Ok not sure exactly where to post this so Ill try here. Back in October I stocked SMB in my 2 ponds (3-4 inch). As I was releasing the fish I noticed one that was a little smaller than the rest, missing most of its tail fin and was not very active. figuring that it probably wouldn't make it and that I have several aquariums one of which I only had a few crayfish and some guppies. I came up with the bright idea of bringing it home and dropping it in that tank. Well needless to say I have learned a lot about SMB that I want to share (no one I know seems very interested lol). So not only did the fish survive but it seems to be thriving and is very tame (will take food from my hand for example). I am putting together some underwater videos of this fish eating and doing different things that I hope will be interesting to someone other than myself. So my question to everyone is what do you want to see or know about this fish? some of my ideas are videos of it eating (in slow-motion), reacting to different stimuli etc. My plan right now is to do a full write up on what I have observed and post it here along with video.

Looking forward to the videos. Fish are not dumb.

While I'm working on the video I want to post my observations so far. So when I brought this fish home it was in seeming bad shape and laid on or near the bottom of the tank for a week. during this time it barely moved from what I saw and ate nothing despite there being plenty of food. the tank is a 29 gal. fully cycled tank that has been running for several years water parameters near perfect. I was basically waiting on it to die when one day I came home and it was still acting the same but almost all the guppies had disappeared. a few days later it was swimming around but immediately went into hiding when anyone got anywhere near the tank. At this point all the guppies were gone along with the smaller crayfish. I started putting in rosy reds that I got from the local pet store in 25 at a time. I noticed the first batch I bought had ICK but not after I put them in the tank. Figuring the SMB would soon get it I prepared. Never got it, in fact this pet store continues to receive sick feeder fish and refuse to sell them to anyone. I know the manager and she gives them to me for free and I feed them to this fish. As you will see this fish is totally healthy despite the constant exposure to this.

Figured I would break this up a little. So after a few weeks the fish started adapting to everything, much more so than I would have ever thought. I have always heard and read (not so such from here) that SMB were the smaller more sensitive frail etc. cousin of the LMB. So I was expecting a challenge with trying to keep it in an aquarium. Not to brag but for about 5 years I bred Angel fish for local pet stores. Anyone who knows anything about these fish know how hard they are to keep let alone breed. The end result? This fish is Quite possibly the most adaptable easiest to care for fish I have ever kept. It almost acts like a dog (as you will soon see). Compared to all the tropical fish that I have kept it is way more adaptable. large temp changes, adding large amounts of salt, adjusting PH levels, after a day it is completely fine to whatever I do. Unfortunately I am far from a scientist and I know nothing I have done follows the scientific method but my conclusion on this fish species is that it is far more adaptable than most people think.

C74 - great info so far. Many freshwater fish are pretty tolerant. Good job of nursing it back to health. One of the things I would like to know that you could find out is where and how does this fish spend the dark hours - suspended or resting on the bottom of the tank?

Of course you have a great question I will observe for a few days and let you know. I have to be stealthy or it immediately runs up to the top of the tank where I feed it. Thank you for your interest!

Neat project.

I have a two Redears in my aquarium right now that behave like your SMB, sounds like a very fun project. I am looking forward to the videos.

Also interested in seeing the videos and progress. I kept a few freshwater fish in a larger aquarium for a couple years and we had a lot of fun with it.

Yes I kept 4 painted turtles in this same tank last winter. What is so amazing to me is how different their personalities were. I released them into one of the ponds but unfortunately I don't think they made it as I stopped seeing them after a few weeks.

Ok so here is my first test video: youtube

Another of it eating Krill:

smallmouth eating krill


In this video it is eating shrimp pellets and tasting and rejecting the Optimal Bluegill Jr pellets. When I was trying to train it to eat something that wasn't moving nothing worked until I tried shrimp. It absolutely freaked out over the little precooked salad shrimp. That gave me the idea to try shrimp pellets which it also likes. What I did notice though is that those salad shrimp did have added salt so I don't know if that had anything to do with it or not. It will eat the Optimal if it hasn't eaten in a few days. obviously it does not like snails or algae!

They may have just gone off to do their thing. We have redear sliders in our pond and the large ones will come and go. In the very early spring the females will go a short ways away from water, dig a hole, and lay eggs.

You may see them again later.

Of course if they were small enough for bass to eat......

So far every time I have checked on it at night it is always resting on the bottom and always in the same spot. I have some PVC tubes in there that it sometimes hangs out in during the day after I feed it otherwise its pacing the tank looking for something it eat I assume.

cool How did you prepare the water? tap?

Yes just plain old tap water

I have a similar situation where I got a SMB and put it in my aquarium too (a season before you). I now have a 16" +/- fish in a 90 gallon aquarium with a son who says don't let him go but a dad who wants to release him this year. I'm a bit afraid he's gotten too happy with krill as well because he's not eating the fish in his tank very much.

Wow that's a big fish! Please post a pic of it if you get a chance. Not sure what it is about shrimp and krill but I will for sure try it for bait this year. Will it eat pellets at all? Also I have to wonder how well it will adapt when or if you let it go? Especially since it doesn't seem to be as interested in live food

Very interesting thread! I now plan to get an aquarium to put a few of the BG I just released into my pond to watch them grow. I may also put a LMB in when I stock those as well.

I'll post a pic later today. I'm fairly certain he'd be all over a crawfish in a second if I dropped them in but I can't get any this time of year. He's always loved them and I think they say 80% of their diet is crawfish.

Part of the problem is he's just too damn big for the tank. He's got 10ish bait fish in there but it seems like if he ever lunges at them, he's about to hit his head and they're too fast. They grow fairly quick.

I've also got a turtle tank that I put in 10 ish largemouth fry in. Those guys are probably 6-8 inch and pellet trained (never got the SMB trained and he was larger at arrival).

Yeah, I worry about survivability as well. I did just mention to my son today that we need to release him this year in the pond and he said ok right away so I think he realized the necessity of it.

Keep in mind that LMB do not play well with others. You can keep one in a tank but they get very aggressive once large. If you have two in a small tank (anything under 100 gallons probably), one will kill the other. If you have a BG in there, the BG better be big enough to take care of himself or the LMB will kill the BG even if he doesn't eat him. The LMB will beat the snot out of anyone who gets in his area once he gets to 6" or so.

That said, I do have a large tank (240 gallon--only half is water tough) with a lot of bass and many panfish. There are too many in there for the fish to get too aggressive. If you reach "overcrowding" I think you can avoid the aggressive issue but they grow so fast that keeping them the right crowded would be difficult.

I've got a "tank" that is about 4' feet wide, 8' long, and 3' deep (cinderblocks with pond liner) and in it we have; 2 SMB, 2 LMB, 1 GSF, and 3 CC. I have the pump in one corner, and in each of the other corner areas I have a cinderblock and a floating milk crate.

The CC stick around the pump area as it sits on a few fabric grow bags and they burrow beneath that material. The largest fish is one of the SMB and he/she pretty much goes wherever whenever. I'll find LMB or the other SMB in a milk crate at times. I figure hiding out away from the big SMB when in a bad mood. The large SMB is blind in right eye. The smaller LMB is blind in left eye.

It has been interesting and educational watching these fish "live together" the past year. The CC are going to be released back from where my children netted them from this Summer. The GSF has grown substantially and will also be released into that same BOW as it, too, was a "rescue" (fingerlings trapped in a small pool area behind a dam). I may end up keeping the one eyed bass and placing them in an indoor aquarium or keeping them in current setup. The other two bass seeing from both eyes are going to be released.