It looks really cool.

How long did it take for them to 'recover' from being caught? Were their behaviors different for a bit?

Can you take a movie of your tank and upload it to YouTube?

Most fish start to act "normal" after 24hrs. You see lots of color changes. Some get real dark and some get real pale. Some go back and forth between the extremes. Some seem to relate better to my plants than the cedar branches. Some just go sit in the corner for the first couple hrs. New fish will get chased around some, but there is enough "cover" that it doesn't last long. This is a big tank (found on Craigslist), but pics don't really show it's size well.

Some fish have red in the eyes, and some don't. My Warmouth has some crazy redeyes. Fish get their brightest colors when they are feeding, chasing, and digging nests.

I have 7 longear and they all have their own way going about their day. Some stay high in the water column, some swim around a bunch, and some just chill and guard their area. All have a little bit different colorations. Have had one spawn, but none of the fry made it. Here's a couple pics




Have a couple cool pics of my warmouth changing color after I did a water change. Goes from dark brown to gold. The first two pics were taken w/in a minute.




Hope you guys/gals enjoy the pics! If anyone thinking of taking on a project like this, feel free to ask me questions and I'll share what I have learned.

I have never done a youtube video, but will look into it.

And my thread title is silly since I have no redbreast's... Guess I better make a trip down to Dunlap to fix that!

Looks like fun thing ! How often do you change water ? How much would it costs to maintain the tank ,for their food monthly ?

I am thinking about one of those tanks hopefully next year.

How many gallons? Freakin badass tank you got! Damn.

Agreed! I love this setup. I have thought about keeping some bream but figured they would wreak havok on plants. Doesn't seem to be the case. What do you feed them?

Wow! That's a nice set up you have there and some good looking fish as well. I had a 55.gal tank set up for gills but would quarantine my new fish in to a 20.gal first just to make sure that they weren't infested with any kind of parasite it worked out good for me . One time i added a small crawdad and he turned from a red/muddy color to a cool looking blue. You might want to try a small Pleco to help eat algae and left over food that might make it to the bottom. Thanks for sharing!

My problem with owning a tank like that would be this: I'd start fishing in it with a pen rod after a bit.

I have a 150 gal tank also full of wild fish, like dfitz said, it took them about 24 hrs to act normal

The one that took the longest was the warmouth, it took nearly 7 days for it to start feeding and run around with the rest, it was very seclusive in the beginning

That is a beautiful tank dfitz!

Hey folks, been busy so just now able to reply. Thank you all for the nice replies.

Ash, the tank is 225gl. Found it on craigslist, there are good deals out there just gotta keep looking. It included everything, tank, stand, canopy, and sump. I had a 55gl tank before this, but for first timers, it's easier & safer to buy the whole package rather than trying to piecemeal it together. If certain fittings/plumbing fixtures dont work than you are SOL.

Not the cheapest hobby, but very rewarding. As w anything there are some ways to cut down on costs. Helps to have friends that can help move (you will need a truck) the tank if you buy used, otherwise it's a couple hundred bucks to get it to your house. Aquariums are heavy, so slab on grade is better than pier and beam foundation.

I change the water about every 10 days (1/3 water change). From start to finish it takes about 2hrs. I have a 32gl trash can on wheels that I put the siphoned water into. Very important to clean the sand b/c these fish poop a lot. Even if you are late on water change, don't take out more water. There are bacteria in the water that convert nitrite into nitrate and this is important, a water change too big can mess this up and kill your fish.

Important to vary the food. I go to a grocery store where I can get frozen raw shrimp in bulk for cheap. This along w a quality protein pellet are their main diet. I'll do live worms, crickets, or minnows from a cast net a couple times a month to make sure they get a mix. Feeder fish from pet stores are known to introduce disease. Avoid them.

Unless your water comes from a well, you will need a de-chlorinator. Not expensive, but you can't just run a hose into the tank...

Most of my decorations are cedar stumps/branches I've collected hiking, so you can save money that way, but I do buy plants from an aquarium store a few times a yr. They will last around 4 months in general. My lighting is not meant for growing plants..

Light replacement for my tank is around 20bucks a bulb. Bulbs should last at least a yr.

Also need to buy activated carbon (carbon goes into a mesh bag) to put in the sump. It helps w water quality and clarity.

I say all this to help manage expectations and also help people understand what they are getting into. I know a few people thinking about doing something like this so hopefully the info is useful. No point in doing something 1/2 arse. Also,
once these fish are in a tank, they can't be released back to public waters.

Anymore questions or if I missed something then just fire away...

Here's one more pic.

Dfitz, those plants look to be in great shape. And you don't have a plant light? I have never seen plants look that good straight from the store. 225 gallons? That is gigantic! I had a 75 gallon. Anyways you should post a video on feeding time for us..Please:)

If those are live plants then many of them are better off with low light. It could be the activated charcoal is reducing too many nutrients so low that it is not sustainable for the plants.Certian plants have to be tied to a log or rock and not burried in the sand.From the looks of the picture, your lighting is too bright. The more light you have the more CO2 and nutrients that you need for the plants to survive.Check out this site for more details on planted aquariums if you want.
http://www.tropicalfishkeeping.com/aquarium-plants/
Very nice aquarium by the way.

OMG! I thought the 125 I had years ago was big.

nice tank. i want to get me some of those big gudaluper red ears for my tank. you dont have a problem with parasites on wild caughts? i always got to treat for anchor worms or leeches.

well u can castnet texas cichlids at calaveras lake if ur ever down here. got a male and female that way one year. native species for the win ftw!