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| I have kept fish for over 40 years, all types , all sizes foreign and domestic. Without question the most intersting fish have been fingerling Musky the second would be a gar. I have also kept fingerling Pike , large and small mouth bass, blue channel cats , bull heads, crappie, long nose and spotted gar, dogfish and even a sturgeon at onetime. You used to be able to purchase fingerlings for all of these at the local pet shops up north. Since relocating to Texas I have not had time to get into it again but would like to.
Native fish are far more interesting than any import that I can think of. Being a fisherman I find the behavior of these fish to be facinating. Being able to study them up close in a 100 gallon tank set up with stumps rocks and weed beds gives great insight as to their behavior in the wild as these tiny versions act exactly as thier larger counterparts in the wild.
Lets face it with all of the foreign speicies that are being tossed into our waterways because they have become to big to keep , wouldn't we be better off having native spiecies that fit the eco system instead of those that do not.
I highly recommend keeping muskies and if you find a place to get them let me know , I would like to pick up a few myself.  :) |
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Posts: 13
| I've always wanted to keep a musky. After extensive research, I decided against it. Sounds like more mork than fishing for them. If you are serious about tanking one check out monsterfishkeepers.com. There are a few guys there who keep musky. The length of your tank should be at least 3x the length of mature fish (at least 12') and the width should be at least 4' as well as the depth. If im gonna build a pool its going to be for my kids! |
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Posts: 3774
| A buddy had a big tank, don't know the size, with a 8" bass, a 5" pike and a 5-6" muskie. It was amazing to watch the fishes' behavior when he would throw a dozen perch shiners into the tank. (Like buying some minnows and throwing them into the tank at Guide's Choice.) The bass was so agressive that he would bite any fingertip dribbled in the water, and he would suck up most of the shiners. The pike was way less agressive, he would only target then stalk a single shiner in deeper open water. The muskie held close to structure all the time and would only hit a minnow that came within a few inches of where the ski was holding. The pike and especially the muskie almost always made their bodies into a "S" just before they hit the minnow, usually less than 3" away. In a blink I could see the fish getting ready to go and next second the minnow was sideways in the mouth surrounded by a shower of little silver shiner scales floating softly to the bottom of the tank. Very cool.
He netted all his fish at the access after pulling his boat out after dark. Hip waders and a small net and a flashlight. I'm sure this is not legal, netting his pets, but that's how he got them. But he also released them when he shut down his tank.
that's it. |
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Posts: 127
Location: SUN PRAIRIE WI | I thinkyour tank is way too small I have A arrowana which even does not get as big as A muskie and I have him with 1 giraffe catfish in A 480 gallon.
Your tank would be fine for A while but I think the fish would certainly outgrow it
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Posts: 2691
Location: Pewaukee, Wisconsin | Lots of hopps to jump through to get muskies in a fish tank in Wisconsin now. I had some and they were great. Very cool to watch them feed. I had a tiger and a regular muskie. I looked into getting a few spotted strain muskies but the VHS deal put the stop to getting more muskies. The permits and things you need to get are not worth all the trouble. Hoffers in Milwaukee was my connection but thats all done also.
Peacock Bass, Silver Arawana, gar, and a bunch of pleacos now make up the bulk of my 265 gallon tank. I miss my muskies for sure. For the record I didn't put them into the area lakes. They went to a better place.
I know of a bunch of people who raised muskies over the years and they all grew up so fast. A 4 ft wide tank is a must if your going to keep them for a long time.
My tank was 7ft long x 24'' wide and 31'' tall. Perfect for a few years but they grow so fast if you keep up with the water changes and feed them a lot. Great filtration and good water movement kept my fish healthy and growing fast. My tiger muskie was 24-inches when he got removed from my tank, the other one was over 20''.
Best part of watching them was the set up before they strike. I got to learn a lot watching them eat and set up on the bait fish before they hit it. Very cool stuff. When they were hungry you had to keep your hands out of the water. They were not shy about blasting the gold fish as they hit the water. Mice, frogs, shiners, suckers, shrimp, etc. If they were hungry they ate just about anything I tossed into the tank.
Too bad you couldn't just buy muskies, raise them, and release them into the local lakes. That sounds good but after living in a tank for years I don't think they would take that first winter very well here in Wisconsin.
No muskies for me now. Kind of hurts but the DNR has the power to put the hurt on you far worse. South American fish for me now. Maybe salt water next. |
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| Where are grass pickerel native too? |
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| here in ohio you can order tiger muskies from jacks fish store they cany sell muskies or pike but they do sell tigers. about 22 for a 4 inch fish. |
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Posts: 309
Location: Elgin IL | I have 2 12-14 muskies in 75 gallon tank...anybody have a 150-200 gallon tank for sale?
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| http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SN1V3TCbfpk&feature=plcp&context=C30...
