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Rock bass crappies and sunnies


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#21 Guest_teleost_*

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Posted 29 March 2007 - 01:48 PM

I appologize for the typoes. SOmetimes I try to type to fast for my own good. I should really learn to look over my posts and use the edit button more often. I appologize for my errors. Anyways.... I thought a 55 would cost way more then that. Shows how much I know, huh? Sounds like a plan I will talk to my rents about it when it gets closer to my birthday. Not only do I appologize for my lack of typing skills, I would like to appologize for my obvious ignorence and me making a forum troll of myself. I thank all of you who have put up with me. And I will try to redeem myself posting about the hopefully healthy fish that will occupy my aquarium.



Typos happen (I make plenty of them) but please read your posts for an extra few seconds before you click the "add reply" button. Many people here may not know what you mean when you refer to your parents as "rents". I'm not all that old and that threw me for a second.

By definition you're not a troll. Please feel welcome to post, ask questions etc.

Please don't feel as though you need to redeem yourself. All here remember being a teen. Just look around to get the hang of others' posts. You'll be a veteran in no time.

#22 Guest_Zephead4747_*

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Posted 29 March 2007 - 01:57 PM

Thanks... I'll be sure to check my posts over again before actually posting them. I really hope I cna make this aquarium thing work. I have another question; If I added feeder minnows to the tank should I just go to a baitshop and buy some small minnows and throw in the healthiest looking ones? Is there a species I should look for? Or would it be the best for the aquarium if I trapped my own minnows? Also, are there madtoms in southeastern Wisconsin? I've never seen a madtom before, how would I distinguish it from other fish?

#23 Guest_teleost_*

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Posted 29 March 2007 - 04:00 PM

If I added feeder minnows to the tank should I just go to a baitshop and buy some small minnows and throw in the healthiest looking ones?

Personally I don't feed live food to fish unless necessary. Live foods are expensive, hard to maintain and have the unhealthy side effect of incorporating disease. Most fish will eat frozen or dry foods. I would try to train your fish to eat these foods if possible.

should I just go to a baitshop and buy some small minnows and throw in the healthiest looking ones?

If you chose to feed live minnows, it's important that you only select healthy looking fish weather you catch them yourself or buy them.
If you decide to collect you own minnows for food fish, please make sure you can ID the food item first. It's quite possible you'd collect a desirable or even threatened/endangered fish and feed them unless you can properly ID the minnows. I've not seen these publications (and cannot recommend them from personal experience) but they should help you ID your local fishes. Fishes of Wisconsin
Field guide for Wisconsin fishes

Also, are there madtoms in southeastern Wisconsin? I've never seen a madtom before, how would I distinguish it from other fish?

Yes you have madtoms in Wisconsin. You can distinguish madtoms from other catfish by the long keel like adipose fin compared to a lobe like adipose fin that other catfish have. The above books should help you with these questions. If you can't afford the first book (my top choice) you should be able to convince the local library to get one in for you. I'm certain this book will keep you busy for months.

#24 Guest_Skipjack_*

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Posted 29 March 2007 - 04:20 PM

Try this, it is the free online version of the above book. http://www.seagrant....ish/becker.html

#25 Guest_Zephead4747_*

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Posted 29 March 2007 - 04:22 PM

Thanks :)


p.s. The sunnies have started taking flake food. The smaller one grabs and spits it out? Is this ok?


edit:Would a 40 breeder or a 55 long be big enough for 2-3 green sunnies and 1-2 rock bass? I can always seperate the species in different tanks when they get larger. And a bottom feeder of course like the madtom or a perch.

#26 Guest_edbihary_*

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Posted 29 March 2007 - 05:37 PM

I appologize for the typoes. SOometimes I try to type too fast for my own good. I should really learn to look over my posts and use the edit button more often. I appologize for my errors. Anyways.... I thought a 55 would cost way more thean that. Shows how much I know, huh? Sounds like a plan. I will talk to my parents about it when it gets closer to my birthday. Not only do I appologize for my lack of typing skills, I would like to appologize for my obvious ignoreance and me making a forum troll of myself. I thank all of you who have put up with me. And I will try to redeem myself posting about the hopefully healthy fish that will occupy my aquarium.


