he had it..Now I don't consider that enough room to turn around although it did.

Yes I know that a fish in captivity will have a stunted growth, but it does not mean a fish can't out grow their tank.

Jeo- I understand your points and they are good ones. You also touched on some vital points regarding releasing and cruelty, but 20+ yrs of owning large fish only has shown me otherwise (as far as the "turning around" theory). Have you ever seen a fish that can't turn around in a tank? No. I haven't either. Actually, I have, an Arrowana, but it was put in the tank when it was already too big.

And they do "turn off", much like the switch you described but they can also be "turned on" (stop it,lol) again also. Ex: Raised an Oscar from a baby in a 50g. He reached his full size in roughly 2 yrs. He lived in that tank for another 4 yrs. When I rescued another Oscar, a 5 yr old, I gave the 6 yr old to a friend with a 125g. He grew another 1-2 inches and added weight extremely quickly and then growth stopped there. That fish is now going on 12? 13 yrs old? and hasn't grown again since he was introduced to the tank. Either has the 5 yr old I adopted which came from the same size tank he is in now. They are happy, healthy, and not growing. Genetically, they are programmed to grow every day of their lives, PROVIDED THEIR ENVIRONMENT ALLOWS THEM. (that can also be related to fish in the wild, i.e. not enough food, etc)

As for the bioload, absolutely, large fish require more care and water balancing but diet plays a large part in that also. Another trick is to keep the tank as cool as possible, thus slowing the metabolism. Driftwood also helps to balance abnormalities in the water, a must for large fish.

Now, I'm no rocket scientist and I'm not a biologist, but I did stay in a Holiday Inn last week so,... ;D

LMAO

This might be a good topic to throw at Mr Lusk, a real fisheries biologist. I'll link him and he should reply if he has the time, but it is spring, his busy season, so it may take a bit

I'm not claiming to be the know all on this stuff, I just have a lot of personal experience. Please don't take me as cocky, I know when I write, I can come off that way but I love nothing more than to be proven WRONG,....learning is essential and I care about my pets, I want to give them the best care I can.

Same here bro...

www.monsterfishkeepers.com Awesome site check it out... you seem like you might like it.... There is a few peeps there that have 5ft+ arapaima gigas...

Low_Budget_Hooker reply :

1 question.

How do we explain sudden growth spurts when a fish is moved to a larger tank?

Joe Boss reply :

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1 question.
How do we explain sudden growth spurts when a fish is moved to a larger tank?

The larger tank can support a bigger bioload. The fish will have a growth spurt but then slow down as it reaches a size where the bioload gets higher. As I mentioned in an earlier post changing a large portion of the tanks water lessens the bioload and the fish can literally outgrow the tank.

I am not an expert, but I have experienced this first hand. My poor Oscar could not turn around in my 20 gallon aquarium without displacing the hood he got so big. He experience a growth spurt when I relocated him to a 55 but then slowed down when he got rather large for that tank. By then I was making slight water changes once a month as I had learned my lesson about making to many water changes.

jamarkwe reply :

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1 question.
How do we explain sudden growth spurts when a fish is moved to a larger tank?

I have never seen any documents or actual research on this so I have no idea... I wont or can't deny it happens.

MyKeyBe reply :

Anyway.

Bass & Aquariums = Bad idea.

Low_Budget_Hooker reply :

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1 question.
How do we explain sudden growth spurts when a fish is moved to a larger tank?

The larger tank can support a bigger bioload. The fish will have a growth spurt but then slow down as it reaches a size where the bioload gets higher. As I mentioned in an earlier post changing a large portion of the tanks water lessens the bioload and the fish can literally outgrow the tank.

I am not an expert, but I have experienced this first hand. My poor Oscar could not turn around in my 20 gallon aquarium without displacing the hood he got so big. He experience a growth spurt when I relocated him to a 55 but then slowed down when he got rather large for that tank. By then I was making slight water changes once a month as I had learned my lesson about making to many water changes.

