largemouth bass and bluegill
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If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.
ChileRelleno
Aquarium Advice Addict
Even though I think I smell a Troll.......
Largemouth Bass + Bluegill = Dead Bluegill.
Its a natural predator/prey combo and if the bass is larger than the bluegill, life is gonna be tough for the bluegill.
Uncycled or overstocked tank... dead fish plants or excess food can all lead to chronic/excessively high ammonia levels.
Largemouth Bass + Bluegill = Dead Bluegill.
Its a natural predator/prey combo and if the bass is larger than the bluegill, life is gonna be tough for the bluegill.
Uncycled or overstocked tank... dead fish plants or excess food can all lead to chronic/excessively high ammonia levels.
ok im really new at this so....what do you suggest i do now or on a regular basis once i get their new tank set upthe fish are all about the same size for now the filter is rated for an eighty gallon tank and the new one will b a 55i have lots of real plants and rocks to hid in any advice on how to keep the tank healthy the fish all eat live food so amonia will b /is a prob
any advice thank you all!!!!!!
any advice thank you all!!!!!!
BillyZ
Aquarium Advice Addict
sand will be fine for your tank. I would be sure to use sterlized play sand. Be sure it is silica based and not argonite. Argonite is pure white and will cause Ph issues in your FW tank. (argonite is what you want for SW tanks). The real plants will do ok in the sand I think but I'm not a FW plant expert. How big are these two fish?
Cienfuegos
Aquarium Advice Newbie
What size tank did you say you were going to use? Both fish have to capacity to out grow a 55 gal. They also can be really messy fish, so you probably will want good strong filtration. I don't know if this will be a problem, but if the bluegill is ever small enough to fit in the largemouths mouth, it's lunch. You might want to look into silk plants. I'm not sure any live plants in the tank would go unmolested. Ammonia shouldn't be a problem if your tank has cycled. Just make sure that you're on top of cleaning any bits leftover from their lunch.
I had a longear sunfish about a decade ago. He was great, like having an oscar. good luck.
I had a longear sunfish about a decade ago. He was great, like having an oscar. good luck.
ChileRelleno
Aquarium Advice Addict
Ok, the Bluegill will need the 55gal tank all to itself, nothing smaller (preferably 75gal) as it has the potential to reach over 12"+ and up to 4lbs though 8-10" and 1-2.5 lbs is about average. Your current filtration will need to be upgraded, rule of thumb is atleast 2-3x's turnover per hour, so the 55gal will idealy need 110-165 gph of filtration just for the sunfish.
The largemouth will grow quickly with abundant livefood and no competition, this fish can get quite large and will need much much more than a 55gal. Like within a year 100gal+, and as adult weighing in at 5-20+ lbs and 2'+ will need atleast IMO a 200gal minimum.
You could get away with smaller, but would it be fair to the fish?
I know a truckstop in TX with a 800+gal tank for two Smallmouth and one Largemouth along with various panfish, minnows ect... This is a beautiful biotope tank
Sand is a good substrate and gravel would do just as well, its easier to clean feces/waste off the top of sand but you need to stir the sand regularly to keep anerobic pockets from forming and gravel collects feces/waste so it would need to be cleaned too. If you were to do a live planted tank you could avoid alot of cleaning as the natural cycle takes care of most waste in the substrate.
In a well setup/maintained tank ammonia should not be a problem regardless of what you feed as long as your not overfeeding and your filtration or yourself can cleanup after these messy eaters/poopers.
The largemouth will grow quickly with abundant livefood and no competition, this fish can get quite large and will need much much more than a 55gal. Like within a year 100gal+, and as adult weighing in at 5-20+ lbs and 2'+ will need atleast IMO a 200gal minimum.
You could get away with smaller, but would it be fair to the fish?
I know a truckstop in TX with a 800+gal tank for two Smallmouth and one Largemouth along with various panfish, minnows ect... This is a beautiful biotope tank
Sand is a good substrate and gravel would do just as well, its easier to clean feces/waste off the top of sand but you need to stir the sand regularly to keep anerobic pockets from forming and gravel collects feces/waste so it would need to be cleaned too. If you were to do a live planted tank you could avoid alot of cleaning as the natural cycle takes care of most waste in the substrate.
