Keep Bass and Other American Gamefish in Your Home Aquarium
Keeping North American game fish in your home aquarium can be a beautiful addition to the home and a wonderful learning experience. It is, however, a commitment and should not be attempted for the short term benefit. These fish will become a part of your family.
Contents
Steps
- Research! Bass and other game fish can grow quite large, and may need hundreds of gallons. These are not guppies; keep in mind the adult size of the fish you plan on getting. They may need specialized care and food. Also, some wild-caught species of fish may be illegal to keep as pets in your area.
- Get a big tank. Depending on what type of fish you plan to include, acquiring a tank is the first step. Smaller fish, such as bluegill, will use a smaller tank than a bass, which can grow very large and need a very large tank. As a general rule, one {{safesubst:#invoke:convert|convert}} long per {{safesubst:#invoke:convert|convert}} of water. Bigger will always be better.
- Find a heavy duty filter. A heavy duty filter will be needed as these fish produce large amounts of waste and are used to clean environments. Don't skimp on the filtration device. Shop around for a filter that has easy replacement filters. You will be changing them often!
- Depending on the bottom substrate you choose will determine if you need an undergravel filter and powerhead. In some tanks, you might not use an undergravel filter because there is sand from the lake where you got the fish. If you choose large diameter aquarium gravel, then adding an underground filter would be appropriate. It does help keep the debris levels down. You will also need a powerhead to pull the water through the underground filter.
- Bottom substrate should be as natural looking as possible. This is essentially a tank that displays a lake or pond in your home. Try to avoid bright colors for the bottom. It also takes away from the beautiful colors of the native fish. Aquarium sand mimics the natural lake bottom and really looks nice. Otherwise, a natural looking aquarium rock will work wonderful. Plan for two to three inches of rock on the bottom.
- You can also add an aeration device to the tank by submerging an airstone in the back of the tank or where ever you prefer. You might find the fish playing in it once in a while.
- Exercise caution and prudence when getting plants. Plants can be a nice addition to a tank, but these fish may destroy live plants. Plastic plants or silk plants can look very nice. There are many varieties to choose from and there are even lily pads available. If you plan on mixing the types of fish, having many plants in the tank can help create safe havens for the smaller fish.
- Enhance the tank with lighting. Lighting can really enhance your tank. Find a full spectrum bulb that mimics natural sunlight. You will see a color explosion in your fish with quality lighting.
- Get some nice flat rocks. Another addition to your tank could be an area of the tank with flat pieces of rocks arranged in a way that mimics a rocky area of the lake or pond. Certain fish, like rock bass, for example, need these additions.
- Be prepared with a variety of food. The type of food these fish need will require a variety of choices.
- Once your fish realize that flakes and pellets are food (this can take a while), these can become staples.
- Get a quality flake food, brine shrimp pellets, and bloodworms. There are some color enhancing foods out there that many fish seem to enjoy and help bring out their colors.
- Brine shrimp squares can be crumbled up to make it easier for the fish to eat.
- Expect to be adding live food to your fish's diet.
- Crickets are greatly appreciated and is quite exciting to watch.
- Cutting up pieces of earthworms into quarter inch pieces is another option.
- After you set up your tank, add your water slowly to not mess up the tank arrangement.
- Plan on running your tank and filter without fish for at least 3 weeks. This allows beneficial bacteria to colonize. You will need to add in an ammonia source regularly during this time either via a pure ammonia source or adding in fish food or even a frozen shrimp. Not all tap water is created equal. These fish are relatively 'tough' but it would be wise to test the water regularly during this time with commercially available test kits and adjust the ammonia source (i.e. adding in another shrimp or more ammonia) accordingly. Your tank will be ready for fish once ammonia and nitrite read 0 and nitrate are manageable at around 20.
- Take some time on this and educate yourself properly on water quality testing by reading and asking knowledgeable fish people and remember this article is meant to be simply an overview.