You are assuming the cleaning regimen is not keeping up with the bioload but I can assure you it is. My fish is on a low feed program and 30% water changes are done every 2 weeks, sometimes 3 weeks if I'm traveling.

I also hit the tank with the diatom filter once every other month. This is all for a single fish who is fed once a week, no live feed. Well, I'll give him a crayfish now and then, maybe 3-4/yr but no feeders.

Water temp is never above 72-73 in the summer months and usually rests around 69-70 in the winter.

Tank is not near a window, no algae growth.

Interesting discussion so far guys, giving me lots to think about, thanks

Joe Boss reply :

I have to admit you have me stumped. With the low feed program coupled with the amount of water changes you make I would have said your fish has the potential to grow larger than his surroundings.

I know I fed my fish daily on floating pellets and a bag of feeder goldfish once a week for a treat. Maybe I just had a fat fish ;D

Low_Budget_Hooker reply :

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I know I fed my fish daily on floating pellets and a bag of feeder goldfish once a week for a treat. Maybe I just had a fat fish ;D

Holy cow! I imagine that much waste would be tough to keep up with. I also use the floating pellets, Hikari gold (large)

Dumpster (the Oscar's name) certainly wasn't in need of weight though, pretty healthy, normal looking guy.

.dsaavedra. reply :

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I also hit the tank with the diatom filter once every other month.

whats a diatom filter? i've never heard of one.

if its something that removes diatoms, i need one! i have diatoms like mad in my tank, and i've really stopped trying to wipe them away because they just come back.

i'm waiting for them to use all the available silicon in my tank and die off on their own.

Low_Budget_Hooker reply :

A diatom is the smallest filterable particle. You tun the filter through a "cycle" (a few hours) and it makes the tank like crystal.

Joe Boss reply :

LBH that is a beautiful Oscar and tank! He sure looks healthy. I love the Hikari pellets they really make the Oscar's red color pop. I had an albino Oscar and he was more red than white after I started using the Hikari pellets.

southernyankee reply :

OK. i have bass, walleye, cats, bream, trout etc in a tank at home and I have no problems and it is legal in all states reguardless what people think here.

Here is what you do.

You need to contact a hatchery or a place that stocks ponds. There you can buy any fish of any size regardless of the state law. just as if you were going to stock a private pond. They can also tell you the mix of fish you need and the size tank for what you want to hold (size number etc.).

Next go to a GOOD pet supply store or a store that specializes in aquariums tell them what you are doing and they will set you up with the right tank and most importantly a filtration system. This is the most important thing. Fish produce ammonia and for example 5lbs of bass in 15gal of water will produce enough ammonia to be lethal in 4 hours regardless of well you oxygenate the water.

If you do not cut corners you will have no problems with bad smells or dead loss. Let me know if you need anything else.

Low_Budget_Hooker reply :

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OK. i have bass, walleye, cats, bream, trout etc in a tank at home

You are correct, it IS legal,....... with the correct permit. In RI and a few other states I know of, it's called a "Scientific Permit". Getting one is like requesting a sit down with the President though,lol.

(77.32.240 Scientific permit -- Procedures -- Penalties -- Fee

A scientific permit allows the holder to collect for research or display food fish, game fish, and shellfish.)

I HAVE to see a pic of a Trout/walleye in a tank, I've never seen a cold water specie in a tank other than at BPS.

PICS PLEASE!! PICS!!

jamarkwe reply :

Here in Michigan the Law states you can catch and keep a LM in your tank as long as it is in season and of legal size. It also states that you must release it upon the last day of the season(dec 31st). :-?

crazyness IMO

Low_Budget_Hooker reply :

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Here in Michigan the Law states you can catch and keep a LM in your tank as long as it is in season and of legal size. It also states that you must release it upon the last day of the season(dec 31st). :-?
crazyness IMO

Wow, talk about irresponsible legislation!

