anybody ever raised a largemouth bass in an aquarium *UPDATE*

[SillyChicken]

Maybe he's adjusting to the type of water you have. Give him a few days.

 

[Akane]

Short term such fish could be brought up to size in a tank. Long term these fish should be in at least a pond. They will end up stunted which is very bad for their health and leads to a very early death compared to what they could have lived. That myth that fish only grow to the size of their tank is because they stunt and die from stress before getting any bigger.

The problem with keeping them only a short while and turning them lose is that you've introduced a whole bunch of potential pests and germs that aren't native to their habitat. Feeder fish from stores are notorious for carrying health problems. If you release the fish back in to a river or lake you could be introducing a lot of non native illnesses. You need to plan for such fish to end up in a pond or on your plate eventually.

If you want natives to keep there are several smaller sunfish that fit in aquariums and are even kept in other countries for their color. The green sunfish is the smallest and a pair will fit in a 20g but they a bit agressive. Red ear sunfish are also small enough for tanks toward the larger end like 55-75gallons. Then there are all the various darts and minnows as well as a few of our own native bottom dwellers. It's possible to set up a long term properly stocked tank from US natives. You just need to do some investigating and research in to other species.

 

[lcw]

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alright.

 

[lcw]

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thank you. will he still be stunted in his growth if i get a monsterous tank??

 

[Pet Duck Boy]

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thank you. will he still be stunted in his growth if i get a monsterous tank??

How big does monsterous mean to you? I spent a few years keeping monster tropicals and native fish, from gar, bass, sturgeon, crappie, darters, just about everything I could catch. Eventually the food cost got to be too much, so I sold the fish and tanks. For a single largemouth a 300 gallon tank would suffice for life. you might even be able to add a few sunfish too. But even that is the minimum. Northern stranges tend to grow slower as apposed to the southern strains, such as the florida largemouth. My Florida largie grew 15+ inches in the first year, with 78-80 degree temp and worms, feeder fish,and insects. Keep in mind these fish are a HUGE pain to feed. If you rely solely on feeder fish you might need to buy 200+ goldfish a week for a 2-3 pound largemouth. IMO it's not worth it. My largie grew up to 4 pounds before I eventually got tired of it and sold it. Gar, sunfish, and others are more worth it.

 

[Pet Duck Boy]

Also, here's the site I used to belong too where I learned everything about keeping rare and exotic large fish. www.monsterfishkeepers.com

 

[lcw]

Quote:
thank you. will he still be stunted in his growth if i get a monsterous tank??

How big does monsterous mean to you? I spent a few years keeping monster tropicals and native fish, from gar, bass, sturgeon, crappie, darters, just about everything I could catch. Eventually the food cost got to be too much, so I sold the fish and tanks. For a single largemouth a 300 gallon tank would suffice for life. you might even be able to add a few sunfish too. But even that is the minimum. Northern stranges tend to grow slower as apposed to the southern strains, such as the florida largemouth. My Florida largie grew 15+ inches in the first year, with 78-80 degree temp and worms, feeder fish,and insects. Keep in mind these fish are a HUGE pain to feed. If you rely solely on feeder fish you might need to buy 200+ goldfish a week for a 2-3 pound largemouth. IMO it's not worth it. My largie grew up to 4 pounds before I eventually got tired of it and sold it. Gar, sunfish, and others are more worth it.

well thank ya. that helps...