Large or Small Mouth Bass
- Thread starter phil_ip
- Start date
well channel cats can get very large also i have seen them reaching 18" in a home aquarium. your best bet in my opinion would be to go with some panfish like a bluegill or two maybe a rock bass(very territorial) if u want a nice cleanup fish a yellow bellied bullhead very nice looking fish and will probably max out about 10 to 12". i had a bluegill my daughter caught for about 2 years the heater i had in the tank to maintain the temp went bad and cooked rocky. i would never use another heater for panfish as they dont require it they can do ok in cooler water 50 to 80 degrees thats a pretty wide span. i mean they are cool fish and bluegills will get quite large. i dunno where ur at but yellow perch make nice pets they need somewhat cooler water i would say no more than 75. again not knowing ur local makes it hard to suggest more exotic natives but. first and foremost u need to make sure its legal for the average hobbyist to keep natives as pets or if a special permit is required by the state in which u live. if your dead set on keeping bass i would say that a smallmouth is going to be your best bet. remember smallies as well as largemouths eat alot and small fish is a main staple in thier diet along with insects, insect larvae, crustaceans, invertabrates such as earthworms,they are opportunistic feeders always lookin for the easy meal. but seriously i wouldnt suggest trying to keep a bass in anything less than a 250 gallon tank u have to fair to the fish also.
Basic Info On The American Black Bass And A Picture 
ok basic info largemouth bass can tolerate water temp from 58-85 degrees, a lot higher than low 70's. since most largemouths came from florida and their water in the summer time can exceed 80 degrees. The only problem with this temp is that they are very active and are always hungry, it involves metabolism, in short the warmer it is the more they eat, if the water temp drops below 54 they shut down and anyfood they eat goes undigested which will lead to health problems, favorite foods are small fish, crustacians, and insects (when smaller). Since they are predators it will be very hard for them to accept pellots, if ur lucky they might take freeze-dried foods. They prefer slow moving rivers, lakes or ponds with heavy aquatic vegitation. The smallmouth requires streams and rivers that are clear and cool. the temp needs to be from 52-75 with 75-77 being the highest! they do grow a little smaller than largemouth bass but they are way more aggressive. Small mouth bass are predators too and will eat the same things as the largemouths.
ok basic info largemouth bass can tolerate water temp from 58-85 degrees, a lot higher than low 70's. since most largemouths came from florida and their water in the summer time can exceed 80 degrees. The only problem with this temp is that they are very active and are always hungry, it involves metabolism, in short the warmer it is the more they eat, if the water temp drops below 54 they shut down and anyfood they eat goes undigested which will lead to health problems, favorite foods are small fish, crustacians, and insects (when smaller). Since they are predators it will be very hard for them to accept pellots, if ur lucky they might take freeze-dried foods. They prefer slow moving rivers, lakes or ponds with heavy aquatic vegitation. The smallmouth requires streams and rivers that are clear and cool. the temp needs to be from 52-75 with 75-77 being the highest! they do grow a little smaller than largemouth bass but they are way more aggressive. Small mouth bass are predators too and will eat the same things as the largemouths.