South FLA reply :

Some states allow water pipes, some states don't

South FLA reply :

I use to work as an importer/operations manager for a tropical fish importer in Miami. I can say that you can keep really big fish in small tanks for a long time, we had 3-4lb. butterfly peacocks that were in a tank no longer than 3 ft. long and 18 inches deep. We also had a world class water filtration system that circulated over 200K gallons throughout the facility. It was all automated to keep the PH and water temperature in check. Also all the water ran through a massive array of UV lights and/or ionizers. The fish flourished while in holding tanks, we actually grew a butterfly peacock up to about 7/8lbs from about a 4 lber over about 3 years.

DawsonH reply :

To summarize: Yeah, if you are willing to spend the money and time without trying to cut corners you can keep bass or other locals healthy in a tank. If you are willing to spend several thousand dollars needed to get a set up and if you don't mind taking some time each week to clean it(2 or 3 hrs) then yes, you could do what your talking about. If not: You don't have to give up on having a fish tank, just go with smaller fish and less expensive stuff and see if you like fooling with the maintenance and care. If you find that you enjoy the fish and don't mind the work then you can always get a bigger tank and try more needy fish when you have some exp under your belt and you know what your dealing with.

IMO, for your case I wouldn't get a massive tank for large fish to start off. Because of the investment required to do it right. Get something like a 29 or a 55 (yes those are small tanks, smaller than 29 isn't worth it because of the limitations on numbers of species and numbers of individuals IMO) You can go to walmart or a reputable pet shop and get a kit that has filter, heater, light, and some other little accessories for around 100$. You will also need to plan on getting a stand with lockable cabinets(kids). You need to look for a spot in your house that has room for all of the above, and that has an electric outlet nearby with room for at least three plugs. You should also check the strength of your house floor, evne at 29 gallon tank weighs 260-300 pounds once full. Don't put it somewhere and expect to move it, its a really big chore and alot of trouble to move once you have it set up somewhere else.

Let us know if you decide your going to do it, it can be a real joy and good learning exp for you kids and yourself. There are some more things you will need to know once you make up your mind. Good luck

.dsaavedra. reply :

Quote
To summarize: Yeah, if you are willing to spend the money and time without trying to cut corners you can keep bass or other locals healthy in a tank. If you are willing to spend several thousand dollars needed to get a set up and if you don't mind taking some time each week to clean it(2 or 3 hrs) then yes, you could do what your talking about. If not: You don't have to give up on having a fish tank, just go with smaller fish and less expensive stuff and see if you like fooling with the maintenance and care. If you find that you enjoy the fish and don't mind the work then you can always get a bigger tank and try more needy fish when you have some exp under your belt and you know what your dealing with.
IMO, for you case I wouldn't get a massive tank for large fish to start off. Because of the investment required to do it right. Get something like a 29 or a 55 (yes those are small tanks, smaller isn't worth it because of the limitations of numbers and species IMO) You can go to walmart or a reputable pet shop and get a kit that has filter, heater, light, and some other little accessories for around 100$. You will also need to plan on getting a stand with lockable cabinets(kids). You need to look for a spot in your house that has room for all of the above, and that has an electric outlet nearby with room for at least three plugs. You should also check the strength of your house floor, evne at 29 gallon tank weighs 260-300 pounds once full. Don't put it somewhere and expect to move it, its a really big chore and alot of trouble to move once you have it set up somewhere else.

Let us know if you decide your going to do it, it can be a real joy and good learning exp for you kids and yourself. There are some more things you will need to know once you make up your mind. Good luck

this is good advice but i'm curious how you came up with "several thousand" dollars needed to keep native fish?

also, native fish (specifically centrarchids) are much LESS needy than tropicals if you ask me. they're really easy to keep. they don't need heated water, they can tolearte a wide range of water conditions, they eat ANYTHING, i get most of the food i feed my natives for free, just dig around and collect worms, bugs, go to a creek and get some macroinvertebrates or small minnows, collecting the food is almost as fun as keeping the fish!

as long as you have a large enough tank, don't over stock it, and have adequate filtration, you're good.

for a bass this means a very large tank and some top notch filtration.

i suggest you try some smaller sunfish like bluegills, pumpkinseeds, warmouth, red ear sunfish, rock bass, or whatever the most common panfish is in your area.

