Thinking about Bowfin!

[johnnymax]

I did not really want to put bowfin in my new tank, but my son-in-law is convincing me to.
I have a small 1/3 acre pond I stocked with channel cats and bluegill. I had the pond dug and thought I would have control over the type of fish that inhabit it. NOPE!
I now have Large mouth bass, goggle eye, bull head mud cats, glass shrimp, mosquito fish and now BOWFIN!
The bowfin are monsters and they have decimated my fish populations. The pond is over 10 years old now and the bowfin have been in it for at least 5 years.
Anyway. I asked my son-in-law to help me catch as many bowfin as possible and take them out and kill them. That is when he asked if he could put some in my new to me 76g living-room tank. I am just setting it up, no water yet. I thought about it and thought, hummmmm that would be a real Monster Fish Tank. I just need to have a secure lid or they will push their way out. Anybody ever have bowfin in a tank? Are they active and entertaining?
Not sure how long I will keep them, but it will be a good way to cycle and stabilize my tank and not risk any valuable fish.
I have to catch some first, now that I want to, I bet they will be evasive....
Comments? Thoughts?

 

[krichardson]

Bowfin make great monster fish pets,I've a few over the years and wouldn't mind getting another.They were very active and mine learned to eat pellets.

 

[LBDave]

Hey John!
I'm no expert on ponds or North American fish but I would love to see photos of your pond.
You are in the right place. Got a diverse crowd here.

 

[LBDave]

Hey John!
I'm no expert on ponds or North American fish but I would love to see photos of your pond.
You are in the right place. Got a diverse crowd here.

This says the best thing is to stock juveniles:
http://www.nanfa.org/captivecare/bowfin.shtml
Maybe Duanes knows something about bowfins.

duanes

 

[duanes]

I would occasionally see them while scuba diving in Wisconsin lakes, but I never kept them in tanks, the ones I would see were usually between 2 and 3 ft in length.
The caviar was sometimes available, and they were sometimes eaten , and their flesh was put in fish cakes in Door County, or smoked. They looked similar to lawyer fish (burbot) and sometime confused with them.

 

[krichardson]

Some of us who have kept them fondly refer to them as the American Snakehead.

 

[johnnymax]

Some of us who have kept them fondly refer to them as the American Snakehead.

When I caught the first one, I thought it was a "Snakehead" but according to an invasive species identification pdf from Texas Parks & Wildlife it said the Snakehead is different. Bowfin have a spot, but snakeheads don't. I do not know this personally, just trusting the internet.
SnakeHead sound cooler!
But honestly, I can not say for sure the ones I caught had a spot.
I sure hope snakesheads are not in my pond. From what I understand, they are way worse!

 

[krichardson]

Yeah"real snakeheads" are way worse lol.They are thriving in quite a few areas in the U.S. but they don't belong there nor in our tanks.

 

[Icecold Dan]

Bowfin are plentiful here in southeast NC. I've never kept them in a tank, but have cought my fair share of them in the Black River. Neat fish but not good eating.

As to the comment above about snakeheads not being kept as pets, I would respectfully disagree. Many people keep all kinds of large and aggressive fish, and do so responsibly.

 

[krichardson]

Bowfin are plentiful here in southeast NC. I've never kept them in a tank, but have cought my fair share of them in the Black River. Neat fish but not good eating.

As to the comment above about snakeheads not being kept as pets, I would respectfully disagree. Many people keep all kinds of large and aggressive fish, and do so responsibly.

Perhaps I should have been more clear in my post....of course many people keep all kinds of monster fish,that is what this site is all about but snakeheads are illegal for collection in all of the U.S.,hence my comment that they don't belong in our tanks.