Gamefish in an aquarium?

[Pharcta2]

Just an inquiry - I recently aquired a 55 gallon aquarium, and am toying with the idea of putting a few gamefish in it - crappies, a bullhead, maybe a perch or 2. I checked with the DNR and was told it is legal, as long as I purchase the fish from a dealer licensed by the DNR, and the aquarium fish WOULD count towards my possesion limit. Does anyone know of any metro area pet stores that carry game fish?

Thanks in advance!

[Guest]

The best place I know is Auqua tropics it's on Douglas DR and 36th in crystal,mn they have everything crappies northers walleye muskee and crappies!!

[irvingdog]

The easiest, best and safest bet for a comunity of game fish is a school of crappie. Anything else gets to testy over time........

[Fisher Dave]

I had an aquarium set up with several species of lake and river fish when I was younger. Crappies were ok, a little on the dirty side. The fish I did the best with were smallmouth bass, largemouth bass, channel cats, sunfish, and white bass. Walleye's also did ok, but I had a hard time with northerns and muskies .. if you could keep them alive they would always seem to find a way to get killed.

Be sure you keep them *ick* drops around for the minnows ..

[mtreno]

there is a pet shop on 66th and about 14th in Richfield that gets game fish from the dnr. there in a small strip mall - i know there is a vet clinic on the other end. had 5 walleyes from there for about a year but for some reason the stopped eating and died.

[Guest]

Bluegills and largemouth bass are very hardy. My brother had them both. The bigger the tank the better, and the fewer the fish the better. He also fed them wild food from time to time, i.e. crickets, bugs, etc. This gives the fish more variety and keeps them healthier by giving them different proteins and such.
Twin Cities Reptiles in St Paul on University Ave has game fish from time to time. I will be setting up my 35 gallon shortly.

[catchin'whopper]

From having family and friends with bass, sunnies, crappies, norhterns, catfish, and frogs and crawfish, it is definitely sweet watching fish behavior with them in the aquarium! Especially with the crawfish, you can see how they react to predators in the area. You get to see how they attack the baits and their interaction; there is such a difference between sunfish, bass, and catfish and their eating styles. makes you think when you are out on the water goign for them, and what the prey is going through!

[Caesarfishinguytoo]

This sounds like a good idea! I have always wanted to do this! I just have to wait for my bearded dragon to die and then I can convert my 55 gallon tank to a gamefish tank!

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I like Tail

[Guest]

I have had an aquarium for about 3 yrs now. I have always had gamefish in it. I currently have a bluegill and a largemouth bass. Three yrs ago I had a northern that would eat goldfish. It was fun but it got expensive. he outgrew the tank so I put him in the rum river. I have always enjoyed watching how the fish react to light and sunlight. Try to make the aquarium a realistic habitat to where you would find it. Make sure to keep it clean and have plenty of oxygen

JOE

[bass-o-matic]

I had a lg mth bass as a kid. Started off in a little 10 gal. aquarium. Outgrew that one quickly and moved to a 30 gal. Was about to outgrow that one when my air pump went out overnight and he died. He wasn't much more than a couple of inches when I got him, and he ended up weighing approx. 2lbs. when he died 2 years later. He was a picky eater. Wouldn't touch a worm, cricket, or grasshopper, but would put down the crappie minnows! Had him trained so that when he would see the minnow bucket, he would rise to the top and just wait for me to drop one in. When I did, the water would explode! It was amazing to watch. His record was 22 minnows in a row, as fast as I could drop them in. He would have heads and tails sticking out of his mouth and just keep putting them down. Once he was full though, the minnows that were left in the tank could swim around him and run into him with no fear. When he got hungry, look out! It was an awesome site.

[Crawlerman]

I only have the luxury and space to have a 30 gal set up in the basement; which from my experience is about the smallest you'd ever want. Right now all I got in it is a Crappie and a Bullhead. Bluegills and Crappies tend to get very agressive towards other fish of the same species and in smaller tanks the more agressive fish will have the tendancy to kill the others. They seem to have no problem with fish like bass, bullheads, etc...

As far as legality goes... someone told me that kids can catch and keep gamefish for pets. So if you want to get a couple for yourself, just bring a kid out fishing with. Plus it's a hard law to enforce anyways.. I couldn't imagine anyone getting caught with it allready in the tank.

[Guest]

Im certainly not encouraging illegal activity, but who wants to pay 15-30 bucks for a little gamefish that you can go out and catch on any metro lake?
I have a mixture of tropical and freshwater fish in a 55. I don't recommend doing this unless you are an experienced aquarium owner and have had fish for many years.
I keep a huge albino oscar and plecostomas. A huge upside down catfish and a walleye.
I had 2 other walleyes and a crappie too, but they make such a mess with all those big fish pooping you have to change the water every week, even with a water filter!

So Im down to 4 and its works out nicely. Also, with native gamefish. NEVER use a heater. The fish will be healthier and less stressed out. Also their metabolism won't be so high.

I had a baby muskie once, but it busted the top off when I was gone and I found it all dried up on the floor. I was sad!
If you keep pike or muskie make sure you put weights or something on the lids and plastic clip on blockers on the back.

I'll probably never get another 8" muskie again as long as I live!

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[Crawlerman]

Again.. take a kid with.. I know my nieces got a kick out of seeing fish they caught put in my tank last year...

Yes.. never use a heater.. they are coldwater fish. And if possible keep the tank in the basement so it stays cool in the summer. Didn't you need a heater for those tropical fish, Sucka? And a Bluegill vs an Oscar vs a Muskie...3 really agressive fish.. but the muskie prally wins because of teeth. I've had problems keeping bluegills together.. one usually becomes dominant and beats the other fish to death. They leave things like bullheads and bass alone though...

It is insane how much the few stores that sell them want for the fish. Exotic NA freshwater fish like Sturgeon or Gar may be worth that $30... but not a bluegill. A good idea would be to see if you can get a hatchery to sell you some...

[Cpt. Fish]

I Had a 4" largemouth over the summer in my aqurium and it was pretty awesome. He ate so many darn minnows though that I had to run down to the pond everyday to catch them. I let the bass go, and now have a green sunfish and a bullhead that I got in a scoop of crappie minnows. Man do those things grow fast!