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Anonymous
sup /an/?
I want to start an aquarium, and I'd like to have some kind of native fish. My interest peaked when I saw people feeding their pet Bass on youtube, and I was wondering what kind of native fish work well for pets?
I was interested in Bass, but they grow fast, and I do not want a huge tank at the moment, somewhere between 20-50 gallons if possible? Which fish grow only as their environmental size allows?

A friend and I raised a bluegill in a 20 gallon for the summer that we caught, and ultimately released, he was fun. We fed it other fish, beef, scraps of misc meat, tried to make it a bloodthirsty killer, but sort of failed. Anyways, I think he would have stayed at a decent size, what other fish should I look into?

Btw, I live in Wisconsin, so I should have a fairly wide selection in the wild I'd imagine.
>> Anonymous
Why would you want an ugly, native fish when there are so many gorgeous tropical ones available for cheap?

If you must, get a minnow trap and get some little tiny ones. At least you can keep them inside to look at.
Until they grow up anyway.
>> Anonymous
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Sometimes the ugliest fish are my favorite.
Pic related.
>> Anonymous
>>327968
I was gonna say
>peaked
piqued

but it appears to work either way. lol.
>> Anonymous
>asking about native fish on an international forum
>> Anonymous
>>327985
OP here.
I did however point out where I live, any decently informed American angler would have an idea what fish the Mid-west holds.
However, I'm curious which of those fish that we have are good to keep and won't grow enormous.
>> Anonymous
First off, I suggest getting a 50 gallon tank. Bigger gives you more options. Also, the tank has to go through a cycle, so you should get some cheap fish to keep in it for a couple weeks. Feeder goldfish would work, and that way you don't need a heater.
After a couple weeks, now you can decide what you want to do. There's quite a few fish that have similar bass like personalities that aren't native fish. Also, in order to figure out the natives you have, I'd have to know where you live. Bass, pike, and all those predatory fish get way to big for a 50 gallon aquarium. You could probably keep one for a while, but it will grow and eventually need a larger tank. Don't rule out tropical fish yet, because there are many tropical predators that may interest you. Personally, I'm a fan of wolf fish, the common ones seen in most stores (Scientific name Hoplias malabaricus). These guys don't swim around much, but when food goes in the water they can be quite vicious. There are two other rarer species that I am interested in, but you probably won't see them your regular petsmart. One of the fish that i owned that REALLY had a good personality was called a Water Cow (Eleotris picta). Sadly, it died on me due to poor water quality because I got lazy. It has a HUGE mouth, and gets to 18".
You should also look into some of the larger cichlids, such as a midas cichlid. These guys may not have a large mouth like bass, but they have a very strong personality when compared to other fish.
Also there's two different species of piranha that could go in a tank BY THEMSELVES well. Elongatus piranha(larger, needs 50 gal) and sanchezi (this is the smaller one, good in a 20 gal).

So yeah, research those fish a bit and if you find some that you are interested in, i'll give you some more info on em.
>> Anonymous
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>>328023
The wolf fish interests me from my initial searches, and the images I've seen sofar. It also seems simple enough to take care of, from what little I've read sofar.
Any more recommendations like this? I like the look of the fish, especially the teeth.
>> Anonymous
Look up those two piranha i suggested, elongatus and sanchezi. Just keep in mind, not all fish of the same species act the same. Some wolf fish just hide all the time and never come out. I have a wolf i'm growing out now and he always stays still. When he swims around, he darts back to hide when i approach. Once he gets bigger i hope he changes.
There are two other wolves that you can get which stay smaller and are more active Erythrinus erythrinus (rainbow wolf fish) gets around 8 inches and will need around 30 gallons. I had a big 8" one. I also have a Gold wolf fish (Hoplerythrinus unitaeniatus) which swims around most of the time. My gold doesn't seem so aggressive, but i know if i put some smaller fish in there he'd destroy them.
>> Anonymous
50 gallon tank + 30 exodons = profit.
>> Anonymous
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>>327973
Speaking of ugly native fish, pic related

nigger

>>327968
>>Which fish grow only as their environmental size allows
If by that you mean only grows until it is stunted and dies long before its natural lifespan then all of them.


Look into many of the panfish perch, bluegill, redear sunish, green sunfish, pumpkin seed, warmouth, there are many kinds, most have much more beautiful, if maybe sometimes more subtle, coloration than aggressive imports. some of the smaller bullheads are good catfish for tanks too. there are many fish suitable.

For smaller tanks look into darters, shiners, minnows, pygmy sunfish, florida flagfish, top minnows, stone rollers, gambusia, madtoms etc...

google "fish of [you state]" for more ideas
>> Anonymous
>>327968
>Anyways, I think he would have stayed at a decent size

lol, no.

http://www.fishpondinfo.com/misc2.htm
http://www.farmertodd.com/Freshwater/Natives/default2.asp
http://www.aquaculturestore.com/fwverts.html
http://www.nanfa.org/
>> Anonymous
Something the size of a bass shouldn't be even thought about putting into a 50g tank. Most say less then 300 and even a 300g tank is to small.
http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/archive/index.php/t-15510.html

Fishless cycling is what my tanks doing right now. It takes a long time but someone like me dealing with tropical fish I dont want to waste money on fish I don't intend to keep. When I was working on my tank I went with Aquahobby.com which has the most info per site I have ever seen in lines of aquariums.

Local fish for you prolly wont be tropical so its possible to not even need a heater but its hard to say with whatever you pick.
>> Anonymous
What about Pickerels?
I've been trying to read up on those, and I guess they usually max out at 12" in captivity.
Anything about those I should know?
>> Anonymous
>>328141
like the chain in the op pic? probably a bad idea in a four foot tank or less, I bet many deaths/injuries have been due to them freaking out and smashing into the sides of the tank, good luck catching one less than a foot long to begin with anyway.

just go to petsmart and get a damn needlefish (most likely Xenentodon cancila, though it depends on the flavor of the week sometimes)
>> Anonymous
>>328177
Well maybe not the chain one.
What about Grass?
>> AnonymousPrime !/RDa1B/y1o
It seems you like the bigger stuff, so I'd definitely go for the 50 gallon if not bigger.

You can always get something like a Midas Cichlid. Not sure if they're native to Wisconsin but down here in Florida they're everywhere.

Make sure to do your research first before going into anything.
>> Anonymous
just buy a coffin, install the necessary filters and aeration devices, fill w/ water and place your 6' sturgeon in it. thats about the only vessel I can think that would hold it...and look awesome. they live to be 120yrs or so, making this fish extra cool. however, for such a size you will have to catch a wild one; you will not be able to use normal fishing gear unless you have a winch. best bet is to go below a dam when the gates are closed so they'll be trapped in little pools...if you try to just drag it out you'll probably get hurt badly since they're huge and strong (and awesome). okay, from here I'm lost so you will have to think of how to get this fish subdued, into a vehicle and then into the coffin.