frogster221

i live on a lake and i was wondering if i went out back and caught a few minnows could i add them to one of my tanks and keep them as a pet? o and can i do the same with a plant that i found living in the lake? the fish i might want to add would be sunfish, crappie, bass, and catfish. these fish would all be 1-2 inches and i would only keep them for a month or 2 then ill go find some more. the main thing im worried about is the temperment of the fish and that the minnows might have some disease on them that would hurt my fish. any ideas of if this would be ok. they might get there own tank and i would use lake water and put leaves, sand, and seaweed to make it seem more homey for them.

angelfish220

unless you have a seperate tank system for them then I wouldnt keep them.

frogster221

so if i made a lake tank and it would be fine?

COBettaCouple

If they have their own tank, it might work but I wouldn't mix them with store fish and plants.

frogster221

ok cool this weekend im gunna go see if i can find some minnows

angelfish220

in some states its illeagal you'll have to check for your state.

some one else set up a 'lake tank' a while back... I think I tried searching it but I couldnt find the thread

frogster221

the lake is a private lake the only rules on it are about fishing already checked

Butterfly

If you bring fish in from the wild they should not be released back. They learn to depend on you for food then won't know how to find food when they go back. They also may have a disease coming from a lake or take one back with them.
carol

angelfish220

no I mean like it is legal to catch fish and take it home but illegal to keep it in a tank for ornamental purposes.

Butterfly

Depends on the individual state. check with the local wild life agency or game warden.
carol

frogster221

in my state its ok but i might just keep 1 or 2 just because of what butterfly said they will depend on me maybe eventually i could get a large enough tank to keep them till theyve lived out there natural life.

viking47

If you go ahead with a native species tank, I would be very interested in the progress of it. As an avid fisherman, I would think it would be pretty cool to see bass, sunfish ....etc growing up from the minnow stage. Unfortunatly I don't have room for a large tank. Do you think the water needs to be chilled, seems like most species in the US are used to water temperatures cooler than room temperature.

When they get too big for a standard aquarium, do you think they would taste the same as freshly caught out of the lake?

frogster221

it would be cool i just cant get that big of a tank at the moment what would also be cool is to find out what baits work best for what fish(without hooks like teaser baits)

frogster221

they should taste better actually because they wouldnt be introduced to harmful chemicals and they would have been fed better. i wont be able to do a native tank till i get enough money for the 55 gallon itll only take a few weeks then ill make it.

ThisGuy

i was thinking of doing this myself because one of my buddy's had a rock bass tank that was all the fish from his cottage, till his cat knocked the tank over, and my old boss had a tank where he would keep caught fish alive for dinner party's thats fresh fish when you take it out of the tank right before dinner... plus it would filter the fish being in a nice clean fish tank getting fattened up for dinner. just a thought good idea if its legal where you are...