In a well setup/maintained tank ammonia should not be a problem regardless of what you feed as long as your not overfeeding and your filtration or yourself can cleanup after these messy eaters/poopers.
docrak
Aquarium Advice Freak
I guess there still some unanswered questions.
How big are the fish?
How old is the tank?
How long do you plan on keeping them?
What are you feeding them? How often? How Much?
Where did you get them?
One more thing, try to use punctuation; your posts are hard to read. Sound like these are a couple of fish you caught on a fishing trip. I’ve seen people keep wild caught fish in aquariums before. Stuff like sunfish does the best. Predatory fish like walleye, pike and bass really shouldn’t be kept in an aquarium because of their size potential.
How big are the fish?
How old is the tank?
How long do you plan on keeping them?
What are you feeding them? How often? How Much?
Where did you get them?
One more thing, try to use punctuation; your posts are hard to read. Sound like these are a couple of fish you caught on a fishing trip. I’ve seen people keep wild caught fish in aquariums before. Stuff like sunfish does the best. Predatory fish like walleye, pike and bass really shouldn’t be kept in an aquarium because of their size potential.
Thank you for all your input!! The largemouth is 6 inches and so are the bluegill. They all will go in the 55 for now untill the large mouth is a threat to the bluegill. The large mouth was store bought but the bluegill weren't. Untill recently when I put in two dozen small feeders, they were gone by morning, but since I placed a lot more cover and natural suroundings for the fish the feeders are still there which had me worried about amonia. This may sound like a dumb idea, but has anyone ever just used lime stone from your local garden center to combat amonia when dealing with messy predators?I mean as a fish gravel or a mix of the two. thanks again everybody, your input means a lot.
ps i wouldn't have taken any other wild fish BUT bluegill they are very plentifull around here not to mention the first two fish my five year old ever caught that happened to be beautifull.
ps i wouldn't have taken any other wild fish BUT bluegill they are very plentifull around here not to mention the first two fish my five year old ever caught that happened to be beautifull.
I do plan to get A much larger tank for thr fish as they grow, but im just getting back into the hobby and "rome wasn't built in a day".
btw I really miss my electric cat he was my best scavenger not to mention the onlt thing that could keep my two foot snake head(now dead)at bay as I said I love odd fw fish.
Whats a troll?
btw I really miss my electric cat he was my best scavenger not to mention the onlt thing that could keep my two foot snake head(now dead)at bay as I said I love odd fw fish.
Whats a troll?
docrak
Aquarium Advice Freak
That’s weird man; most pet shops won’t sell large mouth bass because it’s illegal to sell wild caught fish in most states. I have seen a peacock bass in a fish store and it kind of looks like large mouth at first glance. Don’t put limestone in your tank. Any thing that destroys ammonia just converts it into something else. The natural biological cycle is the best way to get rid of ammonia. Any new tank will have some ammonia for a short period. You should get some test kits and check your water parameters. I check my ammonia and nitrites once every couple weeks, and nitrates every other day.
One more thing, about a 1
water turn over rate in filtration would probably be a good thing. Don’t forget that both these fish are jumpers, so cover the aquarium pretty good.
One more thing, about a 1
water turn over rate in filtration would probably be a good thing. Don’t forget that both these fish are jumpers, so cover the aquarium pretty good.I honestly couldnt tell you where the bass was meaning wild or captive bread, but there were three of them in the tank about 5 inches each.I trust this guy, ive dealt with him for years(my fish shop owner) hes a good man.If you really think about it, every breed of fish is a wild fish from somewhere.Who is to say what we do (keep fish) is fare to any of our fish, its fun for us ,beautiful,and a learning experience to be proud of.I was proud of the theme(local fish)I was going with. I got some ims fome people being mean and I resent it.I was excited to be back into fish but now I think you ruined that . thank you. Is the fact that I have wild (some) fish any more careless than the idiot that buys a rare fish and it dies due to lack of care? In my state they give out info on how to keep bluegill populations down there that plentifull.You really ruined it for me guys thanks. Must be nice being that perfect. icame here to learn not be scolded
AtodaJ
Aquarium Advice Freak
Don't judge everyone by the actions of a few. I'm glad you are back in the hobby and enjoying it. Some peeps just have strong feelings about things. I personally don't care if someone keeps local fish as pets regardless of the law. I mean, the law lets fish keepers sell genetically modified frankenstein fish but I can't keep a bluegill my son caught? 8O
To quote Ab Lincoln... "If that is the law, then the law is an a**"
AtodaJ
Troll - Someone who makes inappropriate/controversial posts hoping to start a flame war thus throwing the community into chaos.
