Well given the size of the tank you have the opportunity to have large variety of fish. I would defiantly put some walleye or even some sauger in there. Rock bass can have some good personality and do get to over 12". A shovelnose sturgeon would be good because they stay smaller. I would put some largemouth bass and smallmouth bass, making sure the fish are the right size is the most important part. Some fish within species will be more aggressive then others, each has its own personality and disposition. Some fish just wont work out no matter how hard you plan and will need to be removed. Redhorse and some other large suckers would nice too. I can't wait to see how I turns out!
Stocking a monster native fish aquarium, looking for suggestions
- Thread starter coyotethug
- Start date
What a great job. I am a bit jealous.
As to the LMB conundrum I am going to say you almost have to put a few Large Mouth in your exhibit.
When I look at your list of game fish commonly caught by Michigan anglers, I would guess if you added all the sport fish caught in Michigan annually and sorted them , the bass catch would be 10x bigger than any other fish on your list. It might be even bigger that the rest of the list combined. My point is every person that walks by your tank who has held a fishing pole before is going to look in and expect to see LMB.
Also, they make a great contrast next to SMB.
Lastly, they probably will eat some of your sunfish, but so what? Sunnies are cheap and easy to come by part of a balanced diet for your predatory game fish. I am sure you will design your exhibit with enough nooks and crannies to protect some of your blue gill.
Sounds like a fun gig. We will want pictures.
As to the LMB conundrum I am going to say you almost have to put a few Large Mouth in your exhibit.
When I look at your list of game fish commonly caught by Michigan anglers, I would guess if you added all the sport fish caught in Michigan annually and sorted them , the bass catch would be 10x bigger than any other fish on your list. It might be even bigger that the rest of the list combined. My point is every person that walks by your tank who has held a fishing pole before is going to look in and expect to see LMB.
Also, they make a great contrast next to SMB.
Lastly, they probably will eat some of your sunfish, but so what? Sunnies are cheap and easy to come by part of a balanced diet for your predatory game fish. I am sure you will design your exhibit with enough nooks and crannies to protect some of your blue gill.
Sounds like a fun gig. We will want pictures.
My opinion, if you want a very interesting setup, stock it with what you have listed and don’t be shy about adding other fish to the mix. Keeping a native tank as big as 3300 gallons, you can make things very interesting. I did it but with only 500 gallons. Having bigger fish eat the smaller fish just like they do in their natural habitat should be looked as a bonus. People should be able to see how their native fish survive in the wild. If a 5lb bass eats a 12” perch, so be it, same with bluegills, etc. It’s nature and that shouldn’t be changed just because they will be in 3300 gallons of water. You don’t want just a bunch of big fish in one tank and then small fish in another. Since you have access to local lakes and a hatchery, stocking fish that have been eaten shouldn’t be an issue. I did the same thing with my 500 gallon setup, I to had a big largemouth and smallmouth, stocked with a lot of long ear sunfish. I watched the gar chase sunfish and take them down very often. I woke up one day and see that the 12” Flathead and a longear in his mouth. It was an awesome tank and still wish I had it. Only problem is see is if you wanted to add trout to the mix, that would probably be hard to accomplish but I’m sure with a big enough tank and money, it can be done.
Comparing the tanks at Cabelas and Bass Pro is a plus, their tanks look nice in some states. The one in Cincinnati, OH looks awesome as they have all sorts of big and small fish together, musky and catfish included. The Cabela’s in Dundee, MI is ok but there fish usually have a lot of blemishes on them and a lot of the fish are separated such as big fish in one tank, trout in another and sunfish in another. But I assume that all comes down to cost of replacing fish and they apparently don’t want to mess with it. But if your place has the funds, that would be ideal for your tank as described above.
Comparing the tanks at Cabelas and Bass Pro is a plus, their tanks look nice in some states. The one in Cincinnati, OH looks awesome as they have all sorts of big and small fish together, musky and catfish included. The Cabela’s in Dundee, MI is ok but there fish usually have a lot of blemishes on them and a lot of the fish are separated such as big fish in one tank, trout in another and sunfish in another. But I assume that all comes down to cost of replacing fish and they apparently don’t want to mess with it. But if your place has the funds, that would be ideal for your tank as described above.
Thank you everyone for your feedback. Walleye are back on the list now as I have spoken to a number of peers with lengthy backgrounds and they all tell me they should be good. Many of you said that lmb would eventually be an issue, but as was said earlier because of the purpose of this tank not having lmb is not really an option. If it means replacing sunfish and perch over time so be it. Initially there wasn't going to be a chiller on the system, but the latest specs show one that can easily keep the water down in comfortable yellow perch ranges. So adding them is now an option too. Redhorse are also now on the list as well as some other sucker species to add some variety. I would like to go with schools of large smelt because a tank this size is big enough to show schooling behavior, but it is all about how long we can quarantine everything and if it makes sense. Quarantining something for 6 weeks that lasts 2 weeks in the tank isn't a great plan. Sunfish and perch can be held off site for replacement as needed as well. Cost of fish not really an issue as they will be collected from the wild (by wildlife biologists) or acquired from state run hatcheries. Biggest issue is quarantine and long term viability in captivity.
Bass pro and Cabellas both show us how bad these tanks can look, I want to show people how good healthy fish can look. I will keep everyone updated as the process continues.
Thanks again for all your help and keep the suggestions coming. Also if anyone has good pics of large exhibits like this one post them please, it will help with aquascaping.
Sent from my XT1080 using MonsterAquariaNetwork App
Bass pro and Cabellas both show us how bad these tanks can look, I want to show people how good healthy fish can look. I will keep everyone updated as the process continues.
Thanks again for all your help and keep the suggestions coming. Also if anyone has good pics of large exhibits like this one post them please, it will help with aquascaping.
Sent from my XT1080 using MonsterAquariaNetwork App
I'm still against the LMB but it's your project, not mine, so stock as you see fit. I'm just not a huge fan of them in general as they're like lazy vacuum cleaners (even when I fish for them they don't move to far for the bait unless they're young), still a cool fish, just not a good aquarium resident unless they're in species tanks IMO.
Here is what mine looked like, imagine 3300 gallons
[video=youtube;jVk8mj88YKw]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jVk8mj88YKw[/video]
[video=youtube;jVk8mj88YKw]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jVk8mj88YKw[/video]
