Has anyone bred Chain Pickerel?

[johnnymax]

I am wanting to get some chain pickerel and try to breed them in tanks, so I can put some in my pond. I also want to keep some in an aquarium.
I have a pond that is 1/3 acre surface area and 25' deep. I am in the process of building a house right on the pond.
I am looking at my pond as a big aquarium. I plan to add aeration and under water CCTV cameras.
I currently have Channel cats, Large Mouth Bass, Bluegill, Bowfin (not really welcomed) Mosquito Fish, Crawfish and Glass Shrimp.
I am wanting to add Chain Pickerel and Mollys and maybe some other fish.
I will be introducing a higher protein algae in the spring and fertilizing it with 10-34-0 fertilizer. I have the culture in a container and I am building up the volume.
I am also building of a colony of Scuds (arthropods) to introduce. I am trying to build up the beginning of the food chain.
I will be adding a few hundred Tilapia in the Spring I am breeding. They will more than likely be fish food. I also want them to reduce vegetation in the pond.

Any suggestion on other cool native fish to add are welcomed!
I am located in Southeast Texas, so the water is not tropical when we have cold winters it can drop below 50 degrees.
Anyone know where can I get Chain Pickerel? I see online you can buy them for $20 each, but not sexed. I would love to catch them in the wild or someone's pond and just release them in the pond, but I have never caught one in my life, or even seen one in person.

Below is a picture of my three youngest Grand-Monsters catching minnows, glass shrimp and baby crawfish on the pond, which is soon to be my whole backyard.
Took this picture 2 weeks ago.
For Christmas I am giving them rubber boots, dip nets, plastic aquariums and 3 gallon plastic jars and a book entitled "Jar Pets" and a microscope.
They live in their home on the same property. My other three Grand-Monsters live in their home on the same property also.
Building the perfect retirement setting.
Oh, they are pouring the foundation for our home tomorrow. I have the slab thickened to 6" where I plan to put my monster fish tank. An area 4' x 15' in the living room.

 

[Magnus_Bane]

Lepomus humilis (orange spotted sunfish) if ya can even find any lol. Honestly a very underrated fish imo. I honestly think that they can even rival some African cichlids in their beauty. Only downside to them is they often get out competed for breeding space by their bigger cousins, the blue gill. I'd say they are perfect for tank life tho with a max length of 5in for males and only 3.5-4in for females.

 

[FLA]

I would strongly recommend against adding the tilapia. I have never seen anyone really happy after doing that. They are not going to end up food. Their reproductive rate is extremely fast and their parental care is excellent. You will have more tilapia than anything else.

As for other great fish I like shellcrackers. Warmouth are also really nice. It is hard to think of anything nicer than speckled perch. Big groups of gold shiners are great and they provide good forage. Yellow perch have been introduced in Texas and I would definitely keep them. One other option is one alligator gar, by itself it would probably get huge.

 

[EntoStentor]

I would strongly recommend against adding the tilapia. I have never seen anyone really happy after doing that. They are not going to end up food. Their reproductive rate is extremely fast and their parental care is excellent. You will have more tilapia than anything else.

As for other great fish I like shellcrackers. Warmouth are also really nice. It is hard to think of anything nicer than speckled perch. Big groups of gold shiners are great and they provide good forage. Yellow perch have been introduced in Texas and I would definitely keep them. One other option is one alligator gar, by itself it would probably get huge.

Agree with all above, especially the gar.

 

[ReApEr666]

Thats Esox Lucius uve pictured, northern pike. This is a chain pickerel, Esox Niger. i think ull b hard pressed to breed them in a tank unless u harvest eggs/sperm like they do for most game fish.

Looks like u do have them in ur state, appears to be no size or bag limit but id def. check that out. U may not be able to transport them live or stock them. Sach’s aquaculture has them in the winter. May be able to find a hatchery, but again checking ur state stocking laws would b the 1st move. U can do as u wish without posting evidence on the internet. Kinda hard to claim they “arrived naturally” with such a small population area in ur state and or proof of purchase from an online dealer. good luck, check ur laws.

 

[ReApEr666]

From some short reading ive found tilapia are invasive in ur state. There is only 1 species allowed to be stocked in ponds as a summer food source from a hatchery... do ur due diligence in research and law checking. U cant just have an “outdoor pond as an aquarium”. Again, if u wish to due so, do not post evidence here...too late ?

 

[johnnymax]

From some short reading ive found tilapia are invasive in ur state. There is only 1 species allowed to be stocked in ponds as a summer food source from a hatchery... do ur due diligence in research and law checking. U cant just have an “outdoor pond as an aquarium”. Again, if u wish to due so, do not post evidence here...too late ?

I got them from a hatchery in Longview Texas. They are the allowed "Mozambique Tilapia" Thanks for the tip, but I have put them in my pond before. They do not survive the first cold Winter, that is why they allow the Mozambique. They all go back into the food chain.
The main reason they put them in ponds in Texas, is because they will eat all the vegetation and clean your pond up. Thus turning a pond full of plants into pond full of meat....

 

[johnnymax]

View attachment 1442581

Thats Esox Lucius uve pictured, northern pike. This is a chain pickerel, Esox Niger. i think ull b hard pressed to breed them in a tank unless u harvest eggs/sperm like they do for most game fish.

Looks like u do have them in ur state, appears to be no size or bag limit but id def. check that out. U may not be able to transport them live or stock them. Sach’s aquaculture has them in the winter. May be able to find a hatchery, but again checking ur state stocking laws would b the 1st move. U can do as u wish without posting evidence on the internet. Kinda hard to claim they “arrived naturally” with such a small population area in ur state and or proof of purchase from an online dealer. good luck, check ur laws.

The State of Texas has actually stocked them in the past, but the lakes they stocked them in do not have any, anymore. Not sure why.
I am in extreme Southeast Texas. The map shows they are in my area, but like I said, I have never seen one.

 

[ReApEr666]

The State of Texas has actually stocked them in the past, but the lakes they stocked them in do not have any, anymore. Not sure why.
I am in extreme Southeast Texas. The map shows they are in my area, but like I said, I have never seen one.

Nice, glad ur up to speed with the current laws. dont take much for them to give u problems sadly. Ive been there. If the state has stocked them before u should b able to find the hatchery in ur state that still may produce them and can ship, pickup or deliver. Would b fun to grow them out every year and return the larger ones to the pond. Worst case scenario at $20 a pop from Sach’s still isnt a terrible investment as you should be able to keep them going yourself esp. with a “helping hand” for the YOY rearing them indoors. Hope it works out for ya, very cool project.

 

[Supergeorge123]

Here is how they reproduce in the wild, not sure about captivity.