i discorvered this site not long ago searching for aquariums. ive been wanting to raise some goldfish but i would like to start off bigger. how well would a SMB and sunfish get along? I figured a SMB would be smaller and less aggressive then the LMB. i would really like to do LMB but dont think i can afford the tank space just yet. any suggestions on SMB and sunfish please drop em here!
SMB and getting started
- Thread starter brockfishhawk
- Start date
actually dude u got it all rong the small mouth bass get much larger that lmb and are more agressive
lmb can be house with big sunfish anyones that wont fit in there mouth
lmb can be house with big sunfish anyones that wont fit in there mouth
LOL you guys are going to have him confused for sure...
Sandtiger is right.. SMB is the smaller, less aggressive of the two...
Listen to Sandtiger, he knows his stuff..
Sandtiger is right.. SMB is the smaller, less aggressive of the two...
Listen to Sandtiger, he knows his stuff..
ive been researching and the biggest one for the best money is 125g, from what i read on the forums so far this seemed to work for life on a SMB. i found a couple 125g for only 300-500$ which seems reasonable to get started with this hobby, not to mention other equip. etc.
I started my baby small mouth in a 55 gallon tank till he got about 6 inches long and then I put him outside. He was so fast when it came to chasing down fathead minnows and boy could he ever eat! Like what was said above, you can pretty much keep them with anything that won't fit in their mouths.
sounds like i should start off raising some sunfish and get them to a good size then start in on the SMB, just to insure life for the sunfish haha
A SMB should do fine with larger sunfish, though take my word that a 125 will soon be too small for anything but the SMB by itself.
I have a 125 with a 9" LMB around 8 longear sunfish, four 4 inch or so rock bass, a 7 or 8 inch bullhead, a 5 1/2 inch green sunfish, and a 4 inch madtom, it's already starting to seem pretty small for them.
SMB seem to like better water quality than LMB and sunfish and bass put off a fairly large amount of waste and eat a lot. A 125g will get pretty nasty with a large SMB and several sunfish.
Also, if your SMB does get max size, around 2 feet, that tank won't even really be big enough for him physically.
As far as the water quality factor though, I don't think you'll be happy with a 125 when your SMB and sunfish are big because you will either have to do lots of water changes or it will get pretty grungy.
Of course money factors in, but if possible I wouldn't go with under a 220, not just because of the fish but I think you would be much happier with the lower maintanance factor.
As a suggestion I would also go with barebottom. Barebottom can look really nice if you have driftwood and stuff, and with sunfish/bass substrate gets really really nasty quickly, depending on your fish load.
I just got done taking half the gravel out of my native tank because I'm tired of cleaning it, it gets kind of tedious. Then again I have 9 other tanks to maintain, but even by itself it would be kind of annoying.
Another option is grow them out in a 125g then sell that tank and get a larger one. That way you'll also be able to guage if they will even need a larger tank.
Just figured I would give you a heads up though, 125g may end up way too small.
I have a 125 with a 9" LMB around 8 longear sunfish, four 4 inch or so rock bass, a 7 or 8 inch bullhead, a 5 1/2 inch green sunfish, and a 4 inch madtom, it's already starting to seem pretty small for them.
SMB seem to like better water quality than LMB and sunfish and bass put off a fairly large amount of waste and eat a lot. A 125g will get pretty nasty with a large SMB and several sunfish.
Also, if your SMB does get max size, around 2 feet, that tank won't even really be big enough for him physically.
As far as the water quality factor though, I don't think you'll be happy with a 125 when your SMB and sunfish are big because you will either have to do lots of water changes or it will get pretty grungy.
Of course money factors in, but if possible I wouldn't go with under a 220, not just because of the fish but I think you would be much happier with the lower maintanance factor.
As a suggestion I would also go with barebottom. Barebottom can look really nice if you have driftwood and stuff, and with sunfish/bass substrate gets really really nasty quickly, depending on your fish load.
I just got done taking half the gravel out of my native tank because I'm tired of cleaning it, it gets kind of tedious. Then again I have 9 other tanks to maintain, but even by itself it would be kind of annoying.
Another option is grow them out in a 125g then sell that tank and get a larger one. That way you'll also be able to guage if they will even need a larger tank.
Just figured I would give you a heads up though, 125g may end up way too small.