silly question......

[JinxCanada]

could a perch or a small walleye live in a fresh water aquarium? i'm just curious. i think it would be fun to put a couple in my aquarium..and yes i'm sure they'd eat the other fish but i don't mind. if i put minnows in for food..they should live right?

[albhb3]

your kidding right at least in mn i think the dnr would have your but in a sling

[JinxCanada]

no. i was serious...why would it be illegal? i have never heard of that..but i will contact MNR in Ontario to find out. thanks for the heads up

[albhb3]

im not exactly sure but here i think you have to have some kind of permit

[Juls]

im not exactly sure but here i think you have to have some kind of permit

In Wisconsin you need a permit for game fish in an aquarium too.

I know the walleye needs one, but I'm not so sure the Perch needs one. I remember the baitshop I worked at in Wisco had Perch in their aquarium.

Juls

[itry]

In Mn it's legal for anyone under 16 to keep game fish in an aquarium. My kids had some small perch and walleye in there aquarium for several years.

[JinxCanada]

well i called Ontario MNR and they said that you only need a permit to transport live game fish from one body of water to another..but i'm not thinking an aquarium would count as another body of water. i'll try to get more info later. bassproshops kinda gave me the idea. LOL.

[albhb3]

well if you do get to then I want to see some pictures

[ffishman]

Can I come fish in your tank?

[eyedoktr]

I'm guessing that any fish in your possession (even aquarium) will count against your daily limit.

[@Lunker]

The answer to the original question is YES, they WILL live in an aquarium.

[JinxCanada]

cool. and ya, they said that the fish in my aquarium WILL count against my total limit. we dont' really have a daily limit, but a total limit in possession at any time. for example, 50 perch total possession, 6 walleye/pickerel, 5 steelhead etc. it's illegal to go get 6 walleye put in your freezer then go out and get another 6....just fyi

[Backwater Eddy]

Permits are needed for most states on gamefish and often non-gamefish species.

A good option is to get some large Creek Chubs as freshwater critters to watch. They are a Hoot!

They do well as long as you keep the water relatively cool and clean. They feed aggressively in a tank, minnows don't last long once they hit the water...SLURP!

Keep the lid on tight, they are jumpers!

They will readily hit a jig in the tank too, I use barb less hooks so they don't get injured. A #3 Salmo Chubby Darter will keep you and the Creek Chubs amused.

Might make for a interesting diversion in the office Eh? :bigsmile:

[wa11eye]

just so you know, the water in your tank will need to have the ph balanced regularily. as for the size of the tank, you'll need one atleast about 500 gallons in order for the fish to grow a little and stay healthy. smaller tanks you will find that the fish will actually start to shrink to accomodate for the size.
they had this info in a magazine a few years back because the dnr in some state found a bunch of guys from some fishing club were keeping fish at home.

yes it would be cool. my friend who a while back had this beautiful house and a lot of money had a tank specially built with some kind of plastic. it cost him over $25,000 for the tank. they reinforced the concrete in his basement. you could walk through this tank (or under it) and it was something like 40,000 gallons.

he got his permit from the wdnr and kept walleyes, perch and a bunch of bait fish. he spent close to $8000 a year to keep the ph level where it had to be. he also trapped his own creek chubs out behind his house. yes this guy had money. then the country's economy took a crap and he wound up having to sell his house. the new owners busted the tank out with sledge hammers not realizing what it was worth. now the new owner wants to put in his own tank.
must be nice to have lots of money to throw away.

wa11eye

[goldman]

I've seen them at Cabelas in their fish tanks on display. Maybe they would share some of the ins and outs.

Goldman

[Guest]

OK, everyone knows to check their DNR regs. In Oh, the fish needs to be legally caught. There is an outfit in Mn that has a website where you can buy a bunch of different aquarium size freshwater gamefish.

Perch are interesting. Rockbass can be real territorial. Gills are good, catfish that show up with bought minnows sometimes are good specimen's. Little largemouth or smallmouth bass can be fun. Crappie are doable.

One or two of the above can be kept in a 10 gal. Get the smallest fish you can and avoid overfeeding.

Walleye and saugeye pretty much hide until you turn the lights off then they are active. IMO, tough fish to keep but it can be done with a 55 gal and small enough fish. I've had 1 out of 3 live until it was time to release it. I've heard others have had better luck.

You you can use feeder guppies and live brine shrimp for small meat eaters. Minnows as they get bigger. It is good to keep a second small tank going for minnows so you only feed a few each day.

Eyes and smallmouth and maybe crappie must have minnows/feeder guppies (live brine shrimp for tiny crappie & smallies). Largemouth, perch, rockbass, gills and catfish are more flexible and will eat worms. If you keep stuff over the winter you needs a yr round source of suitable food.

I've liked setting tanks with minnows best overall. I've had common shiners reproduce and have kept emerald shiners, fatheads, suckers, and creek chubs for yrs. Less success with daces but blacknoses do ok. Pickeral & gar tend to beat their noses against tank ends. Mudpuppies are boring and primarily nocturnal. When fish get bigger they tear up plants whenever they spook and that is why I usually take the chubs out at 7-9" for a fishing trip or feed the perch or whatever to the cat.

[duckbutter]

I think you answered your own question--if you need a permit to transfer fish from one body of water to another, I would think taking a walleye from somewhere to an aquarium would qualify requiring a permit.