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Posts: 373
| Anyone know when or where I could get a pet musky in Illinois? |
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Posts: 284
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Illegal to have or sell any game fish in an aquarium in Illinois. Pet shops do it until they get caught and then they pay a heavy fine.
I would suggest buying on-line ... Minnesota Muskie Farm will over night some little muskies to you. Still illegal to have in an aquarium in your home in Illinois, but if you must have them, purchase them out of state and keep your paperwork just in case. |
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Posts: 7079
Location: Northwest Chicago Burbs | Not to advocate breaking the law on this one....but go to your local pet shops, ask them if they ever carry native game fish. The ones that do (the heinous lawbreakers!) can tell you what species they commonly carry, and they can tell you when the shipments come in. Generally they will carry game fish in the spring (when they're like little after the spawn).
And, if you've never had a muskie in an aquarium, best advice I can give you is to do a search here on M1st for "muskies in aquariums" or just aquarium, which will bring you to the many threads that have covered this topic. Beyond that, a few things to consider: they grow fast (better get a big tank), they jump out of the tank (get a sturdy cover), eat as often as you feed them (expensive buying minnows every week) and since you will probably only feed them live food they will pollute the water quality (get 3X as much filtration as you would for a tropical tank) amazingly fast.
I've raised muskies, pike, crappie, bass, catfish and even a sturgeon in aquariums and the best advice I can give is to get an Oscar or Jack Dempsey. They grow big, will eat aggressively, live forever and are pretty low maintenance. |
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Posts: 550
Location: So. Illinois | Slamr provides some good suggestions. I have had Oscers for years and they are a great option if you have a large aquarium. Muskies grow fast and quickly exceed the capacity of the tank. If you want a great option, consider getting a miniture musky. What's that you ask? Get a Red Fin or Grass Pickeral. They look like a miniture musky and you can keep them longer as they will not outgrow their tank if it is big enough. A buddy of mine bought me one on the internet (overnight shipping) and he is doing great. I feed him those little goldfish (comets?). When he feeds, the strikes are lightening fast.
Jerry (aka AFChief)
Edited by AFChief 12/22/2010 8:26 AM
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Posts: 37
Location: Rhinelander, WI | Agree with having a grass pickerel in an aquarium. Had a friend who got one for his 40 gallon tank and it's all the fun of a pike or musky, just scaled down in size. Only problem with the pickerel is that they don't have a long life span, the one he had lived for two years before it died. |
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Posts: 373
| Thanks for the info was unaware it was illegal I thought I have seen posts of people in illinois that have had them not sure what I will do I have had oscars maybe ill go with the grass pickerel sounds pretty cool Thanks again |
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Posts: 215
Location: Wisconsin | I reccomend getting a Pike Cichlid(s) (genus Crenicichla) for your tank. Your local fish store should be able to get their hands on these for you. Do a little search online, and you will have all the info that you will need regarding keeping them (feeding, tank size, cover needed, water temps... and get more filtration than you think you should!) |
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Posts: 30
| Another vote for grass pickerels. I was in the same boat, wanting muskies in a tank, but after researching decided to go with grass pickerels. I ended up ordering mine from http://www.zimmermansfish.com/ and have had good luck with them. You can check them out, feeding on minnows here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eSqF4V4DKyU |
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Posts: 70
| keystonehatcheries.com in rockford. They are expensive and probably wont have any until the spring |
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