North American 75G Tank Setup

[Alexp08]

So ive been debating on doing a north american tank with my one 75gal tank. Not sure of the fish but naturally its going to be something native to north america. So my questions are, what should the tank parameters be, what should the water temp be and are there any fish i should definitely steer away from, what do i feed the fish? thanks

 

[Goggy]

I love seeing coldwater tanks. you should go with 75 farenheit or lower. A single bluegill is an excellent choice for your aquarium
if you decide on getting a bluegill, you should order it from an online pond store.
 
If you were to catch one from a local pond (which i will avoid doing), you will have to drip acclimate it
 
you should feed bluegill shrimp and snails on a daily basis, with the ocassional bloodworms
                                                                                                                                 
Pumpkinseeds and other Sunfish are also an option and should be cared for exactly like bluegill  ^^^^
another fish option is white cloud mountain minnow: http/www.seriouslyfish.com/species/tanichthys-albonubes/
avoid big coldwater fish like pike or bass as your tank is too small.

 

[Alexp08]

do they need live bloodworks or could i get frozen/freeze dried? also would i be able to do like a catfish in addition to a sunfish? and once it got big enough release it into a local river/pond (there are certain catfish that are native to my area) allegany county, MD. So i dont believe it would be messing with any natural eco system. 

 

[Alexp08]

Also for substrate would i be able to just go tank some dirt from under the water at a local river and use that would would it put too much debris into my tank?

 

[BiggTexx]

For starters, you will need to decide on exactly what you plan to keep, then we can get a better idea and help out some more.
 
I have to second the Bluegill option, but only because I keep Bluegills myself so I am rather fond of them. I will grab some pics soon.

 

[Byron]

Several years ago I had local fish.  You appear to be located in Maryland, so a temperate temperature which means room temperature throughout the year would be best, meaning, no heat in the tank.  As for water parameters (GH and pH), that would depend upon the water from which the fish are collected.  Don't assume it will be the same as the tap water.
 
Some states have laws respecting the collection of aquatic wildlife including fish.  Check with your state government.
 
Never, ever release fish back into the wild.  This can be very destructive, and is probably forbidden by law (federal or state, depending).  Once you have fish at home in an aquarium, you are providing opportunities for disease that may never occur in the wild locally, and this applies to plants as well as fish.  Releasing such fish back into the natural ecosystem has been known to wipe out natural species.  If you collect wild fish, do so with the understanding that they will be in your care for the rest of their lives.
 
And this brings me to the size some fish attain.  Research the species so you know how large they will get, if they need a group, and make sure you now have sufficient tank space.  "Sunfish" for example is a family of 37 or so species, with varying sizes, but most are in the 8 to 12 inch range, and a group of five (they are shoaling fish) or six would not work in a 75g tank for more than a couple months.  They grow rapidly, I've had some.
 
Byron.

 

[Goggy]

 
Never, ever release fish back into the wild.  This can be very destructive, and is probably forbidden by law (federal or state, depending).  Once you have fish at home in an aquarium, you are providing opportunities for disease that may never occur in the wild locally, and this applies to plants as well as fish.  Releasing such fish back into the natural ecosystem has been known to wipe out natural species.  If you collect wild fish, do so with the understanding that they will be in your care for the rest of their lives.
 

Byron is correct, never release fish into the wild, the catfish idea will not work. Correct me if im wrong, but from what i know, sunfish ultimately are not schooling fish, they can be kept singly and in pairs
 

do they need live bloodworks or could i get frozen/freeze dried? also would i be able to do like a catfish in addition to a sunfish? and once it got big enough release it into a local river/pond (there are certain catfish that are native to my area) allegany county, MD. So i dont believe it would be messing with any natural eco system. 

feed the sunfish frozen bloodworms occasionally. Bloodworms are really high in colestoral and should be a weekly/monthly snack. Stick with live/frozen shrimp when it comes to daily feeding
 

Also for substrate would i be able to just go tank some dirt from under the water at a local river and use that would would it put too much debris into my tank?

