First time bass/Crappie keeper HELP!

Well, I made a topic in the pickeral section looking for how to care for them, but i don't think I'm ready for them. I can easily catch a 3'' bass at my local lake. and a crappie is a little harder but they are out there. I have a 55 gallon tank. How much should I feed them and how often? I have a rocky bottom is that okay for them? and lastly anything else that I will need to know when taking care of them? Thanks I really appreaciate it. Also how much do feeder fish cost? I have a 12 gallon tank and I'm going to put them in there, but could I feed my bass or crappie guppies? the guppies reproduce like no other and it would save me money and gas too go back and forth to the pet store. I'm concerned on mainly how many times a week I feed them. thanks again!

Edited by nerfgunner, 07 May 2008 - 01:19 PM.

Didn't you just agree that a bass is too small for a 55g in the other thread?

Didn't you just agree that a bass is too small for a 55g in the other thread?

No, what i said was that bass and the pike won't get along so I wouldn't put them together. which would lead to me not getting a bass. I want something easier and affordable. Thanks.

How long do you plan to keep a bass and/or crappie in the 55?

I had a smallmouth (approx. 8") in a 55 for a month or so. It did fine in there, as I kept up with waterchanges and feeding it frozen shrimp, but I wouldn't do it again. The reason being is that bass (from what I understand) like more room than a 55 gallon tank can provide. They get big and can get aggressive.

My advice would be to wait until you can have a bigger tank (at least 100 gallons) to start housing bass (long-term anyways). If got the room - a cheap route to go is buy to a poly-livestock tank at a local Menards or farm-based store (Tractor Supply Company for example). A 100 gallon usually runs around $50-$60. At least a 100 gallon tank will give you more time to get a large enough tank/pond bought/built for your fish.

How long do you plan to keep a bass and/or crappie in the 55?

I had a smallmouth (approx. 8") in a 55 for a month or so. It did fine in there, as I kept up with waterchanges and feeding it frozen shrimp, but I wouldn't do it again. The reason being is that bass (from what I understand) like more room than a 55 gallon tank can provide. They get big and can get aggressive.

My advice would be to wait until you can have a bigger tank (at least 100 gallons) to start housing bass (long-term anyways). If got the room - a cheap route to go is buy to a poly-livestock tank at a local Menards or farm-based store (Tractor Supply Company for example). A 100 gallon usually runs around $50-$60. At least a 100 gallon tank will give you more time to get a large enough tank/pond bought/built for your fish.

i would suggest a 150 gallon or larger for bass, they get real large, and have been known to bust tanks if stirred up, think of a 6-7lb bass slaming into the side of your tank!

the VERY minimum id put a bass in is a 120 gallon tank (4x2x2) or a 125 (6x1.5x1. bass eat alot of live foods and make a mess, a 55 would be good for a bass upto 6" tops id guess.

a grass or redfin pickeral would probably be alright in a 55 gallon tank.

matthew

Didn't you just agree that a bass is too small for a 55g in the other thread?

i think you ment to say he agree'd the bass is too large for a 55 gallon

55 gallon tanks are great display tanks for smaller fish, being only 12.5" wide you shouldnt put a fish that will grow larger than 8" in a 55 gallon tank.

assuming its a standard 48x20x12.5 tank

matthew

Forget the black bass, what about rock bass and their relatives? they looks like mini bass and a smaller species called shadow bass would be nice fish for your 55gal tank. Maybe a single rock bass?

Forget the black bass, what about rock bass and their relatives? they looks like mini bass and a smaller species called shadow bass would be nice fish for your 55gal tank. Maybe a single rock bass?

Agreed. I started with LMB and SMB when I first got into this 4 years ago. I don't see myself ever keeping them again. Yes, they're very cool, but they need too much space and too much food. You also severely limit the tankmates. My LMB lived peacefully with a grass pickerel for several months. But... the bass was growing faster than the pickerel, and one day I came home to find him with 1" of pickerel tail sticking out of his mouth. They were both about the same length (5"?) at the time. Yikes!

I'd stick with sunfish. Rock bass and warmouths both look like little bass, more or less, without the hassle, space requirements, and ability to eat similarly-sized tankmates...

