I've seen several random videos of people with pet bass. It got me to thinking, I wonder what I'd learn if I had a pet bass in a large tank. Seen one that had him in a stock tank, with a lot of vegetation.

 

Is there anything to be learned from an endeavor like this? Or is it just a novelty?

I think its more of a novelty.

 

You would probably need a very large tank that emulated its natural environment to see anything that resembled typical bass activity.

 

The other issue at least here is how you get it from the waterbody to the tank. Taking any lake or river water from the access is not permitted because it increases the risk of spreading invasive species. One would need to haul water from home in order to haul a fish back alive. Lotta effort that doesn’t seem worth it.

Check on the legality of it before you do it.

I am pretty sure it's legal in my state. I know that it's legal for you to catch fish and transport them to stock your pond, though, they frown upon it.

I had a classroom lmb. I'd buy a dozen minnows from time to time to feed it. When the minnows were dropped into the aquarium, it was pandemonium, with the minnows darting in every direction and the bass in hot pursuit. Then, in the same second, after half a dozen or so minnows were inside the bass, it would all screech to a halt and the seven remaining fish would be chill. The minnows would literally swim past the bass with zero caution.

 

It told me that baitfish know when they're prey...and when they're not. Whether it's an emitted chemical, body posture, or something else, I do not know.

5 minutes ago, Swamp Girl said:

I had a classroom lmb. I'd buy a dozen minnows from time to time to feed it. When the minnows were dropped into the aquarium, it was pandemonium, with the minnows darting in every direction and the bass in hot pursuit. Then, in the same second, after half a dozen or so minnows were inside the bass, it would all screech to a halt and the seven remaining fish would be chill. The minnows would literally swim past the bass with zero caution.

 

It told me that baitfish know when they're prey...and when they're not. Whether it's an emitted chemical, body posture, or something else, I do not know.

This alone makes it more interesting to me not so much for the bass' reaction but the prey. Good clues on how to mimic your retrieve and how you work some baits. Dropping some crawfish and minnows in there would be interesting to watch them and see what promotes a strike and how they moved when they are prey. 

1 minute ago, Functional said:

This alone makes it more interesting to me not so much for the bass' reaction but the prey. Good clues on how to mimic your retrieve and how you work some baits. Dropping some crawfish and minnows in there would be interesting to watch them and see what promotes a strike and how they moved when they are prey. 

 

You have an analytical mind like @Pat Brown. With the minnows, I think I'd need a high speed camera. It was a malestrom inside my tank when I released the bass. If I could have studied it in super slow-mo, I'm sure I could have seen something that would have informed my retrieves. 

12 hours ago, Bazoo said:

I've seen several random videos of people with pet bass. It got me to thinking, I wonder what I'd learn if I had a pet bass in a large tank. Seen one that had him in a stock tank, with a lot of vegetation.

 

Is there anything to be learned from an endeavor like this? Or is it just a novelty?

 

when you fish a small enough pond you’ll have the big ones all named within a year or two and they’ll all be your “pets”

 

One of the many reasons I advocate mastering *one body of water at a time*
 

I have pet bass on 800 acre lakes!

 

You know how outdoor cats roam all day and come back around for a snack and a cuddle when you get home from work?

 

Public water bass are about the same - they just roam longer and kill things while they’re cuddling - sight fishing is the best way to get acquainted when they’re in the mood to cuddle.

 

Is there anything to be learned from sight fishing?  Try *everything*!!!

Thanks, Katie, that is interesting. I had noticed that a lot of time bluegills hang out with bass. I can't understand it, since bass eat gills.

 

Thanks, Pat. That's interesting. I am primarily focusing on Freeman Lake, and on the private pond I fish. I do fish a few other spots. It'll be interesting to get my boat going so I can further my knowledge of the Freeman Lake.

 

There are a few bass that I think are the same ones I've caught from the same areas. One, I pulled from under a bridge a few times, another from in a culvert. The culvert fish I am sure it was the same as it had a hook hole from me catching it a few days prior. Unless of of course, it was a differnet, but same sized fish that someone else had caught.

You'd probably learn pretty quick that you can't afford it and don't have enough time to manage it properly.😂  You'd need a huge tank to keep a bass properly and they require a lot of maintenance. I hear they are extremely messy fish and I believe it.

 

So get a juvenile fish and keep it in a 60 gallon aquarium? What do you do if or when it gets to a pound? You going to eat your pet? In most states it's legal to catch and bring a fish to your private body of water but highly illegal to take a fish from your aquarium or pond and release it into a public body of water no matter where it originally came from.

 

It sounds like a neat idea but in reality, it probably isn't.

 

If you really want a fish that is kind of bass like, get a 60 gallon or larger aquarium, a good filter, a heater, and get an Oscar. The one I had always reminded me of a bass. 

I have a friend who had a large Oscar. He put a bass just a little smaller in with it and came home to the bass sticking out of the Oscar's mouth. My point is always keep in mind what you want and don't want being eaten. 

At best, you’d learn how a captive bass in a confined space behaves.

We kept one for a semester for a psychology class. More work than you realize. They make a tank dirty quickly. It’s been a while but the bass had great short term memory but not good long term memory.
 

It adapted to captivity fairly quickly. I think it began to recognize those of us that fed it. It went back in the private pond that we caught it in.

 

We noticed the same thing with how the food knew that the bass was in kill mode. Seems to be a fairly consistent phenomenon across the animal kingdom.

 

If there was a such thing as a Pygmy largemouth that only grew to 4-5 inches it might cool enough to want to have an aquarium but the water changes are about as fun as dealing with a kitty litter box for me.