Bass & Aquariums

[Btech]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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...