Ok so before I ask this question, I figure I should provide some background info. There is a pothole lake near my house in Edmonton that is normally stocked with rainbows, but a few years ago some schmuck ruined it by dumping a pile of yellow perch in there. I know it was done by humans as there are no creeks or rivers that flow into or out of the lake. All the trout are now impossible to catch because any bait or lure you use is immediately hammered by 3"-6" perch. Apparently, the perch population is so high that the perch have become stunted due to lack of food, because there are no predators. They simply cant get any bigger. My question is, could I catch 5 or 6 of these little perch and house them in a 55 gallon for life, or would they start growing again? I have red that ID sharks that are stunted due to small aquariums still don't start growing again when moved to adequate housing, but the perch are stunted due to lack of food. Would this matter, or would I have a bunch of mini perch?
housing stunted yellow perch
- Thread starter SkeptikalScabies
- Start date
It is possible for the perch to recovered from the stunting. I've caught some monster perch out of lakes that hold stunted perch populations.
I agree. They will start growing again but you don't have to heavily feed them. They will maintain their smaller size if fed a fair amount. Ideally though you want to feed your fish properly so they grow properly but its up to you, their Already stunted
Use large perch imitation lures to catch some of those trout. I'll bet there's a few beasts in there that are feeding on those perch.
Where is this lake? I live in Edmonton and perch are my favorite panfish. But back on topic. It wouldn't hurt to try and if they do start growing is it possible to upgrade the tank? I would think a 75 should house a few especially if they have been stunted they probably won't reach more than 12" at the most.