A Dream Tank.

[Pr0eve]

I have been thinking about this for a long time now, I would like to try a wild trout and crayfish tank. we have a river (canal) that drys up every winter here, and if you go down to it you can net crayfish and small trout out of it. I would like to try my hand at rising some.


do you think it would be wise or fun?



lol damn typoed again,

[OscarFan]

. One you have to have a permit. Two you would need a huge tank. 3 trout get huge
I would get a 125 and get perch but not trout

[OscarFan]

My dream tank would be perch and crayfish in a 200

[tropfish]

that sounds cool, as long as its not illegal to keep them.

[Pr0eve]

i am looking into the laws for my state now, I have emailed the fish and game office to see if there are any laws on this...

[OscarFan]

what size tank would you put them in. Here in Montana you have to get a permit.

[zackish]

Better have a good size tank though....

[Pr0eve]

no clue that this time, I am just thinking about it.. I do not have the room at this time, but some day I would like to get a 200g + and be a native tank.

[OscarFan]

That would be sweet. exspensive but sweet.

[kkevvy]

Thats pretty much exactly what I want to do!

Get a 200 gal, fill it with gravel, sand, and larger stones. A powerhead to produce some moderately strong current. A chiller to keep the water cold, around 55 degrees F. Get about 15 crayfish and maybe 3-4 rainbows. Maybe some little sculpins too.

I'd want to get some of the moss we have growing around here, maybe just take a whole rock from the wild to bring in all the good stuff, so to speak.

Let the trout feed themselves along with dosings of live shiners. Or maybe just keep a school of shiners in it.

That would be so awesome!

The only thing is that crayfish really like uproot plants... its like their job.

[Pr0eve]

I read some were there is a way too, for the lack of a better word, wire some plants to drift wood, I will have to look for the article again. but just saying that maybe a way to help in keeping some plants rooted. or just keep them in pots, in super deep sand or what knots.....

[NickFish]

One of my dad's friends does this. His whole basement is filled with trout, perch, huge crayfish, minnows, shad, crappie, even some rock bass.
Where i live in Ontario you need a permit to raise these fish but I don't think it is too hard to get. He feeds them earthworms and feeder fish along with special flake foods. The crayfish eat feeder fish too.
They get huge and all his tanks are over 150 gallons. I think he breeds them and sells the eggs and fry to fish conservatories. Then they eventually get realesed back into the local lakes. He has a huge man-made pond in his yard where he puts the fish for breeding. The biggest tank is 1000 gallons and it's filled with bass. (yes he does have a big house)
I'm pretty sure he gets paid quite a bit for what he does.
As a hobby it would be VERY VERY expensive and challenging.
A crayfish tank is fairly easy though. I used to go down and catch crayfish for my old 10 gallon a few years ago. Give them feeder fish and sprinula agrae wafers. Also don't buy live plants as they will eat them down to nothing in a few days.
They're very interestion to keep.

[shockshockshad]

Get a 200 gal, fill it with gravel, sand, and larger stones. A powerhead to produce some moderately strong current. A chiller to keep the water cold, around 55 degrees F. Get about 15 crayfish and maybe 3-4 rainbows. Maybe some little sculpins too.

Crayfish are VERY territorial. for a 200 gallon, I suggest 4-5, at the most.

[Pr0eve]

wild shiners do look cool, but I am on the wrong side of the states for any of these to be in the wild..

[Dave66]

no clue that this time, I am just thinking about it.. I do not have the room at this time, but some day I would like to get a 200g + and be a native tank.

Add another zero to your tank size, and you'll have to employ large and efficent filtration, as native fish won't tolerate poor water quality. You'll need to test the water the fish come from (pH, hardness, temperature) and duplicate them in your tank. Its also highly possible you'll need a chiller to maintain proper temperatures for the natives; they aren't tropical fish.

Dave

[Pr0eve]

4 or 5 per 200g? man they do not get that big. lol what do they want 5 arcs for then self? but, in the past I use to go down to this river and net up 5g buckets worth of them for BBQs.. Mmmm there good eats...

[Pr0eve]

Add another zero to your tank size, and you'll have to employ large and efficent filtration, as native fish won't tolerate poor water quality. You'll need to test the water the fish come from (pH, hardness, temperature) and duplicate them in your tank. Its also highly possible you'll need a chiller to maintain proper temperatures for the natives; they aren't tropical fish.

Dave

yea, I have been reading on them., they need to be about 55F or so. my tanks stay at about 70F with no heater atm. so a chiller will be needed..

[gm72]

Well I didn't vote because you'd need a huge, and I do mean HUGE tank for trout. Not feasible. Glad you are checking into the laws as well, good job there.

[Tolley]

How about you BUY the RIVER lol couldn't help myself...

It'd be cool put expensive.

[gm72]

You'd need a tank in the thousands of gallons to even have a chance at success.

[Pr0eve]

It will be a few years. but it is doable. I have read a lot of stuff on it so far.

crayfish on the other hand seem to be fairly easy. but still out a few years. cant say I do not plan ahead lol..

[NickFish]

You could keep 4-5 crayfish in a 30G easy. Put in some rocks, caves, lots of plants and an abundance of food and they will be fine. I see tanks at petsmart that are 50G with 20+ crayfish in there. Not that you should put in that much.

[NickFish]

You could build a pond if you have a big enough yard and put the fish in there if you really want to do that. Again very expensive, you'd need a permit, and it would be challenging. Crayfish are easy and very active. Always something going on in a crayfish tank.

[kkevvy]

You'd need a tank in the thousands of gallons to even have a chance at success.


I wouldn't go that far.

My friend has a 100 gallon aquarium with very strong flitration, some large lives plants and some rocks, and he has a 5 pound or so largemouth thats been happily living in it for 3 years. He feeds it crayfish, shiners, etc... no problem.

[OscarFan]

Crayfish are VERY territorial. for a 200 gallon, I suggest 4-5, at the most.
That just depends on the surface area of the bottom. And the trout would have to be very small so they would grow to fit the aquarium

[gm72]

My friend has a 100 gallon aquarium with very strong flitration, some large lives plants and some rocks, and he has a 5 pound or so largemouth thats been happily living in it for 3 years. He feeds it crayfish, shiners, etc... no problem.

That's still horrible fish keeping practice to keep such a large fish in a relatively small tank. Not to mention the original post specified trout, not bass.

[OscarFan]

I agree with gm. Perch are a lot smaller. 10 inches tops. and cooler.

[Pr0eve]

perch would be cool too. I was just thinking of trout due to the fact I can net/scoop last year spawn right out of the water holes before they freeze. other wise they freeze or get eaten by the birds.

[OscarFan]

You can catch perch easily by Icefishing. I could catch about 100 in a day if you wanted some.

[kkevvy]

You can catch perch easily by Icefishing. I could catch about 100 in a day if you wanted some.


I think 15 perch would be cool in a big aquarium too...

But trout are still better.

[Tigerbarb]

My dream tank seems mostly impossible for someone like me, and expensive to run:
A round marine tank including moon jellies inside
I do know this is possible, because I have seen this done in coast aquariums.

[Pr0eve]

I talk to the fish and game, I have to get a permit. but doable