Thanks... I'll be sure to check my posts over again before actually posting them. I really hope I cana make this aquarium thing work. I have another question; If I added feeder minnows to the tank should I just go to a baitshop bait shop and buy some small minnows and throw in the healthiest looking ones? Is there a species I should look for? Or would it be the best for the aquarium if I trapped my own minnows? Also, are there madtoms in southeastern Wisconsin? I've never seen a madtom before, how would I distinguish it from other fish?


Your apology for the spelling errors is itself full of spelling errors! I don't know if this is sarcasm, or what? The forum software has a built-in spelling checker. You will see a dotted red underline under unrecognized, possibly misspelled words, as you type. This should be your cue to correct the error before hitting the "Add Reply" button. I agree with you, Uland, there is no excuse for this sort of thing, not just from ZepHead, but from anybody. It just plain looks bad. And I agree with your comment about "rents", that briefly confused me too. Just the same ZepHead, because you are a Led Zeppelin lover, you are hereby forgiven :wink:

Before asking questions about the range of a fish ("are there madtoms in..."), I suggest you look the fish up on the NatureServe web page:
http://www.natureser...let/NatureServe
You will get a good idea very quickly. Of course, this shows natural ranges, not introduced ranges. Also, get Peterson's Field Guide to North American Fishes North of Mexico. There are range maps and illustrations in that book.

If the fish spits out the food, that's obviously not good. But give it a little time, and it may learn to accept the food. Still, I don't know of anybody who feeds flakes to sunfish. I use freeze dried, and they love it. I give them an occasional treat of live food.

#27 Guest_Zephead4747_*

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Posted 29 March 2007 - 05:52 PM

I'm really sorry. I haven't been well the last two days . Thanks for showing the spellcheck button. I didn't notice it until your post. My head is banging right now and I feel as if I'm going to throw up my dinner :( . I appologize for my poor typing skills, and will use the spellcheck button from now on. Thanks for your tolerance and good evening to all.

#28 Guest_Irate Mormon_*

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Posted 29 March 2007 - 07:26 PM

I appologize for the typoes. SOmetimes I try to type to fast for my own good. I should really learn to look over my posts and use the edit button more often. I appologize for my errors. Anyways.... I thought a 55 would cost way more then that. Shows how much I know, huh? Sounds like a plan I will talk to my rents about it when it gets closer to my birthday. Not only do I appologize for my lack of typing skills, I would like to appologize for my obvious ignorence and me making a forum troll of myself. I thank all of you who have put up with me. And I will try to redeem myself posting about the hopefully healthy fish that will occupy my aquarium.

Wally World has a 55 w/ filters and hood for $150, or you can get just the tank and hood from PetsTupid for about $100. Like others said, you can build a stand out of 2X4's for very little $$. Not a bad deal at all. Hey, you can sell your unwanted PlayStation games and buy it yourself!

#29 Guest_Zephead4747_*

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Posted 29 March 2007 - 10:20 PM

I don't buy consoles anymore :\ So I have nothing like that to sell. I play 2-3 older computer games and that's about it. I'm not a spoiled kid like that. I don't get everything I want. My hobbies are: hunting,fishing,playing bass, weight lifting, and aquarist will be the next. Currently I have applied for a job and am waiting to see if I get hired :) .


p.s. I was feeding them earthworms for a few days, throwing a few flakes in the bowl at the same time. Today I just put flakes in and the larger one ate them readilly but the smaller one just seemed to play with them.

