Logperch Care

[Kayser]

I caught a logperch on the Bourbeuse River while fishing for redhorse last spring. I have kept him in my fish tank, and have been keeping him alive on small worms (storebought.) I was wondering what little treats I could give him, to give him a break from the worms? I know I wouldn't want to eat the same thing for 6 months straight.

Thanks,

Rob

[Al Agnew]

Go to a good pet store and buy some frozen brine shrimp. They usually come frozen in little cubes. Thaw out a cube and dump the shrimp in. They are the perfect size for a logperch, and whenever I had a logperch in my aquarium they always really went for them.

If you have a place and the time and energy, obtain some live scuds. I'm sure the logperch will really love them. You can find them in springfed creeks around aquatic vegetation and you can scoop them with a small fish net.

I always liked logperch...it's fun watching them use their conical noses to flip over small rocks hunting aquatic bugs.

[jjtroutbum]

Would not add any thing wild caught for food. The major thing being the water or other substances that the food may introduce to your tank. It is not a river, stream or even lake. In term of its ability to absorb infections nasties come in all shapes and sizes.

For a snack think about crickets from the pet store but as with feeding all aquariums only add enough so that all will be consumed in a matter of minutes.

Of course on could feed alot but that also means more and greater water changes to keep water parameters in check.

Hay tanks are what I do. Enjoy em

JJ

[creek wader]

I'm just curious. Is it legal to keep a fish or other wild animals, taken from the wild, in captivity? I know everybody does it. I've thought about it myself. I've read the regulations and am still not sure.

[Al Agnew]

Good question. I think that if it's obtained legally and you don't have over your possession limit (if it's a game fish), I don't see why it wouldn't be legal. I suspect that keeping a fingerling game fish that you seined would technically NOT be legal, since you didn't obtain it legally and it probably doesn't make the minimum length limit. I've thought about that a bit when I've had fingerling game fish in the aquarium in the past, and so I don't keep the gamefish anymore (too danged difficult to care for, as well). Of course, you can buy game fish fingerlings from various hatcheries, and I've even seen baby channel catfish sold in pet shops, and those should be perfectly legal to keep (if you can "keep" them in your private pond, why shouldn't you be able to keep them in your private aquarium?).

Probably wouldn't be a good idea to keep a Niangua darter...(endangered species).

[creek wader]

Al, you make some fine points. But, I guess I'll play devil's advocate. I don't think a log perch is a game fish. (mind you, it would be a neat fish to have in a aqaurium). I've never seen one in a pet store or at a fish farm. Now, bass, cat, sunfish, and others that were obtained from a fish farm or pet store, I can see. But, I don't think the state allows a person to catch a fish or animal from state waters and keep it for a pet. I myself have kept sunfish and chubs for months at a time, but to be used as bait. Through the years, I've known people to keep all kinds of critters including turtles, raccoons, and even rattlesnakes. Once again, I'm not attacking the guy with the log perch, and don't mean to raise a stink. I'm just curious if it is legal.

[Al Agnew]

Creek wader, I'm sure you're right in that logperch aren't gamefish. They would be covered under baitfish regs. I don't think there's anything in those regs that says HOW LONG you can keep baitfish. So while the reason for keeping them would be different if you were keeping them in an aquarium as opposed to in a live box or something to use as bait, I don't know whether the law would differentiate based upon intentions. If it's legal to keep them for an unspecified period for use as bait, it would probably be just as legal to keep them in an aquarium.

In addition, I KNOW that MDC, in their magazine, has at least once published an article about keeping Missouri baitfish in aquariums, including rainbow darters. The logperch is a darter, and not on any threatened or endangered list, so I'm pretty sure there would be no problem with keeping them, as well as other baitfish.

[Kayser]

That and it was caught on pole and line. It's legal to keep, just not to sell (or possibly give) to someone else.

Rob

[creek wader]

Ok, thanks for the info. I was just curious. There are many regulations that have grey areas in the MDC guides. .... Years ago, I did my open water and advance certification for scuba diving at Table Rock. One of the advance qualification dives was a "nature" dive. Our mission was to find a certain fish, that was described to us. It turned out to be the Logperch. Once, we finally found one, we found quite a few. They are a very interesting fish to study in the natural envirorment. They would make a neat aquarium pet. Thanks again for the replies. ... Wader

[Kayser]

They are pretty neat- mine likes to flip over rocks with his nose to find the worms i drop in for him. Fun to watch him hunt.

But I did find quite a few in some riffles this summer- lot more fun to watch in the river than an aquarium. It might be because I can't get a good current in my aquarium.

Rob