Tips for my first Largemouth Bass?
- Thread starter nickag9
- Start date
Thanks for all the advice guys!!! 
I've been doing a lot more research the past day and a half and I'm close to narrowing down my choice of tank and how I'm going to stock it. Give me a few more days of research and some time to take some measurements in my basement and I should be ready to start planning the build. At this point I'm about 90% sure I'm going to build my own tank but there is still an outside chance I may have to settle for a used tank if I can find one large enough. I really want a 300 gallon tank at a minimum and if I build one it will probably be closer to 400 gallons, but again we’ll have to wait and see what happens.
Now, instead of quoting everyone that has posted I’ll just hit bullet points about what I took away from all of your advice. Thanks again for all of the great input!
Gator:
- Thanks for the advice on tank mates for the LMB, I could definitely see Perch becoming late night snacks if I miss a feeding or they LMB gets hungry enough. I still like the idea of Crappie though, seeing as they should be able to grow large enough to avoid becoming lunch.
- Oh and you bring up a valid point about goldfish. If there is one thing I remember from my childhood aquariums it is that goldfish are dirty, gross and tend to get sick a lot. I think I will stick to healthy minnows for the LMB and the Crappie.
- As for filtration, I appreciate the input on turn over rate. I could definitely see 10x turnover blowing the fish all over the tank and that wouldn’t be any fun for me or the fish. I will try to shoot for a 3x to 5x turnover rate once I decide on my tank size.
MultispeciesTamer:
- Thanks for the advice on tank mates and LMB. I know I could probably keep a LMB in a tank smaller than 300 gallons for life, but I want to give him (or her) as much space I can afford. And I might add more than one LMB, I still haven’t quite decided yet. I like the idea of making it his (or her) tank though. I will definitely stick with a Channel Catfish as a tank mate and I want to at least try some Crappie. Oh and I know that I don’t really have a shot at raising a LMB much above 7 pr 8 pounds but hey, even a fish that size would be impressive!
HybridtheoryD16:
- Aren’t pets expensive??? And with the research I’ve done so far I should be ok on initial startup costs of a custom built tank. I’m leaning towards a plywood tank with a glass viewing window on one or two sides so I should save a good amount of money there. I have a lot of research left to do so we’ll see how it goes. I may have to settle with a smaller used tank if money becomes an issue, but either way I’m going to get this thing started and I’m going to do it the right way the first time. And yes, sticking with native cold water fish will definitely help keep the overall long term costs down. My main concern is food, water changes and maintenance/upkeep. Thanks for all of the great advice so far!
oscarcrazy:
- Just like Gator mentioned, I like the idea of training the LMB to eat prepared foods early on that way I can “treat” him with live foods every now and then to keep costs down.
I've been doing a lot more research the past day and a half and I'm close to narrowing down my choice of tank and how I'm going to stock it. Give me a few more days of research and some time to take some measurements in my basement and I should be ready to start planning the build. At this point I'm about 90% sure I'm going to build my own tank but there is still an outside chance I may have to settle for a used tank if I can find one large enough. I really want a 300 gallon tank at a minimum and if I build one it will probably be closer to 400 gallons, but again we’ll have to wait and see what happens.
Now, instead of quoting everyone that has posted I’ll just hit bullet points about what I took away from all of your advice. Thanks again for all of the great input!
Gator:
- Thanks for the advice on tank mates for the LMB, I could definitely see Perch becoming late night snacks if I miss a feeding or they LMB gets hungry enough. I still like the idea of Crappie though, seeing as they should be able to grow large enough to avoid becoming lunch.
- Oh and you bring up a valid point about goldfish. If there is one thing I remember from my childhood aquariums it is that goldfish are dirty, gross and tend to get sick a lot. I think I will stick to healthy minnows for the LMB and the Crappie.
- As for filtration, I appreciate the input on turn over rate. I could definitely see 10x turnover blowing the fish all over the tank and that wouldn’t be any fun for me or the fish. I will try to shoot for a 3x to 5x turnover rate once I decide on my tank size.
MultispeciesTamer:
- Thanks for the advice on tank mates and LMB. I know I could probably keep a LMB in a tank smaller than 300 gallons for life, but I want to give him (or her) as much space I can afford. And I might add more than one LMB, I still haven’t quite decided yet. I like the idea of making it his (or her) tank though. I will definitely stick with a Channel Catfish as a tank mate and I want to at least try some Crappie. Oh and I know that I don’t really have a shot at raising a LMB much above 7 pr 8 pounds but hey, even a fish that size would be impressive!
HybridtheoryD16:
- Aren’t pets expensive??? And with the research I’ve done so far I should be ok on initial startup costs of a custom built tank. I’m leaning towards a plywood tank with a glass viewing window on one or two sides so I should save a good amount of money there. I have a lot of research left to do so we’ll see how it goes. I may have to settle with a smaller used tank if money becomes an issue, but either way I’m going to get this thing started and I’m going to do it the right way the first time. And yes, sticking with native cold water fish will definitely help keep the overall long term costs down. My main concern is food, water changes and maintenance/upkeep. Thanks for all of the great advice so far!
oscarcrazy:
- Just like Gator mentioned, I like the idea of training the LMB to eat prepared foods early on that way I can “treat” him with live foods every now and then to keep costs down.
