55 Gallon Native Tank

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nickag9

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Dec 9, 2009
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Cincinnati, OH
I don’t know if any of you guys have been following my LMB thread, but I was tossing around the idea of picking up a used 55 gallon tank to "get my feet wet" in the native world while I slowly build my BIG tank. Well... while doing some work in the basement last night I realized that it's going to be at least another two or three months before I can even begin building my ~400 gallon LMB tank. Given this new development and my eagerness to start keeping native fish I've decided to go ahead and setup a 55 gallon native tank to hold me over. I have been searching craigslist for the past few days and if all goes well I should have the tank, stand and canopy by the end of the week. From there I will setup my filtration, decorate the tank, fill her up and begin the cycling process.

Now, once I get the tank running and cycled the question becomes what on earth do I stock it with? This will be my first native tank and while I’m open to suggestions I have a general idea of what I’m looking for. I will list some of my ideas and if you guys could give me some feedback it would be greatly appreciated. The first thing I want to mention is that I have no desire to setup a stream tank or do anything with minnows, chubs or darters. The only time I plan on keeping minnows is if they are feeders for my future LMB... Also, I'm not much into the tiny catfish or most sunfish. I'm hoping to use the 55 gallon, not only as a learning experience, but possibly as a grow out tank for a few of my future LMB’s tank mates. Given all of that, here is what I was thinking of stocking the 55 gallon tank with: 1 Rock Bass, 1-2 Black Crappie and 1-2 Yellow Perch. The tank will be in my study and the temp in that room ranges from 67 to 72 degrees throughout the year. What do you guys think? I really like the idea of the Rock Bass as I think it would be a good stepping stone to the LMB and from most of my research it seems they do best as the only one of their kind. I like the Crappie and the Perch because they are both less aggressive fish and they both have the potential to grow large enough to not be eaten by an adult LMB. Anyway, let me know your thoughts and I’ll go from there. Thanks in advance!
 
Can you possibly get a 75 instead of a 55? Any of those fish would be a bit cramped in a 12" wide tank. Also, be careful with crappie- they seem to be more delicate than other centrarchids. Other than that I think you have a good plan.

Rock bass are aggressive feeders, but are not particularly territorial. If you want a "mini bass", the green sunfish is a better choice.
 
sounds cool a bigger tank would be better though.
 
Hmmm... I would love to start with a 75 gallon but those tanks aren't nearly as common on craigslist and space might become an issue in my study. I have a 4 foot wide section of wall (with an outlet) that I’m trying to utilize but I don’t know how far out I can go from the wall before it will interfere with the walkway in front of it. I’ll take some measurements when I get home and see if I’ve got room for the extra 6 inches. If I can pull off a 75 gallon (or even a 90 gallon) I think I will add one or two Red Fin Pickerel to the mix as well. I have been doing some research on those fish and it seems people have had success in the past mixing Pickerel with adult sized Perch, Crappie and Rock Bass. I like the layering idea… Pickerel for the surface, Crappie and Rock Bass for the mid level and the Perch hanging out on the bottom. Heck, maybe I’ll start looking for a 120 Gallon :D
 
They were mostly in central or northwest Ohio, but I saw several 75s on Craiglist the other day.

If you do get a 55, I'd skip the perch. They can get around 14" or so (according to fishbase, they can get up to 19", but probably not in a tank)
 
you might want to shy away from the redfin pickerel if you decide to stay with the rock bass, they are pretty aggressive and pickerel are easily spooked, it is not the best combination, and if you can get the 90 i would go with that it would be your best bet
 
Well, the real problem is that I can't decide what I want to do... I'm trying to plan ahead so that my tank purchases make sense. The last thing I want to do is waste time or money on a tank that I’m just going to end up selling down the road. Now, I understand that I’m going to need multiple tanks since I have a certain number of fish species I'd like to keep 9and I know they all won't get along in one tank) but I want to try and do it with the least number of tanks as possible. As of right now the only thing I'm 100% sure of is that I'm going to build a ~400 gallon tank in my basement and the focus of that tank will be LMB. The question I have for that tank is how many LMB do I stock it with and is it wise to add anything else? I know a Channel Catfish or two would be a logical choice but other than that would anything else be able to survive in that tank? If I can add a large Rock Bass or two, a few large Crappie and some big Perch to that tank then I could buy a 55 or a 75 Gallon for my study and stock it with multiple Red Fin Pickerel and nothing else. I guess the deciding factor will be which fish can co-exist better with Perch, Crappie and a Rock Bass or two… a LMB or the Pickerel. I know LMB tend to eat anything they can fit in their mouth and I know the Red Fins don’t like to defend themselves or compete for food. So yeah, until I figure out what I’m going to stock the LMB tank with, I guess I won’t know for sure how big I want the tank in my study to be. Add that to any other tanks I will need for breeding feeders or for quarantine and I’m just plain confused…
 
Well-fed bass in a big tank can be kept with large adult sunnies, rock bass, crappie, perch, bullheads, etc. The big sporting-goods superstores like Bass Pro and Cabela's usually have a tank set up like this. If you want some more unusual species in with the bass, you could add drum, suckers, even bowfin or gar.

Re: feeders, there's just no way you'll be able to breed enough fish in a tank or two to keep 400 gallons worth of predators happy. Either resign yourself to catching/buying feeders, or invest in a pond or (better yet) a deep freeze. Frozen seafood bought in bulk will probably be the most economical way to add whole fish to your stocks' diet. You should also be able to get most of your fish on prepared foods.
 
Haha, it's funny you mention Bass Pro Shops. That is where this whole Monster Fish Keeping idea came from... the 23,000 gallon tank they have here in Cincinnati had me in awe!

Anyway, you just helped me out tremendously with stocking the large tank. I have no doubt I can keep the LMB fed well enough that he won't eat his tank mates (that and I figure the bigger they are the better). And this is great news because now I can focus the smaller tank (the tank I'm going to buy first) on the Red Fin Pickerel. I'll continue researching that species and make a decision on tank size from there. For now I will start the smaller tank out as a grow out for the Rock Bass, Crappie and Perch. I will add the Pickerel once I've finished the larger tank and moved the other fish into it.

Oh and as for Feeders I have absolutely no intentions of feeding these fish strictly minnows. I'm going to try to get the Rock Bass, Perch and Crappie on prepared foods as well as other frozen/live foods (Insects, Worms, Shrimp etc...). The Bass will get a diverse selection of live food ranging from wild caught sunfish, to crayfish and even the occassional large Insect or two. The feeder minnows I intend to breed (or occassionally buy) would be the main food supply for the Red Fin Pickerel and considered "treats" for the LMB and other fish.

I will still have to make a decision sometime down the road about what size quarantine tank to get as well as a breeder tank or two. But those aren't nearly as important right now since they will be setup in the storage side of my basement and won't have to look good. That and the first few fish I buy will most likely eat Insects and Worms until they get bigger.

Thanks for the great input so far!
 
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