#30 Guest_hmt321_*

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Posted 30 March 2007 - 08:58 AM

to move them solidly to flakes, with hold food for a few days, (depending on age most fish can go a few week w/o eating, w/o any permenant damage)

I have a little system i use for breaking a fish to pellets or flake (mainly LEPOMIS, some fish will never readily eat pellets or flake, LEPOMIS will though)

1) wild fish goes in a tank

2) feed live crickets, worms, frozen blood worms, stuff like that for about 7-10 days (the fish will very quickly associate your presence with food)

3) withhold food for 2 days or so, and try pellets or flake (most times a Lepomis will either eat right away, or grab a pellet and spit it out) remove uneaten food. I usually try and feed once a day until they get with the program. Also getting a group to eat is always easer than an individual (from past experience) If your fish do not eat after about a week or so, I would resume feeding live/ frozen foods, but i would feed stuff that floats (get them used to eating off top of the water) feed heavy for a week or so and then starve, and try the pellets again.

My catfish have never been consistent in eating habbits, my big speckled madtom will eat floating pellets with my Lepomis Humilis (orange spots) and did so from the 1st, I have a few smaller tadpole madtoms that I almost never see except at night, i just drop a few sinking carnivore wafers every day or so in the plants, and I think they eat them.

#31 Guest_Zephead4747_*

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Posted 30 March 2007 - 12:55 PM

Nice idea with the food adapting tank. My fish have started swimming with their fins fully up. This is a good sign, right?

#32 Guest_gerald_*

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Posted 30 March 2007 - 03:17 PM

Man i bugged the hell out of pet shop owners & local fish club gurus when i was 14 (not many forums in the 1970s). thats how we all learned and keep learning ... and by killing a few fish along the way through ignorance and misunderstanding. We're just THRILLED to have young folks in here at all, especially those with passionate interest.

BTW a 40 gal (48 x 13 x 16 inch) has the same base area, and thus the same fish capacity, as a 55 gal (48 x 13 x 20). Most fish dont care about the tank's height, and i find shallower tanks easier to keep clean.

Northern longear would be a good local sunnie you could keep, and might mix OK with med-size stonecat, madtoms, spotfin & common shiners, redbelly & blacknose dace, stoneroller, blackstripe & banded killie ... all in S Wisc. Darters are really cool but a bit trickier to feed and keep healthy -- better not to mix them with larger fish.

I appologize for the typoes. SOmetimes I try to type to fast for my own good. I should really learn to look over my posts and use the edit button more often. I appologize for my errors. Anyways.... I thought a 55 would cost way more then that. Shows how much I know, huh? Sounds like a plan I will talk to my rents about it when it gets closer to my birthday. Not only do I appologize for my lack of typing skills, I would like to appologize for my obvious ignorence and me making a forum troll of myself. I thank all of you who have put up with me. And I will try to redeem myself posting about the hopefully healthy fish that will occupy my aquarium.



#33 Guest_Irate Mormon_*

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Posted 30 March 2007 - 04:33 PM

I don't buy consoles anymore :\ So I have nothing like that to sell.


Ok, then when your parents tell you to turn down the amp for about the millionth time because of the incessant thumping that is penetrating through the walls, then you can sell your bass and get an aquarium! Or maybe get a Breedlove acoustic bass instead :-)

When I was 14 I wanted to work at this one pet store so bad I couldn't stand it. My grandmother recommended that I volunteer to work for free. I did this until a job came open and I was hired to fill it. This wouldn't work any more, I think, because business owners are too afraid of getting sued. But if there is a Mom and Pop LFS, you might give it a shot. It's a good way to get deals on stuff too - they may sell to their employees at cost.

#34 Guest_teleost_*

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Posted 30 March 2007 - 04:42 PM

Ok, then when your parents tell you to turn down the amp for about the millionth time because of the incessant thumping that is penetrating through the walls, then you can sell your bass and get an aquarium! Or maybe get a Breedlove acoustic bass instead :-)

When I was 14 I wanted to work at this one pet store so bad I couldn't stand it. My grandmother recommended that I volunteer to work for free. I did this until a job came open and I was hired to fill it. This wouldn't work any more, I think, because business owners are too afraid of getting sued. But if there is a Mom and Pop LFS, you might give it a shot. It's a good way to get deals on stuff too - they may sell to their employees at cost.