This is a cool vid of my pets! |
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| I had 4 Tigers in a 55 gallon tank for about 2 years. Was a blast and still my favorite fish ever in an aquarium. They were fun to watch at night.... In the dark they'd all come near the surface of the water. Occasionally you'd hear a big commotion in the tank as they surface or tried to jump?
Kept them till they got to about 8 inches and then went on to bass. |
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Posts: 17
Location: northeast ohio | i agree with chief 100% redfin pickerel top out around 10 inches, but look and act like musky. |
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Posts: 865
| Having 36 Years in the freshwater / saltwater fish industry I can tell you from past experience that there is no problem keeping Purebred or hybred Muskies of any type in your home aquarium. The thing you must never overlook is that you are housing a large preditory fish that even in captivity is capable of growing to a very,very large size. The aquarium must be large enough to house such a fish so that it does not alter the fishes growth in any way. There is a growth inhibitor factor, that will prevent the fish from reaching it's normal size in a set time period...Someone stated they can not be stunted, that is false...That being said it's possible to actually have pristine water quality in your aquarium that is equal to and sometimes better than the water It's normally stocked into by musky clubs. So it's just a mater of keeping good water quality and giving the fish a proper food intake and being housed in a large enough aquarium . For someone who really wants to have a tank with a pet Musky (1) and wants it to be a large display fish, I would recommend a Minimum of a 220 tank. For a average tank with a pet fish that you really do not want to get too big 24"- 30" a 125 gallon tank will do the trick..... Anyone looking for a custom aquarium made to your specs. let me know. Mike Sr. |
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| Here is the problem: How would you as a free human being like being confined to one room for any extended period? Muskies are wild fish; putting them in an aquarium is a hard on them as putting a human being in a cell--even if it is a big cell. |
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Posts: 1134
Location: NorthCentral WI | Hey Swan, have you ever been to the zoo? |
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Posts: 1220
| One more thing to add. I am a real regular shopper, looker, at the Cabellas store in Richfield not far from where I live. I always enjoy the walk-through aquarium, alwayS hoping I will see the critters doing something that will give me a "clue" in some way. Well, here is the lesson I learned. They can't keep musky or pike for any sort of length of time. They get really, really ratty and crappy and make the place look like a leper colony in no time...and then they are GONE. I've seen it over and over and the tank is huge, and the other fish look great. Those guys are likely to be expert fish-tank guys and they can't do it. Can't imagine what my fish would like other than Night of the Living Dead! |
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Posts: 833
| The Cabelas in Rogers, MN has had Pike, Musky, and Tigers for years. I live 7 miles away and I take my son their frequently. They've had the same fish in those tanks for at least 4 years. They've added some over that time, but the 3 musky have been there all along. I think they did have to remove one now that i think about it, but that is the exception not the norm.
Had an awesome experience there this past week. Took my son and watched them feed the fish. They dropped a bunch of smaller fare in as well as one 10" sucker. The sucker immediately fell victim to ~19" smallmouth. However, the bass couldn't quite get the minnow down his throat. After 10 miunutes, the bass regurgitatied the still living minnow. The minnow swam for dear life. As soon as that minnnow came free we watched as one of the musky became very competitive and charged in. It blew past the rest of the fish in the tank and crushed the minnow. Very cool thing to watch.
Very interestingly the fish in that tank seem to be attuned to feeding time. They are pretty ho hum most of the time, but about 5 minutes before feeding you will see the predators move to various areas of cover and start to move around. Another intersting thing is that in that tank there are 3 muskies in the upper 30" class as well as a low 30" pike. When that sucker become "available" only one of the Esox actively engaged it. The others did not respond at all. My theory is they were not hungry. Definitely an education on timing as well as competitiveness between predators.