.dsaavedra. reply :

oh yeah, check out www.nanfa.org if you are interested in the captive care of native fish.

Low_Budget_Hooker reply :

Quote
Some states allow water pipes, some states don't

It's a vase but I have a dremel and a glass bit ;D

shutupnfish reply :

My wife has hinted towards getting our young'n an aquarium and I told her only if we could stock it with native fish. It might be a little more work but I'll bet observing a LMB sure beats watching guppies multiply. On second thought, we might stock it with a pair of guppies first then throw a LMB in with 'em. I can get all the dinks I want from my old mans pond. In the 20 years he's had it the biggest bass caught might have weighed a pound and a half.

My brother came up with the perfect solution (by accident I might add) to cleaning any and all fish from an aquarium. He put what he thought was a mudcat/bullhead in with his few perch and one bass. After returning from a weekend fishing trip, he went to check on his fish and all he had left was a well fed yellercat.

Steve

DawsonH reply :

When i say thousands I mean the 2-4 grand its going to run you to get a the full set up for a 100 gallon plus set up. (Full hood, bulbs, filter, stand, gravel, decorations, cleaning kit and heater) I know you don't need a heater to go with native fish, but the reason I say heater is because in the event of a power failure you would want to be able to put it on a generator to prevent the tank from freezing. A frozen tank that exploded upon thawing would be a major disaster if it was that size.

bigfruits reply :

if you end up not getting bass there are plenty of other cool predator fish you can take a look at

oscars

african cichlids

red bellied pirahna (very timid/shy fish)

redtail catfish

freshwater puffers

plenty of other types of non-common fish

pacu

arowana

needle nose gar

the nicest types of freshwater tanks IMO are planted community tanks. gotta have clown loaches for those

jamarkwe reply :

Quote
When i say thousands I mean the 2-4 grand its going to run you to get a the full set up for a 100 gallon plus set up. (Full hood, bulbs, filter, stand, gravel, decorations, cleaning kit and heater) I know you don't need a heater to go with native fish, but the reason I say heater is because in the event of a power failure you would want to be able to put it on a generator to prevent the tank from freezing. A frozen tank that exploded upon thawing would be a major disaster if it was that size.

Yup I got almost 2 grand in my set up..

190g- $600

Materials for the stand (I made it myself)-$400

Glass lids with hardware $80

Heaters- $80

Filter system(sump, pump, overflows, plumbing) $600

Fish decor sand or gravel etc--$$$$$

up keep(water conditioner, food, nets, salt, etc)

Granted you could build a DIY filtration out of a rubbermaid bin or old fish tank and some pot scrubbers as bio-media for dirt cheap. And for a stand use cinder blocks and a few 2x6s...

DawsonH reply :

Lol, yeah that would work with the stand. That's actually not a bad idea with the filter from a Rubbermaid bin or a smaller old tank.

Quote

oscars

african cichlids

red bellied pirahna (very timid/shy fish)

redtail catfish

freshwater puffers

plenty of other types of non-common fish

pacu

arowana

needle nose gar

Of those fish you listed, the only ones that would be good in a smaller tank would be the puffers, oscars, red bellies and the africans. With the oscars you wouldn't want more than one in a 29 gallon tank, and 2 in a 55. For a first timer it would really be better to go with some smaller stuff that doesn't require so much clean up with the tank. The rest of those fish get to big to go in a tank thats reasonable for most people. Pacus eat plants, Im not really sure you would want to put those in a planted tank. The gar and the redtail cat will grow over 50#'s in the wild. Those are not fish tank fish unless you have an indoor pond. The redtail cat will actually get over 100#s given a chance.

jamarkwe reply :

A 29g is way to small for an Oscar. As is a 55g.

Peace out I'm going Fishing...

ScroGG ToGG reply :

Hey Btech, i noticed that you lived in Matthews. I used to live in the apartments near Providence High School. Small World!

Anyways, PLEASE listen to these guys about their advice of steering clear of bass, at least at this time, in your scenario/situation.

