Smallmouth Bass

[clemsonguy1125]

After reading through posts and getting some feedback, I like the idea of having a single smallmouth bass in m 250 gallon pond. Anybody keep one. ive only see a few people who have kept smallmouth. Right now my biggest worry is the that the average temperature in July is 90 degrees, will this cause the pond to overheat.
Thanks

 

[Itsadeepbluesea]

90 is definitely to hot. I've kept them before and they seemed to like low 70s. Other than that they are very easy to keep. They are fairly easy to train onto pellets and once you get them to start feeding they become pigs and will eat anything. My guy would follow me back and forth across the tank if he thought i was going to feed him. If you have the right place to keep them they are beautiful fish with loads of personality. Good luck if you have specific questions post so we can try to answer them.

 

[Itsadeepbluesea]

you would need a way to cool the pond because if it is out side it will most likely get up there in temp

 

[clemsonguy1125]

Well the temp only gets to the nineties for a month or two in the summer. The air drops to the 70s at night so the water is probably in the 70s since it's in my garage. Any ideas on cooling it. Ice packs in the morning? And are they ok bare bottom. I know in the wild they are rocky stream dwellers.

 

[Wiggles92]

I wouldn't do it considering how big they get, how active they are, and how much of a pain it will be to maintain an appropriate temperature during the summer. It would not survive such high water temperatures for long.

 

[Itsadeepbluesea]

I think the size of the pond is fine, (as long as it isn't bizarre shape) the temp does seem to be a problem. The ice packs are a bad idea as its hard to use them to keep the temp stable and fluctuating temps are bad for the fish. The best Idea would be a chiller if you can afford a larger one.

 

[Itsadeepbluesea]

Oh and I don't know about the bare bottom. I wouldn't suggest it as I'm not a fan of bare bottoms. I think the fish would do better with a rocky or even sandy bottom.

 

[clemsonguy1125]

Thanks, the pond is two levels. the bottom is 4x2.5 and the top is 4x6. i cant afford a large chiller. I may just go with bluegill and bullhead catfish.

 

[kzimmerman]

definately a better choice, just keep it well filtered, and well aerated, especially in the hotter parts of the year.

 

[clemsonguy1125]

Thanks, Ive got a 20 gallon trashcan filter with strapping as media. Ive got to pick up some mechanical filter matting. Do bluegill and bullheads need sand. If so how should I clean it. Also will my pump suck up the sand.