Cheers, Jase

I agree with the above, and would like to add that green sunfish are also good substitutes for black bass. They are big-mouthed, aggressive feeders with an alert, inquisitive attitude, and get large enough to be impressive without being tank busters.

i think you ment to say he agree'd the bass is too large for a 55 gallon

55 gallon tanks are great display tanks for smaller fish, being only 12.5" wide you shouldnt put a fish that will grow larger than 8" in a 55 gallon tank.

assuming its a standard 48x20x12.5 tank

matthew

Opps, crossed my words. I meant to say he agreed the 55 g was too small. mea culpa.

I agree with the above, and would like to add that green sunfish are also good substitutes for black bass. They are big-mouthed, aggressive feeders with an alert, inquisitive attitude, and get large enough to be impressive without being tank busters.

I love Green Sunfish - great fish. Definitely a species I would take over a LMB (maybe even a SMB) anyday.

Smallmouth bass need a very long tank, as they are extremely active! I had one for a few weeks, but felt bad for him being in such a small space so I put him in my outdoor pond instead. He still comes to the top whenever he sees me still, which is pretty funny to watch.

Thank you for the great responeses anything on a black crappie and I tend to let bass go back in the wild before it's too big.

http://forum.nanfa.o...hp?showtopic...

What Drew is telling you is that you never, NEVER release a captive-held fish back into the wild. That's a core part of the NANFA code of ethics. The primary reason is the risk of spreading disease. It's practically impossible to keep a tank isolated from other fish and all possible sources of disease, so you need to treat all of your captive fish as potential carriers of all sorts of diseases. Releasing back to the wild could spread those diseases.

Of course, there are plenty of other reasons, too. Releasing bass into bass-free water could have a huge impact on that lake/pond. Introducing non-local fish could screw with the gene pool. The list goes on on and on, but trust the professionals and people who have been through this discussion dozens of times: Once you keep a fish, it's yours for good until you decide to send it to a better home (another capable NANFA member), or euthanize it. Releasing it is simply not an option.

THAT'S why folks are telling you that you simply don't keep largemouth/smallmouth bass without a *huge* tank, and redfin/grass pickerel are the only members of the pike family you can keep. If you decide to keep "small" bass, they eventually get bigger and you need to 1) buy a bigger tank, 2) find another NANFA member to adopt them, or 3) euthanize them. Most of us would agree that taking in a fish knowing that there's a good chance you might need to euthanize it later just because it grows too big isn't a very ethical decision to make.

As for the crappie, I had a black crappie in a 100 gallon stock tank for about a week or so. Not a real active fish (from my experience - at least during the day), liked to stay under cover of driftwood or large rock caves. Beautiful fish, just not a daytime watcher. Now a big tank with a moonlight might be better suited for them...

Ok, thanks for the info. I still can't come up with what I want yet maybe a perch or crappie and or both?

I think perch & crappie would do well together. They're both pretty sedate fish (until feeding time). Just check your local laws to be sure you're allowed to keep gamefish alive. It's against the law in many/most states.

-Jase

And please add your location to your profile for that very reason Jase just mentioned.

What Drew is telling you is that you never, NEVER release a captive-held fish back into the wild. That's a core part of the NANFA code of ethics. The primary reason is the risk of spreading disease. It's practically impossible to keep a tank isolated from other fish and all possible sources of disease, so you need to treat all of your captive fish as potential carriers of all sorts of diseases. Releasing back to the wild could spread those diseases.

Of course, there are plenty of other reasons, too. Releasing bass into bass-free water could have a huge impact on that lake/pond. Introducing non-local fish could screw with the gene pool. The list goes on on and on, but trust the professionals and people who have been through this discussion dozens of times: Once you keep a fish, it's yours for good until you decide to send it to a better home (another capable NANFA member), or euthanize it. Releasing it is simply not an option.

THAT'S why folks are telling you that you simply don't keep largemouth/smallmouth bass without a *huge* tank, and redfin/grass pickerel are the only members of the pike family you can keep. If you decide to keep "small" bass, they eventually get bigger and you need to 1) buy a bigger tank, 2) find another NANFA member to adopt them, or 3) euthanize them. Most of us would agree that taking in a fish knowing that there's a good chance you might need to euthanize it later just because it grows too big isn't a very ethical decision to make.

It's not just a violation of NANFA's ethics but is illegal in most states and plainly stated in fishing regulations.