capman wrote:
And regarding bass...
When I was a kid our neighbor gave us a very small largemouth bass that he had found among some minnows he had bought as bait for fishing.
This was a super cool fish, but it was a real pain to feed. It really only wanted live food. And the live food it really wanted was live fish, and we really were not into buying feeder fish all the time. Sometimes I could trick it into eating strips of smelt if I threw them into the water just right so that it looked like a live fish for a few seconds - sometimes it would strike and eat it before it had a chance to realize it was not alive. It only did really well though if we had live fish for it. And if it got fed really well it then started getting aggressive with the oscars it was living with.
It got to be about a foot long, and then we were lucky enough to have a nature center want to take it off our hands (they were thrilled to get one that was parasite free - I guess they had trouble with anchor worms on the ones they would catch for their display tanks). Having a nature center or public aquarium want your fish when it gets too big for your tank is not something you can count on though, and releasing it into the wild after having it in your tanks is not a good idea (and not legal I'm sure). And bass get lots bigger than a foot long. So, as much as I like bass, I won't be trying to keep them again.
This same neighbor also used to find brook sticklebacks among his bait minnows and he would give them to us. They were extremely cool fish, but a real pain in the neck to feed because they too only would accept live foods (though I can't remember whether we ever tried frozen brine shrimp???). I'd love to keep sticklebacks again (I think I could handle the feeding better now), and I'd love to have them spawn.
You know, I had a few bass from pretty much fry stage and had to feed them micro worms, then bloodworms/blackworms/whiteworms, and eventually minnnows or strips of fish meat or beef heart. I'm not sure why it was so hard for you, maybe because you refused to let it starve. It only takes some conditioning for them to realize food is food.
As for those who are still reading who believe chillers are needed--they aren't. At least for most native fish besides trout, salmon, and very deep dwelling fish. Most do great in room temp. I'm still catching 15 inch crappies even during this time of year where the water is nearing high 70s almost 80s. Chillers ARE needed if you think your water will get warmer than 80 degrees. I'm unsure as to how people think chillers are ultimately needed--they aren't.