Wild bluegills in an aquarium?

[LostPepperDee]

My husband and daughter went fishing yesterday. :girl: She caught two bluegills (at least that is what my husband said they are). She wanted to keep them as pets, so he went and got a 20 gallon aquarium with filter and light at Walmart. They had the fish in a cooler and by the time I got home, they were very distressed, laying sideways. :sick: I know you aren't supposed to use lake or stream water in an aquarium, but we had to get them some oxygen quickly, before they died, so we got 20 gallons of lakewater (same lake they came from) and set up the aquarium and added the water and fish to it. One was very active last night, swimming all around :dive2: , but the other, larger one stayed near the bottom and didn't move around a lot :dive: . He was the one my husband had a very hard time getting the hook out, and his mouth looks very sore. I didn't know if he would be alive this morning, but he was and has perked up a lot. He still isn't as active as the smaller one, but is defintely swimming around. Both have lost their tilt. My husband is going to get some "river rocks" from Lowes to put on the bottom of the aquarium.

My question is...what do we feed them and how do we get them to eat? We've tried earthworms, crust from bread, even a fireball (what they used to catch them with)...they are not interested. I even tried some of the tetra flakes that came with the aquarium. Are they too nervous to eat? Has anyone else kept wild fish in an aquarium? Do they survive? My husband said he had a friend who kept bluegills before, for several years, but he seems to think these fish will be able to survive on earthworms and fireballs. I tried to tell him that those might be things that are good to use a bait, but might not be what they normally eat in the wild. My daughter loves them and I would like to be able to keep them healthy and alive, but to be honest, I've never had much luck with even goldfish. The only fish I have ever been able to keep for more than 2 years is a male betta. Any suggestions, comments (positive or not) would really be welcome. :help:

Kristen

 

[Onikun]

They may not be used to their environment yet. 20gallons sounds kind of small for buegills because they can get as big as an adult hand, but who knows it might work. Treated tap water (use declorinator) should work fine for water changes but i suppose if you live near where you caught them the water you get from there might have the PH levels they are used to but might not be that clean. I go fishing sometimes and bluegills take minnows as bait, maybe go to a fishing bait store and buy some minnows or buy some feeders from the pet store. get some really small ones and see if they eat it. They are probrably used to catching live food and not dead food. With the worms they are most likely not going to fall for that again for quite a few days. Also if one of them starts going nuts like banging into the glass and such it might not be suitable for an aquarium. Oh and those river rocks you might want to clean them before you put them in the tank. you should boil them for a few minutes and maybe scrub them with a toothbrush. To be extra extra safe you can submerse them in a bleach solution for a few minutes but then you have to rinse them in a solution of water and ample amounts of water conditioner (dechlorinator). You can get a dechlorinator at walmart.

And your fish might die within the next few weeks because first of all they are wild caught and second your tank isn't cycled yet.

 

[Slappy*McFish]

A 20g isn't anywhere big enough to house bluegills. You need something around 75g+. Put them back in the lake as they're more than likely going to die.

 

[Calico Goat]

I agree with Slappy, you have to be very very careful with anything wild-caught, and unless you are very sure of what you're doing, it's best to put them back. It you really have a desire for bluegill, it may be better to let these go, get a bigger tank and order some bluegill that have been professionally introduced to tank life. Do a google search, I'm sure you'll find something.

 

[led_zeppelin]

how big are the bluegills now???

 

[Kissofthegorami]

Way too small of a tank. They need lots of fresh clean oxygenated water. You also need to cycle an aquarium before u throw in a huge bioload. Put them back in the lake fast.

 

[bigstorm]

Be careful - you may want to find out if it is legal to keep wild fish cuaght while fishing. I dont know about your state, but i believe it is illegal in Wisconsin.

Anyway - when i was a kid, my "friend" had some in his tank (30gal) and they did pretty good. They fed them worms and incests.

 

[Mykayel]

I have one right now that is about 4 inches big in a 10 gal that I just put back in the lake today because it was really too big. I stared out with 4 of them that were just over an inch long that I caught. The biggested ended up bullying the rest to death so I have a fealing that your bigger one will do the same once it recovers.

It took my fish about a week to learn what fish food was. I would try feeding them a small amount about 3 times a day and eventually they either got hungry enough to try it or they just fiugured it out. They were really fun to watch once they learned what the food was because instead of hinding when I came to the tank, they would all come up to the surface and wiggle around knowing that food was coming. Eventually I swithced to Chiclid pelots instead of flakes.

I would worry less about decorative rocks at the bottom and instead provide them with some plants or something as cover like they are used to in the wild, it will make them happier.

And if you haven't already, defineately get a bubble wand or at least an air stone to give them plenty of oxygen.

You don't really need a heater in teh tank either, during the winter I let it get cold (around 65 or so), the water that they would have been in in the wild was frozen over so I figured it was okay.

Good luck.

 

[zazz]

If you keep them, or untill you can release them, I'd think youd need to do frequent partial water changes. I think this because ,As has been pointed out, you tank isnt cycled which means toxic waste products will be accumulatigng in there. Be sure to remove any uneaten food.
As far as your daughter loving them goes, letting them go home might be the best lesson could give her.

 

[bussardnr]

in most of the country it is illegal to release a fish you've had in captivity. the only thing you may beable to do is kill it, get a bigger tank, or give it away.