Keeping a Bass as a pet?

[Prylex3]

The other day I landed a small bass in the shallows that was pretty beat up. Needless to say he is back here in my room in a small 10 gallon tank. With the huge loss of the bass hatchlings this spring (due to some "weird weather" and "disease" that Fish and Game did not further elaborate on) I figured I'd save a fish. Haha yes, I saved one fish but hey if this fish lives long enough to spawn it will be worth it. Anyway, he is doing quite nicely but seems to eat a lot.

By a lot I mean my 3.5" bass will consume about 10 of these little zebra guppies I buy at the pet store in one day. That makes his belly a bit big... but give it a day and he'll look anorexic. But if I buy the other feeder gold fish, he won't eat them because they are too big. Nor will he eat worms I drop in there. I'm out of ideas.

So do you guys have any idea what I could feed him? These 22 cent guppies will start adding up. Now in the wild there are other small fish, crawdads, bugs, and amphibians to be eaten right? Well not so much here at the petstore. I want to keep him around until spring then release him and hopefully he won't be a pansy and will survive. Assuming he is all healed up cause right now there are some pretty deep gashes and holes in him with some torn up fins.

Oh yeah my roommate is not so fond of me buying some crickets and having them around to try and feed him. You know incase they get loose and terrorize our apartment.

[racer34v]

i have a 55 gal aquarium set up with 2 gills and a mud bass (about 3 inches) and about a 8 inch bass i caught out of my buddies pond that loves to eat everything, hes eaten a crayfish, shiners, bluegill minnows( about 2 - 3 inches) leeches, grasshoppers, worms and frogs. I recommend buying a minnow trap ( about 5 bucks and the round one works the best for me) and leave it by shore tied to a tree and when your done fishing pull the trap out and take the food home

alan

[Fishie]

Hey sounds like a cool Idea. How big does the tank go to be? I think maybe I would like to try this and how often do you got to change the water. I think maybe some suckers could clean up the tank but I don't know?

[Dyas]

I would let it grow till it got to about 16 or 17 pounds and then carry it out back to the pond and act like I just caught it and it would be a new Alabama state record

[racer34v]

haha... i doubt they get that big in a tank... i have had mine 3 months though and its grown over an inch.... i havent cleaned the tank yet but i need to..... suckers dont work because they get devoured.....

alan

[NJBassDevil]

I may try to do that if I have a big enough tank. I don't know how many gallons it is tho. Doesnt the bass need cover and stuff like that? Do you guys put filters in the tank? I do think it would be fun to keep one.

[zooker]

lol i don't have fish in my tanks. i am at my girlfriends house now and sitting in front of 4 100 gallon fish tanks. containing 12 snakes. inculding "moses" a 10' articulated python. i don't have snakes my self they are my girlfriends pets..

zooker

[WTL]

I've kept bass, bluegill and even brown trout in aquariums before with differening levels of sucess.

Heres what I would say. First, don't get attached, gamefish will die suddenly and quickly, even if you've had them a while. The trout, which I didn't think had a shot at 2 weeks, lasted almost a year and floated to the surface one day - it happens, be a man, get over it.

Next, the easiest food is probably just nightcrawlers. Stay away from minnows, they can actually carry parasites and infect the fish. I've heard of some fish being weened on to pellets, I have a little bluegill in a 60 gallon tank right now with the turtle and the bluegill manages to subsist mostly on reptile pellets.

Pay attention to the temperature, you must have a small thermometer. I remember I had to keep the trouts water below 70, so I actually used to add ice almost daily. It was a bit of a hassle, but the trout actually kinda became a localized dormroom attraction so I guess it was worth it.

You need good filtration. There is a big difference between how much waste a gamefish produces and how much those little tropical fish produce. Luckily, good filters can be had online for around 20 something bucks. I use an aquaclear.

Hope this info helps. Good luck.

[HulaPopr]

My friend has got a 55gal tank with about 10 baby bass in it, 1 warmouth, about 5 baby crappie, and 2 baby florida softshell turtles. Anyways, he takes a 5 gallon bucket and fills it with water then he takes a net like this

http://www.basspro.com/servlet/catal...rTarget=browse

and he nets in grasses, lilies, and in shallow water near land. You will get so many baby crawfish, baby catfish, grass shrimp and minnows, its unbelievable. Just drop thoes into the tank and watch a bass smack it.

[HuckFinn]

I had a bass that when I caught it, it was the width of palm of my hand. Put it in a 55 gallon tank with real good filtration, kept the temp around 65. Fed him feeder gold fish from the pet shop. I think they were 10 or 12 for a dollar. He lasted almost two years and got to be about a pound or so. My problem occured when I got a blue channel cat to clean the bottom of the tank. ( the bass ate all of the smaller cats I got from the pet shop to clean the tank) Well, the blue got real big real fast and started banging the bass around. I released the cat, and a week or so later released the bass. Oh, I also set a minnow trap while fishing to bring home food for the bass.
good luck, I really enjoyed that fish

[KH.]

Fish Wont Grow Bigger Than Surroundings A Bass In A 5 Gallon Tank Isnt Goint To Grow To 17 Pounds Dyas But I Think They Are Pretty Cool To Have Still