Walleye?

[NorthEastFisherman]

I have two walleye in my coldwater fish tank and ive had them since septemberish. They havent grown at all, weve fed them bloodworms, frozen live bloodworms, fish flakes, shrimp pellets, algae wafers, baby shrimp, even some plants. They have not grown a millimeter! What do you think is wrong? The tank is 26 gallons and theyre both about 2-3 inches. I could get pictures if wanted.

 

[r.w.girard]

I have no real ground for saying this but do you really feel that 26g is enough for a fish that can reach 30 inches upwards to 20 pounds? I would assume that you would intend to rehome them as they grow but mightn't they grow better if they started in a larger tank?  But like I said, I really know nothing about keeping these fish...

 

[NorthEastFisherman]

I have no real ground for saying this but do you really feel that 26g is enough for a fish that can reach 30 inches upwards to 20 pounds? I would assume that you would intend to rehome them as they grow but mightn't they grow better if they started in a larger tank?  But like I said, I really know nothing about keeping these fish...

I know they grow that big, i fish for them all the time. I thought itd be cool to keep them til they get big and put them in my friends pond that he owns. Obviously they'd grow better ina larger tank but theyre like 3 inches and havent grown a millimeter. Im starting to think theyre a different species of fish or something.

 

[This Old Spouse]

No ... you've taken them out of their natural habitat and basically put them in a box. You're feeding them things they're not used to (try minnows) and expecting them to grow fast. They don't grow fast even in the best of circumstances. Once you put them back in the wild they'll likely do fine.
 
I kept a wild bass for several months, and although I kept him alive, he did not flourish. I let him go into the lake by our house and he swam happily away.

 

[NorthEastFisherman]

No ... you've taken them out of their natural habitat and basically put them in a box. You're feeding them things they're not used to (try minnows) and expecting them to grow fast. They don't grow fast even in the best of circumstances. Once you put them back in the wild they'll likely do fine.
 
I kept a wild bass for several months, and although I kept him alive, he did not flourish. I let him go into the lake by our house and he swam happily away.

I cant try minnows because theyre like the size of two quarters put next to eachother. I've tried baby shrimp but they didnt touch them. They love frozen blood worms.

 

[This Old Spouse]

Find a friend who's got some guppy or molly fry. If you're going to try and keep these walleye alive you'll need to feed them what they need, which is tiny fish. They don't eat shrimp because that's not part of their diet. Or, get a few female guppies and a male and let the babies feed them. I don't advocate raising guppies for food, but it's them or the walleye.

 

[lalo99]

No ... you've taken them out of their natural habitat and basically put them in a box. You're feeding them things they're not used to (try minnows) and expecting them to grow fast. They don't grow fast even in the best of circumstances. Once you put them back in the wild they'll likely do fine.
 
I kept a wild bass for several months, and although I kept him alive, he did not flourish. I let him go into the lake by our house and he swam happily away.
 
Never put fish back into the wild. You can introduce all kinds of pathagens that the wild fish have no defence for. That also may be illegal. Also in the US, most states have laws against catching and keeping game fish. Bass and Walleye are considered game fish.