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Posts: 39
Location: branchburg NJ | I have seen videos on youtube where guys feed fingerling muskies goldfish and frogs and watch them get destroyed by the little monsters. Anybody know where people get the fingerlings from? that would be really awesome to get a couple for a tank but my dad probably wont let me.lol |
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Posts: 3913
| My buddy had a big tank with a 5" bass, a 4" pike and a 5" muskie. He caught all of them with a small net scooping up weeds in shallow water near the boat landing(s). Exceptionally cool to watch the fish when he dumped in a dozen small fathead minnows. The bass was like a drunk chasing another shot of whiskey, but then he would also bite your finger tip if you tickled the water surface. The pike was cool, too, he would stalk the minnows in the open water within the tank. But the muskie was not like the other two in terms of exposure; the muskie ALWAYS stayed in or right next to cover and waited until a minnow swam close. Then you would see him go into a little S shape and when he struck it was so fast it was hard to see him swim the distance, a few inches at most, between him and the minnow. One moment he was in the weeds and the next he was out in the open water and had the minnow in his mouth. |
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Posts: 1039
Location: North St. Paul, MN | got my 5" tiger at a pet shop here in MN. |
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| I bought a tiger from a pet shop here in minnesota most licenced fish stores will be able to order some for you but keep in mind that they grow fast and you need to find them a new home after a year or so.....
My tiger was ~ 13 inches when I got rid of him this summer. I had it in a 55 gallon and touched front and rear of the tank .....
He now lives in Rodgers MN in the cabelas pan fish tank untill he grows a bit more 
They are fun to watch in the tank though lightning quick |
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Posts: 3508
Location: Elk River, Minnesota | Hiya,
You can purchase them through the minnesota fish farm as well. I had at one point a pure, a tiger and a Northern along with a largemouth bass in a 120 gallon tank. The fish don't do much but sit there until it is time to feed, although the bass had a personality and would come and play at the front of the aquarium.
One thing, though...the tiger didn't stop growing. By the time it passed away, it was about 24 inches long. It had a little tough time turning around in an 18" width. Had them about 3 years.
Be expecting to clean the tank about once a week too...those fish crap a bunch and if you don't keep it clean, you'll have unsafe water.. It's a heck of a lot more work to keep them up to speed and the tank clean.
Steve |
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| do a favor to musky,dont keep them in aquarium.they will be rapidly to big for the space you can offer.
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Posts: 2384
Location: On the X that marks the mucky spot | They only last about 2 years before they outgrow a tank so keep that in mind. You can go to most small pet shops and they can order one from one of the wholesale fish places. The MN Muskie Farm doesn't really get into that anymore (or so they told me) because of the hassle involved. |
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Posts: 1169
Location: New Hope MN | MN Musky farms is not a good source for your aquarium fish. I tried last year and they gave me the cold shoulder. They are not interested in doing all the paper work for 3 fish (I don't blame them).
Try a aquarium speciality shop. They are way more difficult than you think. I have a 150 Gallon tank and it needs to be cleaned every week. The trick i found was to raise swordtails or guppies all winter long (tons of babies) before i bought the ski's. After about 2 weeks, they'll all be gone. By that time, feeder goldfish will work and eventually you can switch to crappie minnows.
I would say 1 fish per 50 gallons. Release in Late sept. You could keep one over winter and release in the spring. They'll get 20"+ by spring. |
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Posts: 70
| I has a very difficult time acquiring one in IL. Then after paying 45 bucks for one fish it only lived for three weeks. I had the 70 gallon tank at the temperature recommended for me by the fish farm, but the beautiful little ski wouldn't eat at all and one morning I saw it belly up. Very dissapointing after all the time and effort to procure the fish. |
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Posts: 2384
Location: On the X that marks the mucky spot | Getting spotted muskies to eat can be tough. That's why they're so difficult to grow. I recommend getting tigers for fishtanks myself. They eat and eat and eat and eat. They seem to do more "stuff" too. |
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Posts: 1039
Location: North St. Paul, MN | Mine has already gone from about 5" to 6" in the short two weeks that I've had it. It's truly incredible to see it changing, especially coming back to school after the weekend. Feeding it crappie minnows. He's in with 2 sunnies, 1 crappie, and a bullhead. I think the bullhead will be gone soon, the tiger is now bigger. The panfish are a little bigger than the muskie, so we'll see how they fair as he gets a little bigger.
My students love looking at the fish...telling me, "I caught one of those this summer!" |
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Posts: 897
| As long as you keep it fed it shouldn't eat the other fish in the tank. I had three muskies and two walleyes in my tank at one time, no problems til I forgot to feed them for a week and a half...lost a musky and a walleye on that deal!
These fish do not need to outgrow the tank that fast. They grow as fast as you allow them. Feed them less and they will grow slower, they really don't need to be fed more than once a week, maybe twice, a few minnows at a time.. Mine were just fine on that schedule. |
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Posts: 3508
Location: Elk River, Minnesota | I would agree on the pure strain as well...ours lasted about two months and went belly up...the tiger did really well. And...I would also agree...feed once a week and you will be good to go.
Steve |
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Posts: 1039
Location: North St. Paul, MN | Good info for a new musky owner, such as myself...thanks guys! |
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| Like an earlier post mentioned, they will only grow as fast as you let them. I had a game fish tank years ago, that I had for about 6 years. I fed them feeder goldfish until it got too expensive, then switched to minnows. Still a lot of hassle and mess, though. With my new set up, I am feeding them all pellets(small floating ones). I use a ten gallon tank to put them in when I bring them home from the fish store so that I can train them to eat pellets. It takes awhile, as they are used to looking for live, moving food. Sunnies take to pellets immediately, the walleye and pike had to "starve" for a while before they decided to try them. The tiger muskie had to really be trained though. I was getting worried that he was about to starve to death, so I dropped a small one legged cricket in the tank, and he went for it immediately. After that, I would just make sure I dropped a couple pellets in each day, and eventually, after the cricket had worked it's way through his system and got hungry again, he took a pellet. I would feed him two or three pellets at a time, about twice a day, until he really started attacking them, then he was good to go. Until they really understand that the pellets are the only food, you can't put them in a tank with the other fish, because the other fish will eat all of the pellets before the newbie ever figures out that it should be eating them. All the fish are about 4 inches, and now I only feed them every other day, and only make sure each fish gets 4 or 5 pellets. It takes them about 10 months to add an inch, and since they are all about the same size, nobody is eating anybody else. Also, with light feeding, not much poop. I keep the tank at 69 or 70 degrees so that I can have a plecostomus, which keeps the algae down. If it gets much cooler, the plecostomus will die, and if it gets much warmer, the game fish can die. Very hands off set up though, change the out of tank filter occasionally, never have to clean the glass, once a year, stir up the gravel. That's it. |
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