Gone fishin'.....

**MrDrums** · 07-19-2009, 02:03 AM

Just curious....

Took my son fishing today and caught several small blue gill....they are a lot like severum, in my opinion. Can they be kept in an aquarium? Not that I would ever do that, but will they survive? They grow a bit bigger than sevs, and most likely need very strong filtration and current, but would they do best as a cold water fish, or could they be similar to tropical fish in their needs?

Anyone have any experience with them? Would they get along with severum or other cichlids? Hhmmmm....

**Northernguy** · 07-19-2009, 02:09 AM

Maybe if you could catch one or two that are small enough.
My brother caught a muskie fry in a minnow trap.He kept in a childrens pool he turned into indoor pond.lol That was a big ol farm house!

**Jacko** · 07-19-2009, 02:30 AM

Blue gills can be kept in an aquarium, problem is that they are extremely messy, grow big and once you take them from the lake or wherever, you can't (or shouldn't) put them back once you've kept them in the tank for a while.

I'd suggest at least a 75 gallon tank with heavy filtration to keep them, kinda like oscars IMO, just coldwater instead of tropical.

**MrDrums** · 07-19-2009, 02:35 AM

Great advice, Jacko - thanks! Gives me something to think about for the future, anyway.

**smaug** · 07-19-2009, 04:34 PM

Bluegills are no different or messier to keep then an oscar,except for temp of course.If they are kept strictly with wild fish from the same waters then there is no reason they cannot be released back into the same body of water you caught them from.They should be kept in cooler water then tropicals and fed live foods but if you can ween them onto pellets and frozen foods so much the better.Basically,treat them like oscars or other large predatory cichlids.