New Pet!!!!!!!

[bass wrangler569]

I have to agree with the others in the thread who have suggested adding some plants for cover. Without somewhere to hide the fish will be stressed, that could lead to an early demise.

I think it will help in the long run to change the white gravel in the tank to something darker. Natural river stone shades would be great. Light color gravel has a tendency to wash out the fishes colors.

Living 60 miles from a town with store other than a local general merchandise store, so you take what you can get when you can get it. Especially wth todays gas prices. In due time there will be some darker, rocks and some fake weeds but for now he/ she is fine. She swims up to the side of the tank whenever someone approches it, its not like she sees a shadow and scatters and trys to hide. She loves the attention.

No,...it's starving and has associated your approach with "food".

Put it in it's natural environment and see which of us is right. I'm thinking it won't hang around at your ankles waiting for more "attention".

I hate being hard on someone but you clearly haven't taken the time to educate yourself on this subject yet have gone ahead and harvested a wild game fish anyway. To me, that's just irresponsible. There are scenarios/situations where bass are fine in captivity, yours is not one of them.

LMAO, it dont get food everytime someone walks up to the tank.....LOL Its funny how people seem to think a animal or fish cant have a personality, I believe Leroy Brown did (the 1lb BassTom Mann added to his pool of much lafger bass) In Mann's Words he DOMINATED his new home. In the 8 years he taugt him to jump through hoops and eat live bait from his hand and became a attraction at Tom Mann's fish world and even eclipsed his owners notoriety. Not that my fish will ever do tha but hey are not the impersonible objects that just bite our lures, as most would think.

The fish has clear water, more food than it cares to eat, and plenty of space, just like a most gold fish, pirahnas or other fish people have in there tanks & i don't see the negativity in them being owned. Anyway i am done with the negativity if you dont like it FINE good for you, the fish is not going anywhere but to a bigger tank soon to live its life (with probably a couple more bass) 1 year 10 years who knows. Thanx for telling me how, dumb, irresponsible and uncool i am though!!! Also i am glad to hear from the people who enjoy it as much as i do. Its all good

Dude don't worry about it, its your fish and I don't see any problem with what you're doing or how your feeding it. Everytime I walk in the kitchen my dogs fly in to see if I'm going to give them any food. Believe me when I tell you they are not starving but they beg for food anyway. I imagine a bass is capable of doing the same thing. I don't know if I would feel comfortable keeping a bass but I don't think of it as an ethical or morale dilemma as long as you take care of it. As far as people making you feel irresponisble, uncool, or idiotic just remember, everyone is someone elses moron.  

[stinkfist]

. It looks like a mix between a bass and bream.

Google "goggle eye" or "war mouth" that sounds like what you have.

[Bassin_Fin@tic]

As long as you provide it with what it needs i see no problem with it. If you put it in a bigger tank and feed it well that bass will be doing better then it could in the wild. The bass has no sharp hooks jamming it in the jaw so its better off if you ask me. Who knows how many bass die from our hooks damaging them and causing them stress. I THINK IT IS IGNORANT to say that the bass is not well and is better off in its natural habitat when we trick the same fish into biting a FAKE minnow that has a hook that is going to be thrusted into the fish and then reeled threw water and taken out of its natural habitat. Some eat them and never put them back. Atleast hes giving the bass a chance to live and not throwing it on the grill. If you think the pet bass is WRONG then maybe you should rethink Bass fishing. It is a violent sport sometimes you hook them in the eyes is that good for them? Is a hook jammed threw its body good? Fishing is not good fish period in no way whatsoever. By catching them YOU ARE NOT DOING ANYTHING GOOD FOR THEM.

And IMO that gentleman said it best.

Just because MOST of us release the fish after we catch them does that mean we are being kind to them? We are only doing it so that we or someone else can catch them and cause bodily injury and or trauma again :

It's your fish and as long as you know what your getting into and are willing to accept it I don't see a problem either

Also remember that anytime somebody is doing something that they enjoy there is always going to be someone there to say its wrong or you can't do it >

[sambrochill]

hey man i think thats awesome havin a pet bass

just take care of the guy

but be sure to post videos of feeding time some time soon, that would be awesome  

[SuskyDude]

i did this with 2 pike that were like 4inches when i caught them and they never got any bigger than 8inches and yea i had them in a 100gallon tank so.... that think will probally not get any bigger.

They probably weren't pike! Most likely pickerel.

[grimlin]

As long as it's "legal" I can't say i have a problem with it.

It's illegal here to keep game fish as pets.That's all i know.

[Eddie Munster]

Hey when it gets a little bigger, see if it'll hit a banjo minnow.  

[Low_Budget_Hooker]

As long as it's "legal" I can't say i have a problem with it.

It's illegal here to keep game fish as pets.That's all i know.

