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SE MN Bowfin


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#1 Guest_Yeahson421_*

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Posted 13 December 2010 - 09:49 PM

Hey there guys and gals, I'm new to this forum and I was wondering if any of you have any advice for collecting bowfin, more specifically in and around SE MN.

#2 Guest_daveneely_*

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Posted 14 December 2010 - 09:18 AM

Umm, for the next several months, maybe tip-ups and a minnow?

#3 Guest_Yeahson421_*

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Posted 14 December 2010 - 04:32 PM

Umm, for the next several months, maybe tip-ups and a minnow?

No, I meant for the spring, but that could be effective if I wanted an adult bowfin!

#4 Guest_Newt_*

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Posted 14 December 2010 - 05:57 PM

If you want a little one, wait until the males are guarding their broods. They'll move into shallow, weedy waters at the edges of lakes or rivers. Here it's usually in April, probably a month or so later up where you live. You'll see a seething ball of little dark fish; it's usually a little harder to see papa, though sometimes he'll give himself away by knocking against the stems of emergent plants and making them sway. Scoop up one or two with a net and you're set! The little guys can be fragile, though, and need lots of live food, so be prepared.

#5 Guest_jblaylock_*

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Posted 14 December 2010 - 06:14 PM

What the min tank size for one of those? I would love to do a gar or Bowfin tank.

#6 Guest_Newt_*

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Posted 14 December 2010 - 07:19 PM

You could probably keep a typical adult in a tank with a 6' X 2' footprint. They're not active fish. Of course, some of 'em get pretty big, 30" at least, so you'd need to plan for that eventuality.

#7 Guest_Yeahson421_*

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Posted 14 December 2010 - 08:16 PM

Hey Newt, thanks for the helpful reply, and I plan on putting him in a 10 X 10 garden pond, so I think he'll be fine when it comes to space! Do you have any ideas on what I could put in there for pond mates? I was thinking Gar/LOTS of Pickerel, what do you think? I will also have an established forgae that will consist of about 100-200 fathead minnows and some other bait fish.

#8 Guest_Newt_*

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Posted 14 December 2010 - 08:55 PM

Bowfin should do okay with gar, but I think pickerel would eventually be eaten. Bullheads might work. Just be careful to keep fish near the same size.

I don't think you can keep an adequate forage base for such voracious fish in a pond that size. You'll need to supplement with additional feeders or processed food pretty frequently. I suggest you pellet-train the fish while you have it in a tank.

#9 Guest_Yeahson421_*

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Posted 14 December 2010 - 10:28 PM

Bowfin should do okay with gar, but I think pickerel would eventually be eaten. Bullheads might work. Just be careful to keep fish near the same size.

I don't think you can keep an adequate forage base for such voracious fish in a pond that size. You'll need to supplement with additional feeders or processed food pretty frequently. I suggest you pellet-train the fish while you have it in a tank.

I know that the 200 minnows won't be adequete forage, they will be mostly for some amount of interest towards the surface for a few weeks. Also, the pond will be, for the most part, heavily planted. One problem with this is the Bullhead because I've heard that they are plant destroyers. There will also be small cracks in rocks and the like to help the survival of smaller fish. And for the Pickerel, the idea is that for the first 1-2 years they will pretty much go untouched, afterwards I plan on removing some to a tank. My main worry is if the pickerel will bother the bowfin, and same goes for if whatever other tankmates will bother him.

#10 Guest_Newt_*

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Posted 14 December 2010 - 10:43 PM

Bullheads are rooters, so delicate plants (such as typical aquarium plants) are likely to be uprooted, but they aren't going to do anything to a big clump of lilies or cattails. Other plants will be fine if planted in a pot, with some mesh or large rocks covering the soil.

My experience with pickerel is that they are uninterested in fish that are close to their own size. If it's too big to be eaten, and too small to eat them, it's not worth paying attention to.

#11 Guest_Yeahson421_*

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Posted 14 December 2010 - 11:11 PM

Ok, thanks. My plans for planting are lillies and elodea, and I don't mind if the elodea ends up floating, I will most likely pot it though. Ok, so my current stocking list is this: 1 Bowfin, 2 Bullhead (More/less?), and maybe like 4-5 Grass Pickerel. Do you have any other ideas? I'm just worried about getting gar because I don't want my Bowfin to get hurt.

#12 Guest_Irate Mormon_*

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Posted 16 December 2010 - 12:21 AM

Ok, thanks. My plans for planting are lillies and elodea, and I don't mind if the elodea ends up floating, I will most likely pot it though. Ok, so my current stocking list is this: 1 Bowfin, 2 Bullhead (More/less?), and maybe like 4-5 Grass Pickerel. Do you have any other ideas? I'm just worried about getting gar because I don't want my Bowfin to get hurt.


Bowfin and gar pretty much ignore each other. They will get along just fine.

#13 Guest_Yeahson421_*

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Posted 16 December 2010 - 04:16 PM

Bowfin and gar pretty much ignore each other. They will get along just fine.

Okay, thank you!

#14 Guest_ipchay61_*

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Posted 16 December 2010 - 06:04 PM

Catch'em in a dipnet....

Posted Image

#15 Guest_Yeahson421_*

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Posted 16 December 2010 - 06:22 PM

Catch'em in a dipnet....

Posted Image

Hahaha! I was thinking something a little smaller... LOL!

#16 Guest_ipchay61_*

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Posted 16 December 2010 - 09:47 PM

Hahaha! I was thinking something a little smaller... LOL!

LOL, that bowfin was 30-32" in length. I caught it in the 16" dipnet that you see below the fish. Scared the poop out of me when I lifted it up. That's Dustin's boot in the pic. It was released unharmed although it looks like something had taken a bite out of it's tail before I caught it.

#17 Guest_Yeahson421_*

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Posted 17 December 2010 - 05:44 PM

LOL, that bowfin was 30-32" in length. I caught it in the 16" dipnet that you see below the fish. Scared the poop out of me when I lifted it up. That's Dustin's boot in the pic. It was released unharmed although it looks like something had taken a bite out of it's tail before I caught it.

That's CRAZY!



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