largemouth bass
- Thread starter bryan87
- Start date
i used to have about 5 of them, i would go out and catch minnows for them, but when i didnt have time for that they liked bloodworms, how big is it?
Flakes are pretty much useless for big fish. Pellets are good; I like Tetra's cichlid pellets. Of course live feeders are good, but with live feeders there is always a risk of parasites. Don't feed him heavily on feeder goldfish. I think rosy reds are a better feeder; nightcrawlers, crayfish, shrimp, and various feeder insects are also good.
Frozen foods are good too. You'll spend a ton trying to feed him enough frozen foods from the LFS, at least once he's more than a few inches long. Try going to the grocery and asking for seafood that is about to expire; sometimes you can get it at a discount. The more intact it is the better; unpeeled raw shrimp with heads on are better than cooked, peeled, or headless shrimp, for example.
As mentioned, adult largemouth require a big tank- 200 gallons plus. Re-release is illegal and dangerous; if he gets too big to handle, please euthanize him or find another fishkeeper to adopt him.
Frozen foods are good too. You'll spend a ton trying to feed him enough frozen foods from the LFS, at least once he's more than a few inches long. Try going to the grocery and asking for seafood that is about to expire; sometimes you can get it at a discount. The more intact it is the better; unpeeled raw shrimp with heads on are better than cooked, peeled, or headless shrimp, for example.
As mentioned, adult largemouth require a big tank- 200 gallons plus. Re-release is illegal and dangerous; if he gets too big to handle, please euthanize him or find another fishkeeper to adopt him.
like Notophthalmus said, frozen seafood is great. bite size chunks of frozen tuna work well.
you could try to culture nightcrawlers or earthworms, buy a minnow trap from walmart and put it in your local waters overnight to catch a good amount of minnows and other food sized treats for a largemouth. bass also like crickets and some pellet foods. it might be hard to get them on pellet food, but keep trying and eventually they will eat them.
i think you might find more information on captive care of largemouth bass at www.forum.nanfa.org
everyone there keepts native fish, i have found that not many people here on AC keep native fish.
you could try to culture nightcrawlers or earthworms, buy a minnow trap from walmart and put it in your local waters overnight to catch a good amount of minnows and other food sized treats for a largemouth. bass also like crickets and some pellet foods. it might be hard to get them on pellet food, but keep trying and eventually they will eat them.
i think you might find more information on captive care of largemouth bass at www.forum.nanfa.org
everyone there keepts native fish, i have found that not many people here on AC keep native fish.
Be careful with live foods, especially from a lake or pond. You never know what sort of disease you'll be introducing so quarantine any live catch first. Also feed sparingly as live fish are high in fat, low in nutrients.
Not necessarily, parasites can easily be introduced. It's a two way street...best to be cautious IMHO.
:iagree: 110%
I manage a Park and we often keep a cold water aquarium for catching Perch and such. We use a large horse troff (the kids can view from the top). We feed them what we can get from our lake - Mostly minnows, frogs, larvae (avoid salamanders as most are threatened), and other non-aquatics such as ants, crickets, grasshopers, etc.
We NEVER re-relese back into the wild!