- Getting the fish. It is highly advisable to add only young fish to the tank. Older fish will have a much harder time adjusting to tank life. They will be much stressed out and be very picky about food. Younger fish are more adaptable to tank life. Starting off with easier fish, like bluegill, or rock bass will give you a chance to learn and can be a stepping stone to more varieties. Catching them with hook and line is not advisable for two reasons. One it stresses them out and can cause injury that must heal in your care. Second, if you can catch them on hook and line, they are most likely too big. You can catch them with a minnow trap that can be purchased at any tackle supply company. It's basically a funnel on both ends that the fish swim into and are unable to exit. You can fill it with dry cat food or cereal and set it out in the lake or pond by a dock, or where you find bluegill. (Check your state's guidelines for trapping fish. You may need to have a label on your trap with your name and address and fishing license number.) The openings are small so you will only be catching the young ones. Let the trap sit for a day or two and check it. Have a bucket with a lid (ice cream buckets work well) for your new fish. You might be surprised what you catch! Just keep what your tank can hold or less. You can always add more later.
- When adding your fish to the tank, put your fish and some water into a Ziploc bag, close it and let it set in the water for 15 minutes or so. Add a little bit of the tank water to the Ziploc bag to help the fish adjust to the new water. Add a little more 20-30 minutes later. If the fish are looking good, pour them into the tank.
- Give them a day or two to adjust to the tank before you start feeding them. Try to keep the area stress free... keep kids from tapping the tank, etc.
- When you start feeding, add small amounts of flakes. Watch to see if they respond. If after a few days of trying flakes, try adding live or formally live items like small crickets, cut earthworms or brine shrimp. This could be the hardest part of keeping these fish. Watch them carefully and take notes on what they eat. Once they realize what is food they will seemingly eat all the time. Keep to a schedule. They will start to recognize your presence and come to the surface for food. You can eventually start hand feeding them crickets and earthworms.
Tips
- If a different type of fish is desired; bass, catfish, or predator fish, research the life history of these fish, i.e. preferred habitat, food choices. Bass and catfish are generally solitary species. So unless you have a very large tank (over 100 gallons) expect to keep a one species tank. If you desire a catfish, realize that some species will grow very, very large. Predator fish, like walleye and northern pike will also be a single species tank and a solo member of the tank. Like catfish, these fish will eventually require a very large tank. You will also be needing a constant supply of live bait.
- You may want to add invertebrates to your tank. Snails and crayfish can be added quite successfully. Be aware that small snails are tasty morsels for panfish. Get them bigger. They may breed and supply your fish with some additional variety of food. If you catch snails from the lake or pond, be aware that wild snails are vectors for some fish parasites. Crayfish can be caught in your minnow trap with the cat food as bait. Place the trap near the edge of the lake or pond that has crayfish and check it the next day. These are fascinating organisms and are really fun to watch in a tank. Depending on the size of your tank, one is generally enough. Transfer the crayfish in water to your tank. If you add crayfish to your tank, make sure you have a rocky section of your tank with lots of hiding places. Bluegills find crayfish quite delicious. Feed your crayfish shrimp pellets. Sprinkle a couple over the rocky areas once or twice a day. Make sure they are gone before you feed again.
- Bluegill (sunfish) are wonderful first choices for a native tank. They are quite beautiful, relatively easy to take care of and typically easy to find.
- In some states it is illegal to release your fish back into the wild. Check your state's laws and regulations. This is due to a variety of illness captive fish can get and releasing them into the wild could damage the wild population. They are also maladjusted to wildlife. They are used to a hand giving them food, so releasing them back in to their original waters could be fish murder. Keep this in mind when you collect your fish.
- Algae can become a problem. Purchasing algae scrapers or the magnet scraper may come in handy. There are liquid algaecides that kill the algae and require you to scrape off the dead material. This can work well if you have no invertebrates in your tank. Read the labels. Most are harmful to crayfish and snails.
Warnings
- Check your state's laws before catching native fish. You may be required to have a fishing license. Many states have a day or a few days a year that you can fish for free (Illinois and Missouri do for example). Most states have websites that will specify their rules and regulations.
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