Edited by Brad P 3/7/2013 10:15 AM
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Posts: 165
Location: tHe LaKe Of PrIoR, mN | my old tiger lives in rogers cabelas now I had him for maybe a year fed him thousands of minnows and when he got too big ~15" I donated it to them it has grown 120% since then and actually I heard they move him to the big tank now
I learned quickly they need a tank much bigger than you think it would... he liked to attack the "muskie in the mirror" and kinda messed up its chin
the biggest problem is the tank I had it in was ~2ft tall 4ft wide but something like 15" deep just like most common tanks wide and somewhat tall but not deep enough I think you need a big round tank like they do for sharks... when I had the tiger it swam a lot almost non stop it seemed
very fun fish though I got it about and it was 2.5" not even a year or so later 15" crazy |
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Posts: 165
Location: tHe LaKe Of PrIoR, mN | junkman - I think the pike and muskies look like that because they get no natural light a lot are caught out of local lakes which also my have something to do with the light weird look... my tiger looked normal with good colors very pretty and actually 3-4 years later still does in their tank |
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Posts: 833
| Your Tiger is growing like a weed, he is my son's favorite fish. I'd guess he is almost 30" now. Very aggressive looking. |
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Posts: 165
Location: tHe LaKe Of PrIoR, mN | I was very happy they gave him a good home he was too big for home, but when we dropped him off he was too small for even the bass tank so he lived with the pannies then the bass and now the big boys tank so he had to be aggressive to make it |
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Posts: 8717
| The Muskie in our local Cabela's is pretty nappy looking. Actually most of the fish are, now that I think about it. The eyes aren't right, very poor coloration. Maybe just too many fish in one place? I know nothing about aquariums.. Scratch that - I know one thing. I had goldfish as a kid and thought it would be really cool to bring home some crayfish from the lake. It was really cool for a few days. Then the goldfish ate the tiny crayfish. And the bigger crayfish ate the goldfish. Whoops. |
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Posts: 865
| I really don't beleive you have to get a Certified VHS Free Musky to keep as a pet. It's not like he's going to raise these and release them into the bodies of water in the area.... He will probably get a few and try and raise them, and they will thin out fast enough ....Survival of the fitest will be in effect once their in the aquarium. We fed our small Tiger Musky pellets as thats what he was reared on and then we switched to small ,then medium, then large godfish with an occsional treat like small feeder mice, large Night crawlers, Crickets, frogs, and a large fish three times a month.... Pike, & Pickeral are also fun to raise. I think one of the most important item in keeping these fish healthy is water Quality, and I have always kept a Chiller (refrigeration system) on these species, As these are not Tropical fish and really won't thrieve in warmer water.. They actually prefer a 20 to 25 degree temprature drop a a few months a year .................Good Luck with your Pet. Mike Sr. |
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Posts: 865
| esoxaddict Your a 100% correct these fish are usually overcrowed to a certain degree and when the water is checked the NO3 (Nitrate) level is threw the roof. This is basiclly due to not changing enough water in a closed system and Overfeeding, Overcrowding, and general crappy water quality......This is what you will find in these systems , every single time..........
Mike Sr. |
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Posts: 1220
| I guess I'll have to reframe my opinion based on what you guys are saying and say maybe it's just the people in charge of the Richfield stores tank maybe sucking...not sure still however cuz the other fish do so well (especially the trout) honestly however, I accept those tanks cuz of how many folks enjoy the fish...having one just for me?..I wouldn't do it. I also won't get panties in a bind if that's what you want to do! |
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Posts: 127
Location: SUN PRAIRIE WI | Last year I tried getting A muskie for my 480 gallon aquarium.If you buy one you have to get it from A licensed dealer I was unable to get one, there was A place about 50 miles from my house that raised muskie and he refused to sell me one,One other dealer I talked to would sell me one but not until fall when they were larger,but I was told if you are going to get them for the aquarium you must get them very small otherwise they are way to spooky.So I settled for peacock bass instead |
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Posts: 462
Location: Antioch, IL | cast4musky - 3/7/2013 9:03 AM
Having 36 Years in the freshwater / saltwater fish industry I can tell you from past experience that there is no problem keeping Purebred or hybred Muskies of any type in your home aquarium. The thing you must never overlook is that you are housing a large preditory fish that even in captivity is capable of growing to a very,very large size. The aquarium must be large enough to house such a fish so that it does not alter the fishes growth in any way. There is a growth inhibitor factor, that will prevent the fish from reaching it's normal size in a set time period...Someone stated they can not be stunted, that is false...That being said it's possible to actually have pristine water quality in your aquarium that is equal to and sometimes better than the water It's normally stocked into by musky clubs. So it's just a mater of keeping good water quality and giving the fish a proper food intake and being housed in a large enough aquarium . For someone who really wants to have a tank with a pet Musky (1) and wants it to be a large display fish, I would recommend a Minimum of a 220 tank. For a average tank with a pet fish that you really do not want to get too big 24"- 30" a 125 gallon tank will do the trick..... Anyone looking for a custom aquarium made to your specs. let me know. Mike Sr.
Hey Mike,
My statement on stunted growth was in regards to tank size only. The size of the aquarium a fish is housed in will not stop or stunt growth in anyway. A muskie in a 55 gal. tank and a muskie in a 500 gal. tank, with the same water quality, diet and feeding schedule, will have the same growth rate. The myth that a fish will only grow to the size of its enclosure is dated and has been disproved. As you mentioned, the main way you can try to control growth is by monitoring the diet and food intake (which is hard to do because the whole fun in having a big predator is feeding them). You can keep a small muskie in a 125 gal. but unless I misunderstood your post I would never keep a 24" to 30" fish even in the 220 gal you mentioned to use for a "big" fish. It could be done, but it really shouldn't be done. Dimensions of a std. 125 are 72" x 18" x 21" and a 220 gal is 72.5" x 24.5" x 29". A 15" to 18" muskie is going to have a hard time in the 220. I am a big aquarium fan and would love to see some of your custom builds.
Later,
Dave
Edited by Fish and Whistle 3/10/2013 5:28 PM
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