Rock Bass info
- Thread starter allegra
- Start date
I have shadow bass, which are a type of rock bass. (Ambloplites rupestris is what's considered a standard "rock bass" but there's a few species grouped with them, they all have the same general behavior).
What do you want to know about them?
They need at least a 75g tank, preferrably larger.
They'll eat anything that fits in their mouth and is alive, including things like crayfish.
They can be hard to get on prepared foods, even when young, unless there's other fish for them to learn from. Mine will eat just about anything now, including pellets, but they're still pickier than the other sunfish with prepared foods.
They're not overly aggressive given enough room, but they will quarrel.
They like fairly cool temperatures (Under 75, 70 is better). Can tolerate a bit higher but they will be more active, eat a lot more therefore produce more waste, and be a lot more twitchy and exhibit more aggressive behavior.
What do you want to know about them?
They need at least a 75g tank, preferrably larger.
They'll eat anything that fits in their mouth and is alive, including things like crayfish.
They can be hard to get on prepared foods, even when young, unless there's other fish for them to learn from. Mine will eat just about anything now, including pellets, but they're still pickier than the other sunfish with prepared foods.
They're not overly aggressive given enough room, but they will quarrel.
They like fairly cool temperatures (Under 75, 70 is better). Can tolerate a bit higher but they will be more active, eat a lot more therefore produce more waste, and be a lot more twitchy and exhibit more aggressive behavior.
I guess SB covered it pretty well. I have a rock bass (A. rupestris) and it's care is pretty basic, not far off from cichlids actually. They can be aggresive, grow large (12" or so) and are fairly messy. Mine is very active and interacts with me all the time. The most difficult part in their care is converting them to non-living dry foods but even if they never take pellets they should at least take frozen. I found when converting mine that softer pellets were the key. All of my sunfish seem to prefer at least starting out on softer brand pellets. I use HBH super soft or Tetra food sticks (though I hate the waste those sticks produce) but just soaking hard pellets for awhile should also work. Mine will take just any pellet I offer it these days.
allegra;1141880; said:
They can be extremely aggressive. Actually most sunfish are aggressive, it just depends on the level of aggression you're thinking.
I have a tank with a green sunfish, 8 longear sunfish, the 4 shadow bass, bullhead, madtom, red devil (tanks at 75-76), and a largemouth bass.
My largemouth bass is a juvenile so I'll discount him completely, his aggression level is slowly rising. Order of aggression from most to least:
Red devil
Longears
shadow bass
green sunfish.
So I'd say they're about middle of the road aggressive-wise. They will exhibit quite a bit of bickering but they rarely cause damage. My biggest shadow bass will chase and posture and flare his gills and sometimes bite, but when actually challenged it's likely he'll be the one to back down.
Not to say they are safe fish. They do have the potential to kill other fish and get into bad fights, but compared to other sunfish they just don't show an extreme amount of aggression IMO. They're territorial more than anything. Room to establish their own territory and enough so that other fish aren't trying to constantly steal it will help. On the other hand you can pack a tank so full that no one can establish territory and this sometimes works but it's more risky.
Really they seem to be more bark than bite. They will put on a spectacular show of dominance and then sulk away if another fish becomes violent towards them. Don't keep them with any extremely aggressive sunfish or cichlids because they will get bullied.
You can try other sunfish with a rock bass but aggresion could become a factor, like cichlids it's really hit or miss. Slightly overstocking with sunfish will sometimes help reduce aggresion like with African cichlids. In my 100g I currently keep a rock bass, green sunfish, central longear, pumpkinseed and largemouth. Aggresion isen't typically an issue as they all have their place in the pecking order worked out.
I have 2 in my 550 gallon pond. They love to eat koi pellets, crickets and earthworms. They're pretty tame too and will take worms out of my hand. One of my most favorite local gamefish.