To quote Ab Lincoln... "If that is the law, then the law is an a**"
AtodaJ
Troll - Someone who makes inappropriate/controversial posts hoping to start a flame war thus throwing the community into chaos.
Fruitbat
Aquarium Advice Addict
Just to clear some of this up.....I can find no reference (permitting or denying) the keeping of native sunfish or bass in an aquarium in the Illinois Department of Natural Resources publication of 2004 Fishing Information. There is, however, a regulation (Page 5) that states:
This would seem to make selling 'wild caught' sportfish like bluegills and largemouth bass illegal in Illinois. However, it does not seem to apply to any fish that were captive-raised.
To answer the initial question...a 55 gallon tank will house the bass and bluegill for a while. The bass will certainly outgrow the tank in a fairly short time...especially if it is well-fed. The bluegill can probably stay in the 55 gallon for life. While bluegill CAN reach nearly 12 inches and 4 pounds...it is very rare for them to do so. Think of the bluegill as a cooler-water Central American cichlid in personality and requirements (bluegills are Centrarchids, not Cichlids...but the analogy still applies).
You can use sand as a substrate....though regular aquarium gravel will do just fine as well. The type of substrate will only matter if you ever decide to breed either of these fish. A well-planted area in the tank will be greatly appreciated by these fish. As for ammonia....the best way to deal with this is by doing regular 25% water changes.
daddyo72.....as far as I can tell you weren't scolded or chastized at any time in this post. People were just trying to give you their best advice and to suggest that you be aware of your state's laws regarding the keeping of native game fish in the aquarium. It is correct that many states prohibit this....it just so happens that (as far as I can tell), Illinois isn't one of them.
This would seem to make selling 'wild caught' sportfish like bluegills and largemouth bass illegal in Illinois. However, it does not seem to apply to any fish that were captive-raised.
To answer the initial question...a 55 gallon tank will house the bass and bluegill for a while. The bass will certainly outgrow the tank in a fairly short time...especially if it is well-fed. The bluegill can probably stay in the 55 gallon for life. While bluegill CAN reach nearly 12 inches and 4 pounds...it is very rare for them to do so. Think of the bluegill as a cooler-water Central American cichlid in personality and requirements (bluegills are Centrarchids, not Cichlids...but the analogy still applies).
You can use sand as a substrate....though regular aquarium gravel will do just fine as well. The type of substrate will only matter if you ever decide to breed either of these fish. A well-planted area in the tank will be greatly appreciated by these fish. As for ammonia....the best way to deal with this is by doing regular 25% water changes.
daddyo72.....as far as I can tell you weren't scolded or chastized at any time in this post. People were just trying to give you their best advice and to suggest that you be aware of your state's laws regarding the keeping of native game fish in the aquarium. It is correct that many states prohibit this....it just so happens that (as far as I can tell), Illinois isn't one of them.
reefrunner69
Aquarium Advice Addict
just tagging along
Im still not clear on the law for this. If I were to go to the lake and catch a bluegill, bass, cat etc. could I put it in my aquarium? Or is this considered illegal?
I know this just refers to selling these fish, but I would think that Illinois would not want you to take fish out of their environment.
I know this just refers to selling these fish, but I would think that Illinois would not want you to take fish out of their environment.
I have a ten inch LMBass is a 55 gallon with a filter for an 80 gallon. The bacteria in the gravel spore out after every water change, but it clears up quickly. Bass will rarely eat anything except live food. They may play with ciclid sticks but I havnt had one get eaten yet. The break is messy as well and it is fun to watch them play, until you realize the bass is hungry. If there is a local baitshop, I suggest buying shiners by the pound and putting them in an aquarium to themselves. It's is much cheaper that way an shiners eat tropical fish food. Feed them every other day, and you will retain most of them.
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