BUT! you don't live that far at all from the new Fintastic store location. If you haven't been to the (new) Fintastic, i STRONGLY suggest to start there before you set up any kind of aquarium. They have TONS of amazing looking fish, and other aquatic life, fresh and saltwater. They will be able to give you THE BEST advice for your specific needs, etc.

Here's the store info:

2135 Ayrsley Town Blvd # C

Charlotte, NC 28273

(704) 525-0049

Quote
Hey my little girl is about to turn 2 years old. She Loves the tank at BPS and can spend all day while i shop watching fish with her mom. I was thinking for her 2 year birthday to get her an aquarium, gold fish are way too common.
Can / Do they have little largemouths', gars and catfish like the bigger ones in BPS? I dont want to make a HUGE tank as our house isnt large enough but figured some small ones would do just fine for her to watch.

I have never owned an aquarium - what am i getting into? Is it expnsive to keep thse fish? what kinds could i put together to make somthing similar to BPS? (She likes the gar and fat cats) id like to add some lmb and stripers if they come in a TINY size.

Thanks for your help.

Btech reply :

Ok..ok..OK... No bass

Anyone recomend a fish that is cheep and easy for me to take care of for my lil girl?

btw odd i was at my local pond fishing for cat the other day and a guy had a bucket of small cat brim and a bass he said he was gona keep for a 40g tank told him to read this thread lol.

He dumped the bucket,

jamarkwe reply :

Quote
Ok..ok..OK... No bass
Anyone recomend a fish that is cheep and easy for me to take care of for my lil girl?

btw odd i was at my local pond fishing for cat the other day and a guy had a bucket of small cat brim and a bass he said he was gona keep for a 40g tank told him to read this thread lol.

He dumped the bucket,

very cheap and very easy.... a Betta

Btech reply :

Come on... beta?

sorry this is for my lil girl turning 2 not the iditot kid down the street!

i got a beta as a kid sat in the kitchen in a milk jug for years /yawn

My girl wants better and deserves it, somthing that swims and eats not a goldfish / beta

.dsaavedra. reply :

Quote
Come on... beta?
sorry this is for my lil girl turning 2 not the iditot kid down the street!

i got a beta as a kid sat in the kitchen in a milk jug for years /yawn

My girl wants better and deserves it, somthing that swims and eats not a goldfish / beta

a pair of bluegills in a 55 gallon tank with proper filtration. get em when they're small, like 2". at this age they can easily accustom to tank life and are easy to train to eat prepared food. and then you can have fun watching them grow over the years. mine has grown over an inch long in a few months.

if you guys have a stream nearby, you two can spend some quality time going down there and scooping up leaves and substrate and picking through it for macroinvertebrates to feed to your fish as a snack. once the bluegills get a little bigger (3" or so) you can feed them little minnows. bluegills are eating machines. after a nice rain, go outside and collect worms off your driveway or lawn, go to petco and go to the refrigerator and pick up a can of live mealworms for a couple bucks.

Btech reply :

Thanks. Thats more like it!

What is the life span? i want somthing she can keep a while and lern responcibility within time, yet somthing i can study life cycles..

bluegill i assume last 4+ years = perfect fish

.dsaavedra. reply :

Quote
Thanks. Thats more like it!
What is the life span? i want somthing she can keep a while and lern responcibility within time, yet somthing i can study life cycles..

bluegill i assume last 4+ years = perfect fish

yeah they last for over 4 years if you take care of em right. you can pm me with any bluegill questions if you like. also, check out the forums at www.nanfa.org <--- good stuff right there

jamarkwe reply :

Quote
Come on... beta?
sorry this is for my lil girl turning 2 not the iditot kid down the street!

i got a beta as a kid sat in the kitchen in a milk jug for years /yawn

My girl wants better and deserves it, somthing that swims and eats not a goldfish / beta

but Betts swim and eat... Although not very far or very much

Like I said before get a trio of African cichlids and put them in a 29g or 55g .. Very beautiful fish...

