They are all small sized and in a very large tank. The catfish is missing one of its side fins, so I feel bad. The bass and catfish will be eaten if I return them to their mini lake. (Our 1 neighbor caught and ate almost every fish in there) Their tank is at about 78 degrees. I feed the catfish and bass minnows, medium sized. The sunfish will only eat rosies or guppies. I have live plants in there. Am I doing everthing right? Do I need anything else? How often do I feed them? I have a newborn and I can't be going out everyday to buy feeder fish.
Thanks in advance
Shay
Answers:
You can also feed them worms (they will keep for a long time in a cool place). Try buying frozen mysid shrimp from the pet store and wee if they will eat them. They should, and it will make it much easier for you
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Dry cat food or dog food, crushed. A little amount.
Ask a bait shop what they feed thier fish.
Well, I'd suggest lowering the temp. to around 72 degrees F. That'd be more ideal for those species. As for the feeders. You could switch to freeze dried food, something larger than brine shrimp obviously. Possibly a type of feeder worm. Like the previous answer said, I'd talk to a local fish store. Not sure I'd try a bait shop. They can recommend a freeze dried food or frozen food that is appropriately sized for those fish.
In most states it's illegal to own game fish, so you'd best put them back where you found them. Though it's very noble of you to want to "care" for them, they are better off in their own habitat. The Department of Natural Resources (DNR) actually stock most of the lakes in the state with very small fish. They are put there to grow up into legal sized fish that fisherman can then catch and either keep or not. While it's true that some of the fish eat the fish that the DNR put in, many do survive. The lake is their natural habitat, where they have the best chance of survival. As you stated, you have your own family to care for and you can't keep up with the fish's needs. Put them back and let nature take its course. If you don't like the idea of your neighbor eating fish, you need to take that up with the DNR, because they get a whole wad of money out of selling fishing licences. Sorry to say, we don't always get what we want. %26lt;*)))>%26lt;
The tank is most likely too hot--those fish all over-winter in the area where you live, so I would not put a heater in it. High temperatures can stress the fish out and make the susceptible to disease.
The fish can be trained to eat fish food. You can get pond fish food which will be better than flake food. If you mak eboth available, they will most likely eat what's available. Catfish are scavengers anyway, so you should have the least trouble with that one.
If you buy feeder fish once a week and feed them as many pellets as they will eat in two minutes each day, they should be amply fed.
Good luck!
I keep native tanks myself (love it! So much cooler to see what fish from the wild do and observe their habits).
The bass and bluegill will need to have live feeders - sorry to say. The catfish though is a scavenger that will eat nearly anything (including the dead). He/she will keep your tank's bottom fairly clean, but if you have live plants in there I am guessing you understand all about Micros and Macros and the conversion of fish waste into nutrients.
You can use Beef Livers soaked in Garlic Extract or Beef Hearts, and all 3 should eat those, but the Catfish for sure will eat that. Guppies/Minnows or Earth/Red Worms will also work.
Best of luck to you, and join this sites forums for more info.
Monster Fish Keepers
http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com.
The sunfish will start to take flake and frozen foods.I have several bluegills in a pond I built and they love the frozen foods. The bass will most likely never eat frozen or flake food. The catfish I imagine will eat anything that makes it to the bottom.
I have never owned a wild catfish or a bass as a pet, but I imagine they would need a very large tank. The sunfish itself would need at least a 40 gallon i think.
If you can get two ten gallon tanks, you can easily breed platies or mollies to feed the bass. There are many resources on the net to learn about how to breed the live bearers. or get a shrimp net and try to occasionally catch some minnows out of the pond.
Go to the pet store and buy some of the frozen foods, bloodworms, beefheart, krill, etc. Those last awhile. Also a good pellet food-though not sure on their protein requirements, some have more than others. Also try some frozen cocktail shrimp-fairly cheap at the grocery store. Stock up on earthworms at the bait shops.
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