Noooooo! Don't sell the bass. Cut grass for a couple of months and you'll have enough cash for a used tank, hood/light, stand and filter. Besides, your bass (an instrument you've grown accustom to) will never fetch a price you could replace it with easily.

Do guys your age still cut grass in the neighborhood for a few bucks?

#35 Guest_Zephead4747_*

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Posted 30 March 2007 - 05:37 PM

I wasn't planning on it :shock:

I do chores and get paid like 12.50$ a week. I'm only asking for money for my birthday so whatever I don't use on the fish tank and assecories will be spent on probably fishing stuff.


Our neighborhood isn't really that close. 2 of the people are new residents. Another one is a younger guy and his girlfriend,or a single mother with a son.

#36 Guest_Zephead4747_*

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Posted 30 March 2007 - 05:43 PM

Man i bugged the hell out of pet shop owners & local fish club gurus when i was 14 (not many forums in the 1970s). thats how we all learned and keep learning ... and by killing a few fish along the way through ignorance and misunderstanding. We're just THRILLED to have young folks in here at all, especially those with passionate interest.

BTW a 40 gal (48 x 13 x 16 inch) has the same base area, and thus the same fish capacity, as a 55 gal (48 x 13 x 20). Most fish dont care about the tank's height, and i find shallower tanks easier to keep clean.

Northern longear would be a good local sunnie you could keep, and might mix OK with med-size stonecat, madtoms, spotfin & common shiners, redbelly & blacknose dace, stoneroller, blackstripe & banded killie ... all in S Wisc. Darters are really cool but a bit trickier to feed and keep healthy -- better not to mix them with larger fish.



I never really see any of these fishes. Most of the minows here are of the pinhead sort. I have acces to a section of the pidgeon river near my home. Otherwise I have to travel. (no efficient way) to attempt to catch species like that. My father doesn't tolerate pussyfooting around with a net on fishing trips.

P.S.
About the tank:My dresser is 33-34 inches wide. A 40 gallon breederis 36 inches. Would this have the same capacity as a 48 inch 40 gallon long? If it's a difference I can of course, Go for the 40 long.

#37 Guest_bullhead_*

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Posted 30 March 2007 - 08:52 PM

I don't think that a dresser would support a 40. That's about 400 pounds, and the stand needs to be stable, even, and strong (not warped or wobbly). A 10 might work OK on the dresser. Remember, the tank will be an anchor, anything with an aquarium on top is hard to move. Also, the top finish of the dresser will get messed up by water so don't do this if it an heirloom.

Most of the species listed by gerald would be caught in streams and creeks. Longear sunfish are listed in WI, but I have never seen one. "Fishes of Wisconsin" does show longears being collected near Sheboygan. NatureServe (http://www.natureser...let/NatureServe) shows it as "imperiled" in WI, but I do not think that there is any protected legal status.

#38 Guest_Zephead4747_*

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Posted 30 March 2007 - 09:06 PM

Hm. I'll have to look for another place to keep it. Maybe I'll get rid of my desk and make a stand for it.

Would sink cutouts make a good top for it?


p.s. I have caught longears fishing. I believe one of the spots was on long lake. It's a public lake that you need either a yearly sticker or a one day sticker for. It is also populated with greens, bluegills, pumpkinseeds(I think), redear, and of course largemouth, northern, yellow perch, and supposedly walleye.

#39 Guest_NateTessler13_*

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Posted 31 March 2007 - 01:35 PM

Try this, it is the free online version of the above book. http://www.seagrant....ish/becker.html


Skipjack, good to see you're putting that link to use. I posted it under in some other topic, and barely anyone responded to it. Good to see people are taking advantage of this free resource of one of the greatest books about North American Native Fish.

#40 Guest_Zephead4747_*

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Posted 31 March 2007 - 01:39 PM

Yeah, I've been playing in that book for like the last half hour :) . Too bad it doesn't tell me what places actually have "x" fish.




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