Or you could get a single or breeding pair of Jack Dempsey in a 55g...

Or look into Green sunfish if you want to go native.

Btech reply :

Im an american = I buy American made (born) lol

yes Domestic only please.

checking that site above. Thanks

.dsaavedra. reply :

Quote
Im an american = I buy American made (born) lol
yes Domestic only please.

checking that site above. Thanks

i agree, tropical fish are WAYYY over-rated heck, i don't even buy native fish, i catch them myself.

southernyankee reply :

I am able to keep cold water fish because I have a cooling unit on the tank. I also set the whole thing up for way under a thousand.

And if you buy a fish from a hatchery you do not normally have to worry about state laws.

little_stephen reply :

While Ive never kept any non-tropicals. ive got alot of expierence with tropicals..... ANY fish can get huge & ANY fish can get costly to feed given proper tank size & abundance of food.

I do know a few people who have successfully kept bass in small tanks. they all said it wasnt very exciting because when u limit a fish like that to a small space ur limiting the predatory nature of the fish...... but none the less. I cant say from first hand expierence.

i have seen a ton of people keeping bluegill, shinners(mostly for bait reasons), bream & perch. theyre cool. easy to maintain, and fun to watch bc of how social of a fish they tend to be. what i will sya is this. dont cheap out. if you arent investing in at least medium quality fish tank supplies. ur asking for more trouble than its worth.

on a side note. look into tropicals. theres TONS of cool looking freshwater tropical fish that are really easy to keep and take care of. And they look cool! most of them can be purchased at a local pet or aquarium store!

jamarkwe reply :

Quote
ANY fish can get huge & ANY fish can get costly to feed given proper tank size & abundance of food.

Any fish... are you sure about that ???

So if I put a bluegill in a 1,000 acre lake with 1 million minnows all to itself , it will grow ten feet long!!!!

If I put a guppy in a 500g tank and feed it a half can of flakes daily it will get 30" and weigh 10lbs...

little_stephen reply :

well if u dont act like a jerk...... have a look at the recent articles in bassmaster about gizard shad getting to monster size...........then yes..... ud realize that given the right conditions..... just about any fish can get to a huge size compared to its average under a balanced ecosystem....... I had a dalmation molly in my tank at home that got twice as big as any of its friends at the pet store..........

as a bass fisherman. you should stop shooting off smart comments and think....... given the right temps, propper growing season length...... plenty of prey to eat, and a few other things...... a california bass can get four times as big as one of the bass here in ohio............

when you have a tank thats temp controlled and you keep feeding the fish in subject, it will get big....... often times ALOT bigger than what you'll see in the wild because nothings trying to eat it!

so ha!

.dsaavedra. reply :

Quote
well if u dont act like a jerk...... have a look at the recent articles in bassmaster about gizard shad getting to monster size...........then yes..... ud realize that given the right conditions..... just about any fish can get to a huge size compared to its average under a balanced ecosystem....... I had a dalmation molly in my tank at home that got twice as big as any of its friends at the pet store..........
as a bass fisherman. you should stop shooting off smart comments and think....... given the right temps, propper growing season length...... plenty of prey to eat, and a few other things...... a california bass can get four times as big as one of the bass here in ohio............

when you have a tank thats temp controlled and you keep feeding the fish in subject, it will get big....... often times ALOT bigger than what you'll see in the wild because nothings trying to eat it!

so ha!

nice retort 8-)

little_stephen reply :

sorry for getting a little jumpy.... i just dont think its ok to jump down peoples throat about things they post...... this is a cool group of people, and i dont like that someone decided to poke fun at me while i was trying to give constructive help and advice to someone.....

all is forgiven. but still..... go do your homework. u supported my point earlier in the thread, then u poked fun at urself by making fun of my post!

lol..... anyhow. just stick to tropicals to start with! its safer and a slightly less devistating learning curve for new aquarium owners....

jamarkwe reply :

There is a lot of bad and uneducated information flying around in this thread...It was a decent mature debate going on here with good info from all points of view, but now this is just silly.

