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Largemouth Bass + Black Crappies?


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#1 ccarceo

ccarceo
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  • Boston

Posted 20 December 2015 - 01:44 PM

I am considering keeping either or both Large-mouth Bass and Black Crappies. Does anyone have any experience/or advice for either species? Has anyone ever kept both in the same tank? I've been able to find some info about the Large-mouths but not much about keeping crappies. Do the two species get along or should I worry about aggression. (I know with both species there is aggression to be expected, but I'm asking if mixing the two species would cause more of it?) Any advice would be really appreciated!



#2 littlen

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  • Washington, D.C.

Posted 20 December 2015 - 01:56 PM

You'll find that the LMB will be much more [food] aggressive than the BC.  Even if the bass is significantly smaller, it still has a big attitude and can keep the timid Crappie from thriving.  So the first obstacle is space.  I had 3-4 LMB in a 300g tank with an adult BC and had no issues.  The bass were anywhere between 4-8".

Also, the Crappie will adjust much more easily to captivity if you get it at a small size....2-3" maybe.  As I already mentioned, they are quite timid and can take a while to become great feeders.  The bass, not as much.  As many folks here have said before, give it a go and learn from it.  We'll give you some pointers, but the best part is actually trying it out and manipulating the environment and conditions so that they all thrive.

Good luck.


Nick L.

#3 smbass

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Posted 20 December 2015 - 05:24 PM

I have kept both before and the above is good advice. Crappie are pretty timid compared to most sunfish and it can be difficult to keep them well fed in a tank with more aggressive and especially larger species like largemouth bass. I would not consider them to be good tank mates because of how aggressive at both feeding and territory largemuth bass can be in a tank. Better tank mates for crappies would be sunfish species that have a similar disposition to crappie like Warmouth, Mudsunfish, Flier, and any of the 4 Ambloplites species (Rock basses). I would suggest at least a 75 gallon tank for crappies and probably a small group of 4-6 of them or the other similar sized fish like these I listed. You probably would want something more like a 125 gallon tank for a single largemouth bass. It would be difficult to keep much else with a largemouth. Maybe something like a Bowfin or a Gar or catfish species.


Brian J. Zimmerman

Gambier, Ohio - Kokosing River Drainage


#4 Betta132

Betta132
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  • San Gabriel drainage area

Posted 20 December 2015 - 11:33 PM

There's a Cabella's near me that has the two in the same tank, but it's the size of two SUVs stacked on top of each other. The crappie sulk around the background, but don't seem stressed, and the largemouths largely ignore them. Haven't seen them during feeding time. 

I'd suggest warmouths as companions for crappies. Warmouths will gulp down anything they can get, but they retreat once they've gotten a mouthful or two, and they aren't aggressive. Maybe a lunge or two at anything that invades their space, but other than that, they ignore anything that won't fit down their throat. 



#5 ccarceo

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Posted 21 December 2015 - 09:34 AM

Thank you for all the good advice, I'll keep the bass separate then. I knew the bass were aggressive eaters but I didn't know much about the crappies habits.



#6 Matt DeLaVega

Matt DeLaVega
  • Forum Staff
  • Ohio

Posted 21 December 2015 - 03:38 PM

Even after I got black crappies pellet trained, they would wait until after the frenzy and only then gently sip leftover pellets from the surface.


The member formerly known as Skipjack





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