Content

• Steps
• Tips
• Warnings

Keeping North American non-target fish in your tank can be a wonderful addition to your home and a wonderful life experience. However, this commitment should not be made for short term gain. This fish will become part of your family.

Steps

1. 1 Explore! Perch and other non-commercial fish can grow quite large, you need an aquarium of 500 and thousands of liters. These are not guppy fish, keep in mind the size of the adult fish you are looking for. They may need special care and food.Also, keeping some wild-caught fish at home may be illegal in your area.
2. 2 Get a large aquarium. Depending on the type of fish, the first step is to buy an aquarium. Smaller fish, like long-eared perch, will do less aquarium than largemouth bass, which grows to a very large size, so the aquarium must be huge. As a rule, for every 5-7 cm of fish length, 25 liters of water are needed. The more it is always better.
3. 3 Find a heavy duty filter. A heavy duty filter is needed to clean the large amount of waste produced by these fish, and a filter is also used to clean the environment. Don't skimp on the filtering device. Find an acceptable filter option with easy replacement of replacement filters. You will change them often.
   • Depending on the soil you choose, you will determine if you need a bottom filter and amplifier. In some aquariums, you may not use a bottom filter because you have fish from a lake with sand. If you've chosen gravel at the bottom of your aquarium, it might be appropriate to add a bottom filter. It will really help keep the waste level underneath. You will also need a bottom filter amplifier that draws water through the filter.
   • The substrate should be as natural as possible. Basically, it is an aquarium that displays a pond or lake in your home. Try to avoid bright soil colors. The sand in the aquarium naturally reproduces the bottom of the lake and really looks beautiful. Alternatively, pebbles will give your aquarium a great look. Plan to add 5 to 7 cm of pebble substrate ..
4. 4 You can install the aerator in the aquarium by submerging the spray nozzle on the back of the aquarium or wherever you prefer. From time to time you may notice a fish playing in it.
5. 5 Exercise caution and discretion when planting plants. Plants are a good addition to your aquarium, but these fish can eat live plants. Plastic or silk plants look flawless. In the presence of a huge number of species of such plants, there are even lilies. If you intend to mix fish species with a large number of plants in the aquarium, take care to create shelters for small fish.
6. 6 Enhance your aquarium with light. Lighting can really enhance your aquarium. Find a spectral lamp that simulates natural sunlight. With quality lighting, you will see the full range of colors on your fish.
7. 7 Get some useful flat stones. Another addition to the aquarium can be an area of ​​flat rocks, arranged in such a way as to give the impression of a rocky area of ​​a lake or pond. Some fish, such as rock perches, need this supplement.
8. 8 Get ready for a variety of foods. These fish require different types of food.
   • Once your fish realizes that the flakes and pellets are food (it may take a long time), they will become the main food.
   • Buy quality flakes, brine shrimp pellets and bloodworms. Some foods help to give the fish a bright color, it seems that the fish is absorbing the food and its color increases.
   • Artemia cubes may crumble, making it easier for the fish to feed.
   • Be prepared to add live food to your fish's diet.
   • Especially valuable crickets, it is interesting to watch them.
   • An alternative is earthworms cut into 6mm pieces.
9. 9 After completing the setup of your aquarium, pour the water slowly to avoid ruining the fixtures and decorations in the aquarium.
10. 10 Plan to launch your aquarium in a month. The nitrates will break down and a water biobalance will form.
    • Spend some time reading about it, learn how to test water quality, and ask people experienced in the field.
11. 11 Buy fish. It is highly advisable to add only fry to the aquarium.Adults will find it much more difficult to adjust to the biorhythm in the aquarium. They will be more stressed and more picky about their diet. The fry are more adapted to life in the aquarium. Start with lighter fish such as eared bass or rock bass, you will have the opportunity to familiarize yourself with them, and you will take the first steps to more complex varieties. Catching them with a hook and line is not recommended for two reasons. First, they have become stressed and may have suffered trauma that should heal with your help. Secondly, if you caught them with a hook and line, they are probably oversized. You can catch them on the minnow, which is sold at the tackle and fishing store. It is basically a funnel at both ends, the fish swims and cannot escape. You can fill it with dry cat food or grains and secure it to the pier by dipping it into a lake or pond, or wherever rock bass can be found. (Check with your state's fishing laws. You may need to have a trap marked with your name, address, and fishing license number.) The smaller the hole in the trap, the smaller the fish will be. Let the trap stay there for a day or two, then test it. Have a bucket with a lid (ice cream buckets will work) for your new fish. You may be surprised at what you catch! Just save what your tank can hold or less. You can always add more fish later.
12. 12 Before adding fish to the aquarium, place them in an air bag. and let it stay in it for 30 minutes to adapt the water temperature. Also remember to have a good heater in your aquarium. This is a tropical fish, not a goldfish. Add some aquarium water to an air bag to help the fish adjust to the new water. Add a little more water after another 20-30 minutes, if it looks healthy, move it to the aquarium.
13. 13 Allow the fish a day or two to adjust to the aquarium environment before feeding them. Try to keep them away from stressful situations, prevent children from tapping the aquarium, etc.
14. 14 When you start giving them food, add a small amount of cereal to them. Look at their reaction. After several attempts at cereal feeding, try feeding live or non-living food such as crickets, chopped earthworms, or shrimp. This is perhaps the most difficult process in keeping these fish. Watch them closely and write down what they eat. If it seems to them that it is food, they will eat it all the time. Stick to a schedule. They will begin to acknowledge your presence and rise to the surface for food. You can eventually start hand-feeding crickets and earthworms.

Tips

• If you prefer to explore the life of predatory fish such as largemouth bass or striped catfish, their habitat preferences, dietary choices, etc. Largemouth bass and striped catfish are usually solitary species. So, if you have a tank of more than 500 liters, count on the content of one individual. If you prefer catfish, be aware that some species can grow to enormous sizes. Predatory fish like pike perch and pike are solitary species and will dominate the aquarium. Like the striped catfish, it will eventually need an extraordinary reservoir. You will also need to constantly feed them live complementary foods.
• You can add invertebrates to your aquarium. It is good to add snails and crayfish. Be aware that snails are a treat for medium-sized predatory fish. Add more of them. They breed well and will be an enjoyable variety in their diet. If you have caught wild snails from a lake or pond, they can carry parasites for some fish.Crayfish can get caught in your trap minnow, on the bait with cat food. Set up a trap near the shore of a lake or pond and test it the next day. They are interesting creatures and really exciting to look at in an aquarium.
• In some states in America, it is illegal to release your fish back into the wild. Check out the laws and regulations of your state. This is due to various diseases obtained in captivity, when an unhealthy individual is released, it can lead to damage to the population. They are also no longer adapted to wild life. They became tame, giving them food, therefore, by releasing them into the original waters, you will lead the fish to perdition. Keep this in mind when collecting fish.
• Long-eared perches (sunfish) are an excellent first choice for a home aquarium. They are quite beautiful, relatively easy to care for, and generally easy to catch.
• Algae can be a problem. Purchase algae scrapers, or a magnetic scraper might come in handy too. There are also liquid algicides on the market that destroy greens on the glass of the aquarium, you just need to scrape them off. This can help if you don't have invertebrates in your tank. Read labels. Most of them are fatal to crayfish and snails.

Warnings

• Check the laws of your state before you start fishing. You may need to have a fishing license. many states have a day or a couple of days a year when you can fish for free (for example, Illinois or Missouri). In most countries, you can find out their own rules and regulations, indicated on certain sites.