Bluegills or Rock Bass in an aquarium??

SimonWoodstock

SimonWoodstock

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Sep 14, 2003
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This may need to go in coldwater..i have no idea.

Anyone have any info. on keeping either of these fish in an aquarium: size of tank, can they be trained to eat pellets or store bought foods, what temp the water should be.

or links to any resources....thanks!!

this stuff is hard to find
 
my friend's dad kept bluegill in a 30 g tank (there were pry 3-5 of them in there) with no heater and fed them nightcrawlers, worms, and fish pellets too i think. if you were gonna get them and didn't know what they ate, i'm pretty sure they have a pretty big range of stuff they'll eat. but you could always try things and see what they eat, ya know? hope this helps

-chip
 
You might first want to check with your Dept. of Natural Resources (or whatever they call it in your state) and make sure it's legal to keep those species in captivity.

I've not kept them myself, but I recall reading that they need really large volumes of water as they get relatively big and are messy fish.

Jim
 
Blue gills are also very territorial. During breeding, they will aggressively defend their turf, chasing and attacking much larger fish.

Definitely verify that it is legal to keep them, and what methods are legal to acquire them.

www.nanfa.org is a good resource for keeping native fish.
 
I know the reasons why native fish may be "illegal to keep in a tank", but how can you own a pond with bluegills in it, and that is not be illegal. A pond is like a giant tank. ... I doubt anyone will care to report you. ... It was a whole rainbow of colors.


The ellipsis above represent text I removed.

Members of AC agree to abide by local laws and to avoid encouraging others to break the laws. Please keep in mind that you agreed to this when you joined up.

Laws regarding the possession and transport of live fishes and fish eggs are made to protect a) the resource and b) the environment. Diseases are spread by illegal fish stocking; fisheries are ruined by the introduction of new species. There is a huge difference between a pond that had fish and stocking those fish into a pond--and that act is regulated in many states. As reponsible aquariasts, it is in our best interests to abide by these regulations. One need only look at the ban on snakeheads to see what can result when people are irresponsible and fail to obey laws and regulations.

OG
 
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Insert AC disclaimer about Ptolemy's opinions here

I would love to set up a tank like this and you guys have really got me thinking but I don't know if my 35 gallon will be big enough. If you were to get bluegills or sunfish, I know they will eat pretty much everything living but not sure about prepared foods like pellets.

All sorts of insects, worms, and small fish will definitely work as food. The other thread started on freshwater native fish said sunfish will eat crayfish as well.
 
Originally posted by JSchmidt
You might first want to check with your Dept. of Natural Resources (or whatever they call it in your state) and make sure it's legal to keep those species in captivity.
Click to expand...

they can kiss me irish....:D i will check and see if it is or not....but i dont see why it would be illegal to keep one of those, and not a fish you buy in the pet store. i was going to check w/ the local pond stockers, if they will not sell me a couple next time they have some on hand...i know this guy in LA (not las angeles) that would do it. i just dont know about tranporting a fish in a car for 7 1/2 hours. if all else fails, i can go to the creeks whenever they spawn and catch a couple babies w/ a net.

thanks for the links and comments....would the size of a tank differ in any way from a cichlid or something similar in size, or would it need a larger one? the largemouth i had when i was a kid seemed pretty active...but they get pretty big also..
 
tank size

oh yeah, i was thinking along the lines of a 55-75 gal. possibly larger if i can find a good deal. sound big enough for one of those, they are both pretty small fish compared to something like a largermouth.
 
Rock Bass

My friend kept 4 rock bass in a 90g. They grew to about 9 inches or so each, so it was pretty crowded. How many did you want to keep out of curiosity? The only thing I think should be said about the rock bass is that they "sprint" when they are scared- that might indicate a need for some extra room, but i think a 60-70 should be more than fine for 1 or two. hope that helps at all
 
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