Can someone walk me through keeping some native fish in aquariums like the "Walleye" species or else a muskie or northern possibly? I have a very well established tank ready 55 gallon for a baby and hoping to upgrade once it grows larger.
Keeping "Walleye" Species of Fish in Aquarium?
- Thread starter Abby Ru
- Start date
I have been wanting to keep walley ever since I saw them at bass pro shop. I believe it is simple no need for a heater and they rest is like keeping any other fish. I do believe they are aggressive and territorial so you want them to have some room. Depending on your state you may need licenses or permits to transport certain species of fish into your state. but if you are catching them wild it may be different.
A 55gal isn't ideal for walleyes or pikes due to their size and you might will find out that a walleye is very boring and inactive fish therefore walleyes/saugers are very poor aquarium fishes. Pike needs cool temperatures and they are super skittish, often broke their nose when they hits a wall of tank. Another issue is Minnesota laws that do not allow you to collecting baby gamefish in the wild unless you caught them on hook and line or buy them at a fish hatchery or online.
As for the musky...forget it they needs a pond, not a tank.
As for the musky...forget it they needs a pond, not a tank.
yellow perch may be a better bet than walleye, but they are a schooling fish so they would need much larger than a 55gal, I would say in an aquarium they would be around 12" but that's just a guess. I would say for 4-6 you would want at least 100 or 125 gallon. and you will need to keep the tank in a very cool part of the house as they are not used to high water temperatures.
I've kept northerns before and I started them out in a 55 and the ones I had weren't skittish at all they started out at about 5 inches
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If you are "hoping" to upgrade, those are very poor choices since they will outgrow a 55 in a short period of time. Chain pickerel get to a large size but will take a bit longer to do it, redfin or grass pickerel stay small and will not need a very large upgrade and are quite suitable aquarium species as far as Esox goes. With Esox, you will certainly have a better success rate the smaller you can get. Redfins are often available from various online sources. Yellow perch stay small and I would think they would be good choices. I have only had experience with the larger species white perch. White perch were not a suitable choice. They did not acclimate well to aquarium life and were very uncompetitive when it came to feeding. Esox are ambush predators, and therefore are suitable to smaller, more cramped conditions. "walleye" species will need more room and therefore a 55 is only acceptable for a short period of time. Some species mentioned are schooling species and therefore will need more space. If space is going to be an issue in the future, I would look into grass pickerel, Esox americanus americanus, or esox americanus vermiculatus
I also kept northerns before and I started them out in a 55 and the ones I had were super skittish at all. Always have busted and bruised snouts.
The problem is that Minnesota laws making impossible for you bring fish home for aquarium. You cannot transport the waters from a lake to your home. If a conservation officer catches you, the fine will be around $500. If the water came from infested lakes (zebra mussels, spiny water fleas, Eurasian milfoil), the fine will be around $1,000.