Sounds like it will be a great project and experiences for you. Just make sure you take lots of pictures and video on your build and share 
i like that you're taking the time to do your research before getting a fish that you may have otherwise not been able to handle.
ps. don't buy largemouth, catch them!!
ps. don't buy largemouth, catch them!!
redm18;3695238; said:
oh true, i didn't think about that...
you could keep some tiny ones if you got them from a private pond though.
dsaavedra;3693882; said:i like that you're taking the time to do your research before getting a fish that you may have otherwise not been able to handle.
ps. don't buy largemouth, catch them!!
redm18;3695238; said:
My original plan was to bring home a small LMB (I've caught plenty of bass under 10" in my days of fishing) but after doing some research and thinking about it I decided against it. For starers, in Ohio you can not keep a LMB under 12" and secondly I don't like the idea of catching a "wild" fish and forcing it into captivity. I would much rather purchase a LMB fingerling from a local fish farm and raise it in captivity for it's entire life.
Ok, so after researching all weekend, cleaning up part of my basement and taking several measurements, I have narrowed down the size/type of the tank I’m going to use to one of two options… Option one would be a homemade plywood tank somewhere in the range of 280 gallons (72” x 30” x 30”
while option two would be a 240 gallon glass tank (72” x 24” x 31” purchased from glasscages.com. I came up with these two options after spending several hours researching different DIY plywood builds on this site as well as searching local classifieds for a used tank. I was unable to find anything larger than 180 gallons used which led me to glasscages.com. With either option I will be building my own stand and canopy to help keep the final cost down. I did enough research to know that purchasing 2x4s, plywood and stain from Home Depot would be much more cost effective than buying a premade stand/canopy.
Anyway, the deciding factor for which tank I choose is going to be price. I would like to keep the overall cost of this project as close to $1000 as possible, with an absolute maximum of $1250. My fiancée would much rather I keep that number under $1000 given our upcoming wedding so I’m going to have to be as cost conscious as possible. Now based on my research, these numbers should be achievable with some creativity and resourcefulness on my part. But here is where I need help making this decision. While each option has its pros and cons, I’m going to lay out my biggest concerns for each option and let everyone’s experience guide me to the best option given my situation and budget. As for the glass tank, my biggest concern would simply be the price of the tank alone. The 240 gallon glass tank from glasscages.com would knock out $800 of my budget after shipping. And while I haven’t completed the rest of my research something tells me building/plumbing a sump and purchasing a pump is going to cost more than $200… This leads me to the DIY plywood build. My major concern with this option would be waterproofing the plywood. I have read great reviews of Pond Armor, but for the cost it seems I would almost be better off buying the glass tank. So, given everyone’s experience with plywood or creating/building their own sump, which option looks like it would fit my budget the best? What do you guys think, is $1000 going to be enough or do I need to put my plans on hold and save up some more money? Thanks for the input.
while option two would be a 240 gallon glass tank (72” x 24” x 31” purchased from glasscages.com. I came up with these two options after spending several hours researching different DIY plywood builds on this site as well as searching local classifieds for a used tank. I was unable to find anything larger than 180 gallons used which led me to glasscages.com. With either option I will be building my own stand and canopy to help keep the final cost down. I did enough research to know that purchasing 2x4s, plywood and stain from Home Depot would be much more cost effective than buying a premade stand/canopy. Anyway, the deciding factor for which tank I choose is going to be price. I would like to keep the overall cost of this project as close to $1000 as possible, with an absolute maximum of $1250. My fiancée would much rather I keep that number under $1000 given our upcoming wedding so I’m going to have to be as cost conscious as possible. Now based on my research, these numbers should be achievable with some creativity and resourcefulness on my part. But here is where I need help making this decision. While each option has its pros and cons, I’m going to lay out my biggest concerns for each option and let everyone’s experience guide me to the best option given my situation and budget. As for the glass tank, my biggest concern would simply be the price of the tank alone. The 240 gallon glass tank from glasscages.com would knock out $800 of my budget after shipping. And while I haven’t completed the rest of my research something tells me building/plumbing a sump and purchasing a pump is going to cost more than $200… This leads me to the DIY plywood build. My major concern with this option would be waterproofing the plywood. I have read great reviews of Pond Armor, but for the cost it seems I would almost be better off buying the glass tank. So, given everyone’s experience with plywood or creating/building their own sump, which option looks like it would fit my budget the best? What do you guys think, is $1000 going to be enough or do I need to put my plans on hold and save up some more money? Thanks for the input.
To ensure that our wedding plans go smoothly I would wait on this major undertaking. Not only will the setup be relatively expensive, it will also be time consuming. These are two things that don't go well with an upcoming wedding. I'd wait until the wedding and corresponding expenses are done with before worrying about the tank. Even though your soon-to-be wife is giving you the go ahead on this project, she will notice and appreciate your making the wedding the absolute priority. Trust me on this, I've been married a couple of times.