Same in RI, not "illegal" but a permit is required.

[shorefisher]

Living 60 miles from a town with store other than a local general merchandise store, so you take what you can get when you can get it. Especially wth todays gas prices. In due time there will be some darker, rocks and some fake weeds but for now he/ she is fine. She swims up to the side of the tank whenever someone approches it, its not like she sees a shadow and scatters and trys to hide. She loves the attention.

I hear you but once you get a few clumps of weeds on one side watch how much time she spends there. I bet you will see what I meant.

[JShrock07]

Hey when it gets a little bigger, see if it'll hit a banjo minnow.

Banjo Minnows are killers!!!  

[harshman]

Weither it is legal to keep him as a pet or not, was he long enough to keep out of the water in the first place? Where I'm from they have to be at least 12" long or you put them back into the water........keeping a short fish is illegal weither you are going to make him a pet of supper.

I like the idea of studing a fish out of his environment but I'd do a little more homework before just bringing one home and throwing him in a tank that you have not prepared for him to live in. Heck drop a stick in the tank or something give the dude something to hide by.

Harshman

[-HAWK-]

Why is it that it is legal to take a Largemouth Bass home and eat it, but not to keep it in an aquarium? Do they fear that the Bass will be spread to different bodies of water? Spread diseases? What is the deal here I dont get it.

[-nick-]

im getting a 125 gallon aquarium and wanna have at least 2 small largemouths in it....it comes with a pump do i need to buy a filter? what else should i have in it to keep it clean and to keep the bass alive? any help would be great...thanks

[SuskyDude]

im getting a 125 gallon aquarium and wanna have at least 2 small largemouths in it....it comes with a pump do i need to buy a filter? what else should i have in it to keep it clean and to keep the bass alive? any help would be great...thanks

Too small of a tank for two. Yes you need a filter. If you didn't know that I suggest you don't keep bass. Try getting some pet store fish.

Personally, I don't think anyone should keep bass in an aquarium.

[-nick-]

idk ive been looking into it for about a week now and ive read a 55-75 can easily hold at least one small largemouth...ive went and looked at them and 125 i believe could easily hold 2 about 4 inch largemouth...of course i would try it w/anohter fish  first...i just didnt know if bass were dif. and dindt need a filter or something...i dont see a problem with it if its going to be released when it outgrows the tank

[SuskyDude]

I don't know where you read that a 55 is enough for a LM, but that is very wrong. A 55 is barely enough to keep a bluegill. The minimum size tank for ONE LM bass, recomended by people who have been keeping native fish for years (experts if you will) is 180 gal. Most keep one in 200+

Finally, DO NOT RELEASE A NATIVE FISH BACK INTO THE WILD after you've kept in an aquarium. You run the risk of infecting the body of water with whatever disease your bass might pick u pin captivity. Trust me, it can happen. Once you take a fish home, it should be for life.

Sorry if this is not what you wanted to hear, but its the truth.

[-nick-]

yeah what i've have been hearing is all over the place...ive read this one guy had one in a 75 for over a lil over a year the only thing is with the tank is it wont get too big if you keep it in a smaller tank...from the videos i've seen the 125 gal im gettin is a lot bigger than other ppls ive seen with a lm in their tanks...but ive also heard what ur saying and that it shouldnt be smaller than 180...yet again i wasnt thinking id be keeping it until it turned into a monster bass...but that was the first time ive heard u cant rerelease it...every site ive seen ppl are saying thats what htey do is rerelease htem when they outgrow the tank...thanks for the help though

[SuskyDude]

Whatever you do,

Do not release them back into the wild. No matter what other people do.

NANFA (North American Native Fish Association) has a great forum about keeping native fish. These guys KNOW what they're talking about. Most of them have been keeping natives for decades. A good number of them are biologists, and or hold degrees in aquatics and fisheries sciences. I highly suggest you check their forum out.

I'd post a link, but I'm computer illiterate. Just google "nanfa forum".

PS. Just a tip, If you want to be taken seriously on this site, you should clean up your spelling/grammar. That last post was brutal. No offense.

[SimonSays]

Buy an Oscar! You won't get so much flak for it on the forums, they have really nice colors and they're predators like LMBs

[Peter E.]

No idea if anyone has stated this but I'm going to give you my experience with having a pet bass.

Good cover is good for the fish, Take extra care of your filtration system, and under gravel filter is a big plus. Also dont worry about the fish out growin the tank, fish grow in portportion to their enviroment. Finally if you have any crawfish traps see about getting up some bait sized ones. The fish will love it and if you catch enough of them they'll help keep the tank clean. Oh and a add a bream for added fun. They're a trip to watch interact.

Have fun with the fish and beware of infection, add any slime solutions that you can find. The fish isnt made for a super sterile enviroment.

Peter