Nikki

I think it’s illegal to do that where I’m at in NC. ? That, and I would feel absolutely terrible releasing a now “domesticated” bass back into the wild. Aww! Thank you! I’ll definitely check it out! ❤️ I’m raising guppies and platties for that SAME reason! ? I know they’re not gonna sick with diseases or parasites coming from my tanks.

Thank you so much for the food suggestions! ❤️ Trying to prepare for winter when wild food is going to become more scarce, and he won’t eat anything frozen or prepared. I am definitely prepared to move him into a bigger tank as he grows. ? We’ve got a spare 100 gal to move him into when he gets bigger. Just seems like overkill at the moment with him being so small, especially when we already had the smaller one cycled and ready. ? Afterwards, setting up something like a 125 -200 gal wouldn’t be a problem. ? I’m not a fan of keeping fish in tanks too small for them. Not only does it make my heart hurt when I see it, but it’s so much more work keeping the water parameters where they need to be. ?

He was about one inch long when my son brought him home. ?

Hi! Several months ago, my son brought home a baby bass that was about an inch long. We dropped him into a tank that had been cycling for a couple of months with nothing but some snails, shrimp and plants in it. To be honest, this wasn’t my favorite fish starting out. For several weeks, all he did was hide whenever I approached, and I could never be sure that he/she was eating anything. One day, it was like a switch just flipped for this little dude. He would come out and look at me whenever I went to feed the tank. And now, he makes a bee-line to me whenever he sees me walking around in the house. He is BY FAR my favorite fish of all time now! He’s so personable, eats out of my hand, and is a joy to own. I’ve experimented with several foods to see what he will and will not eat. This being the main reason for my post. I’ve discovered he loves to eat only wriggling and crawling things. He absolutely will not touch pellet, frozen or flake food. Turns his nose up and frozen brine shrimp. He loves daphnia (which I culture indoors), misquote larvae, and baby plattie/guppy fry. I’ve seen him pick at baby snails, but he always spits them back out. So recently, my kiddo brought home a bunch of tadpole eggs. I thought this would be a great source of food for our new best friend. He ignored the eggs entirely, and now they’ve hatched into baby tadpoles. I thought he would maybe chase after and eat them once they were able to start free-swimming, but he still hates them. I’ve seen him pick at a couple, but he always spits them back out. My question is this: Should I remove the tadpoles from the tank? Is he not eating them because they could harm him, or he is just spoiled? My main concern is not introducing anything to the tank that could make him sick. (And yes, I am well aware of the dangers of introducing water/creatures from the wild.) Don’t come for me. ? He’s about two inches now, so still just a little guy. I’d appreciate any thoughts, feedback, or suggestions about the tadpoles, as well as what else I can feed him. I’ve tried frozen pieces of fish/shrimp. He only like the live ones. ? As well as various bugs - none of which he touched. This included flies, tiny months, little green grasshopper dudes that weren’t exactly grasshoppers. I’m not sure what they’re called. But they’re very small and fragile. And tiny maggots. He’s turned his nose up to all of those things. The only things I can get him to eat are the mosquito larvae, daphnia, and fish fry. Thanks for taking the time to read! ?