Largemouth bass
Micropterus salmoides
Also known asBucketmouth
Water parameters
Minimum tank: 400 L per individual at harvest size.
Feed and growth
- Feed protein
- 42% target
- Daily feed (warm)
- 1.20% of body weight
- Daily feed (cool)
- 0.50% of body weight
- Max density
- 30 g per litre
A 1500 g adult eats about 18.0 g of feed per day at optimum. 10 fish at adult size: ~180 g daily.
Legality
Rules vary by jurisdiction and change over time. Verify with your local fisheries or wildlife authority before stocking.
| Jurisdiction | Status | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| California | permit required | Aquaculture registration required for commercial scale verified 2026-05-13 |
| Texas | permit required | verified 2026-05-13 |
| Florida | permit required | verified 2026-05-13 |
| European Union (bloc) | prohibited | Listed on EU Union List of Invasive Alien Species (Regulation 1143/2014) source verified 2026-05-13 |
Unlisted jurisdictions default to "check local regulations".
Origin and habitat
Micropterus salmoides, the largemouth bass, is a warm-water predator native to central and eastern North America, from Quebec and the Great Lakes south through the Mississippi basin to the Gulf and into northern Mexico. Introduced around the world for sport fishing, it is now one of the most widely spread freshwater game fish, and an aggressive invader in places such as the Iberian Peninsula, where it is on the European Union's list of invasive alien species. It is the largest of the black basses, to about 75 cm and over 11 kg in exceptional fish, and lives in lakes, ponds, and slow rivers around submerged wood, weed, and rock. Adults hunt fish, crayfish, large invertebrates, frogs, and even small turtles. A 2022 study proposed splitting the group, applying the name M. salmoides to the Florida bass and reviving M. nigricans for the northern largemouth, though M. salmoides remains the name in common use for the largemouth. In culture the fish can be trained onto pelleted feed if started young, but the switch from live food is the main hurdle, with a variable success rate; once converted it grows well and yields firm, mild white flesh.
Climate and outdoor ponds
- Climate
- temperate (handles seasonal swings)
- USDA zones
- 4–10 (winter low around -34°C or warmer)
- Heating needed
- no
- Cooling needed
- no
Care notes
A niche aquaponics fish for growers who want a premium product and can live with slow growth. Bass take roughly eighteen months to three years to reach a harvest size around 400–600 g, much slower than tilapia or catfish, and they handle crowding poorly, so stocking is best kept below 15 g/L, ideally 8 to 12. Because they are predators, sizes cannot be mixed: a larger bass will eat a smaller one, so keep all fish in a tank within about a fifth of each other in length and grade often. Feed a high-protein floating pellet of 42 to 48 percent made for bass or trout; feed conversion runs about 1.4 to 2.0 once fish are fully pellet-trained. That training is the catch: fingerlings must be weaned onto pellets early, ideally before they pass 8–10 cm, since fish grown on live food beyond that are very hard to convert and many never take pellets, so buy feed-trained stock. Temperature spans about 10–30°C, with strongest feeding and growth near 26–30°C. Most US states require an aquaculture permit for largemouth bass and may insist on approved in-state fingerlings to protect wild recreational fisheries from genetic mixing, so check your state wildlife agency before ordering.