Feeding a Bass

Steelies4Dayz

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Oct 30, 2015
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So I recently got or caught a 2" Smallmouth bass I think. Looks just like one, just has a weird purplish,pink glaze on the belly? Anyways I have 1" to 3" minnows in there with him with 2 algae eaters in there. Is he going to eat the minnows in there? I have tropical fish flakes which I feed the minnows and they are pretty good, one day i've seen that the Bass had a few flakes (pretty big) and really hasn't eaten since. I have a 5g which I know is pretty small for bass and 20 minnows. But I have a whisper and a air pump in there with little rocks but NOT the ones you get from normal stores. I also have not treated the tap water so there could be chlorine! Any Advice would be Helpful thanks! IMG_4365.JPGIMG_4363.JPG
 

Dee eng

Giant Snakehead
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Nov 1, 2015
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Bro, you need to treat that water. Go get some prime or any kind of water treatment. Your lil guy won't last! When was the last time you change the water? 5g isnt much for that many fish, they are small but they do poop a lot! Have you check for ammonia? Maybe that's why he is eating, also he's prob stressed, prob need some stress coat too. This is what you'll need. Hope this helps! Good lucky buddy! image.jpg
 
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Betta132

Jack Dempsey
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Oct 18, 2015
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That group needs a 10g, absolute minimum, and a 20g would be better.
You absolutely need to treat tap water before using it for fish or you're slowly poisoning them. Living in chlorinated water is very painful for fish.
I don't think that's a bass, can you post a better picture? He looks more like a sunfish. If he is a bass, he's going to get very large and will need a large tank. If he's a sunfish, he's still going to need a large tank.
If your tank isn't cycled, he's probably suffering from ammonia burns. It's kinda like if you forced a land animal to constantly inhale smoke. The fact that he isn't eating those minnows means that something is very wrong with that fish.
The filter and air stone do absolutely nothing to make the water cleaner. They oxygenate the water, and the filter helps to remove solid wastes, but they don't make it okay to keep a lot of fish. You need to do a whole lot of water changes.
A 5g is very small. Those minnows will need more space as they grow, they look like shiners.
Your algae eaters are probably an aggressive species that will get quite large and attack your other fish. Also, they need a much larger tank and will starve once they start to grow, and they don't eat algae once they get past juvenile stage.
You need more hiding places so the fish won't be stressed. Get some fake plants, or even better, some real plants. That jar doesn't count as a hiding place, the fish can tell that it's transparent.
You'll want to do some research on whether or not it's legal for you to keep game fish where you live. In many states, it isn't.
You'll want to do some research, period. And don't trust your pet store, pet stores usually lie to get you to buy things. Remember, they make money if a fish dies and you come to replace it, and they often don't care if people end up with their fish suffering.
 
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Steelies4Dayz

Feeder Fish
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Oct 30, 2015
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Alright, thanks well my Grandfather has a Yellow Perch,Bass and a Bluegill with pumpkin seed Pond so that's where I got the bass from. It's hard to tell whether it is a Sunfish or a Smallmouth! Here are some more pics!

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xraycer

Arapaima
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Sep 5, 2013
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Looks like some sort of sunfish not a smb....the bod is too tall. If you have city water then you should treat with dechlorinator, but If you have well water, then no need to treat.
 
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MN_Rebel

Blue Tier VIP
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Aug 5, 2008
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Definitely not a bass. Looks like a sunfish, possible a green sunfish or a warmouth.
 
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Betta132

Jack Dempsey
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Oct 18, 2015
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Sunfish, possibly warmouth, hard to tell with him that freaked out.
Do you have a Rubbermaid container that you could transfer everything into, something larger than that tank? Alternately, if everything in that tank has never been exposed to fish from anywhere other than the pond, you can put everything back until you get a better tank for them. It's honestly rather irresponsible to capture fish that you can't properly house.
Your sunfish is going to need at least a 45g tank, and it's eventually going to eat all of those minnows.
Once he's in a less stressful environment, try feeding him frozen bloodworms or mysis.
 
5 gallon tanks are for the experts in nano tanks, otherwise they are unmanageable. If a 5 gallon is all you can have, I might suggest a beta or 2-3 fancy guppies with some live plants, like java moss.
 

divemaster99

Dovii
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Jan 10, 2014
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That looks like a sunfish to me, slightly elongate, so maybe a Green or Warmouth. Either way, you'll need at least a 30 gallon eventually for it to be comfortable. That's a lot of minnows in there with it too, and are they Emerald shiners? Sure look like them to me. If so, don't expect them to last long if your tank isn't cycled. I keep a school of 5 emeralds in my stream tank and they're hyper-sensitive to water quality. I have to keep the nitrates below 5 ppm (with ammonia and nitrite at 0.00) and maintain constant flow of cool water or they start gasping for air and swimming oddly. Not trying to scare you, just a warning. Based on your username and the fact that those are probably Emerald shiners, I'm guessing you're somewhere on the Great Lakes? If those are Great Lakes emeralds then be even more careful as they seem to like even colder water! The ones I keep are allegheny River strain but I've kept Great Lakes strain ones several times and they're probably the most difficult species I've ever kept. Shoot me a message if you have any questions about natives, I've come to know my local and many Great Lakes species pretty well.
 
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