The substrate is all up to you. Local river dirt should work, but personally i would play it safe and use gravel from thee LFS

 

[Byron]

I missed the substrate question previously, mainly because I was concentrating on the capture/release aspect.  But I agree with Goggy that the "dirt" from a local stream is not wise.  Not only is there the very real possibility of introducing pathogens and parsites that could be real trouble and even spread to other tanks, but such a substrate would if it is dirt be mud and that is no end of trouble.  Basic sand like play sand would work fine, with some river rock or wood, or both, depending upon the fish and their natural environment aquascape.
 
I also agree on the bloodworms, not a good staple food for any fish.  When I had sunfish, I started with live worms (bought from the fish store once a week) and brine shrimp, and the fish very quickly got used to me and food appearing with me; very quickly we moved onto frozen squid, plankton and shrimp, then dry flake and pellet foods.
 
Byron.

 

[Alexp08]

 
Never, ever release fish back into the wild.  This can be very destructive, and is probably forbidden by law (federal or state, depending).  Once you have fish at home in an aquarium, you are providing opportunities for disease that may never occur in the wild locally, and this applies to plants as well as fish.  Releasing such fish back into the natural ecosystem has been known to wipe out natural species.  If you collect wild fish, do so with the understanding that they will be in your care for the rest of their lives.

I did not think of this, thanks for the info! Ill keep posting questions as the arise. first i need to get the driftwood and rocks. 

 

[Goggy]

 
I also agree on the bloodworms, not a good staple food for any fish.  When I had sunfish, I started with live worms (bought from the fish store once a week) and brine shrimp, and the fish very quickly got used to me and food appearing with me; very quickly we moved onto frozen squid, plankton and shrimp, then dry flake and pellet foods.

 
You trained a sunfish to accept pellets? wow, i didnt think any wild fish would ever accept pellets. What type of pellets did you use?

 

[Byron]

You trained a sunfish to accept pellets? wow, i didnt think any wild fish would ever accept pellets. What type of pellets did you use?
 

 
All fish are "wild" at some point in their ancestry, and most (not all certainly) obviously learn to eat prepared foods.  I found the sunfish (not sure what the species was, I live in Canada on the western coast) to be ravenous feeders, always "hungry" and as I said, initially I fed them live foods and they clearly associated these with me, so it was fairly easy to get them eating non-live.  This was back in the early 1980's, and I can't remember what prepared foods I used then.  I may have used goldfish foods.
 
Byron.

 

[Goggy]

 
 
All fish are "wild" at some point in their ancestry, and most (not all certainly) obviously learn to eat prepared foods.  I found the sunfish (not sure what the species was, I live in Canada on the western coast) to be ravenous feeders, always "hungry" and as I said, initially I fed them live foods and they clearly associated these with me, so it was fairly easy to get them eating non-live.  This was back in the early 1980's, and I can't remember what prepared foods I used then.  I may have used goldfish foods.
 
Byron.
 

I meant actual wild-caught fish, like a sunny from a river.

 

[Byron]

 

 
 
All fish are "wild" at some point in their ancestry, and most (not all certainly) obviously learn to eat prepared foods.  I found the sunfish (not sure what the species was, I live in Canada on the western coast) to be ravenous feeders, always "hungry" and as I said, initially I fed them live foods and they clearly associated these with me, so it was fairly easy to get them eating non-live.  This was back in the early 1980's, and I can't remember what prepared foods I used then.  I may have used goldfish foods.
 
Byron.
 

I meant actual wild-caught fish, like a sunny from a river.
 

 
Yes, so did I.  My point was that most wild caught fish will learn to accept non-live food.  I have many wild-caught fish among my tropicals, and they only get prepared dry food, with a treat of frozen once a week.  Sunfish are no different, at least the ones I caught in a local lake were quick to learn that "food" was non-live.