I'm done with this..... 8-)

Low_budget_hooker... I see why you hate these topics now

Btech reply :

Lets get back to the main point of this than.

Tank for my little girl.

Fish that are DOMESTIC (Not Bass now).

what tips do you have for me other than heads turning in tank and being overgrown.

Still trying to pick out fish... pix of the ones you recomend would be nice.

What should I expect to spend? 500 was my "Estimated" budget. You know how that goes.

*sorry for any offense here - wasnt ment that way if it came from me *

JuniorFisherJJ08 reply :

It is possible.. But.. You would have to keep it clean as the bass smell pretty bad otherwise. ALSO the food situation is rough. I believe if i can remember right a LMB needs its body weight in food a day to survive. So a 1lb bass would need 1lb of food a day. If you want it to grow it needs almost triple its body weight a day so a 1lb bass would have to have at least 3lbs of food per day.

I cant quite remember but im sure if you do a lil reading on the internet you will find the exact amounts of food.

JJ ;D

DawsonH reply :

Do you plan to make your own stand or buy one? You can save a large some of money by making your own. Understand that your tank is going to weight in the neighborhood of 10#'s to the gallon when full and decorated.

Btech reply :

Co worker has a wood shop in his basment hopin i can conn him into building one.

DawsonH reply :

Well reason I asked is I was trying to figure out what you would be looking at for a price on it. If you can get it done for just the cost of materials then thats good. Go to walmart or a pet store and measure some fish tanks that would fall within about 250-300 range. Im figuring the other 200-250 for the rest of the stuff you will need to put in it. Also, not at walmart but at a pet store it may be possible to find a stand,tank,hood,light,filter,heater combo that fits your budget and would save you enough money on the cost of those items by themself to make it worthwhile for you to go ahead and buy the stand. Do a little shopping around when you get a chance and let us know what you come up with.

SnowBass23 reply :

Just a side note; for the parts that you order for the aquarium, although it is fun buying in the store (and that is probably what you want for your little girl so she can experience setting it all up) you can get great deals online. I buy the majority of my aquarium stuff (lights, heaters, filters, fake plants, etc) through Big Al's Aquarium online store. You can do a search for it and find their site. They have some phenomenal prices on different things.

.dsaavedra. reply :

Quote
Lets get back to the main point of this than.
Tank for my little girl.

Fish that are DOMESTIC (Not Bass now).

what tips do you have for me other than heads turning in tank and being overgrown.

Still trying to pick out fish... pix of the ones you recomend would be nice.

What should I expect to spend? 500 was my "Estimated" budget. You know how that goes.

*sorry for any offense here - wasnt ment that way if it came from me *

bluegills! ;D

Low_Budget_Hooker reply :

Quote
well if u dont act like a jerk...... have a look at the recent articles in bassmaster about gizard shad getting to monster size...........then yes..... ud realize that given the right conditions..... just about any fish can get to a huge size compared to its average under a balanced ecosystem....... I had a dalmation molly in my tank at home that got twice as big as any of its friends at the pet store..........
as a bass fisherman. you should stop shooting off smart comments and think....... given the right temps, propper growing season length...... plenty of prey to eat, and a few other things...... a california bass can get four times as big as one of the bass here in ohio............

when you have a tank thats temp controlled and you keep feeding the fish in subject, it will get big....... often times ALOT bigger than what you'll see in the wild because nothings trying to eat it!

so ha!

A. Chill

B. Stay on topic and read the previous posts before replying. We are not talking about whether any fish can get huge or not, the subject is can they outgrow a tank or not. Gizzard shad are irrelevant Had you thought about the thread below,instead of getting defensive, you'd notice he is giving you an exaggeration of an example so you can see the point you are missing. You'll never learn with your ears and eyes shut and your mouth open (my grandmothers fav saying,lol)

C. A Bass can have the genetic capability to grow to trophy size regardless of "where" it came from.

D. Take your own advice regarding doing your homework before posting.

E. This thread has run it's course, goodnight.

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