Opinions needed please

[sandyd]

My kids netted a baby sunfish a few weeks ago and he or it was only about the size of a guppy. Well it eats flake food and blood worms and is now growing. They named him Sunny. He is at this moment in a 2 gallon tank and is about 1 -2 inches long if that. I know he needs alot more room and am wondering what size tank i should get for him so that he can grow to his right size? I did a search, but did not see any real info on this subject. I have access to feeder fish for him when he gets bigger, but have not tried them on him yet. He is beautiful and i would really like to keep him, i just need to know how to care for him properly. Sandy

 

[gadazobe]

Is it a marine sunfish, if so I doubt if you have a tank large enough: marine sunfish I can't find anything on fresh water sunfish, but I'll carry on looking.

 

[sandyd]

Now that is a fish, but not the right one. Very cute though. i found a pic of him, it says other names are: Bream, Brim, Perch, Sunfish, Sun Pearch. Says the largest ever recorded was in Alabama and weighed 4 lbs 12 oz.
Here is a link to a pic.

http/www.tpwd.state.tx.us/fish/infish/sp...ies/bgl/bgl.htm

Thanks Sandy

 

[gadazobe]

Unfortunately the only thing I know what to do with bream (sunfish) is lightly saute them in butter and garlic mmmm delicious but i'll have another look and see if I can find anything.

 

[kevy]

I'll tell you what I know through fishing experience...

They usually don't grow more then 5 or 6 inches. 95% of the ones (millions) I've seen have been less than 6 inches, but I've seen some like 12.

They eat anything, (foil, hooks, paper, rocks, so be carefull what you drop in the tank)

They are mean, and very agressive I'd imagen.

They are messy, and I'd think they would mess up plants or decorations.

But like I said, I've never actually kept one, this is just some info I've picked up fly fishing for them over a couple years.


Someone on this forum has a rockbass (who ate a marble )...they are very alike, maybe ask him?

 

[sandyd]

Thank you very much for the reply, i am sorry i have not gotten back in a few days, but i could not sign on to the board, it said too many connections. I may try to put him in a 10 with a sand bottom and see how he does. He has 1 plastic plant in there that he does not see to care about, but i guess i may have to wait till he gets bigger to see if he is agressive. If he turns out to be mean, there are many large ponds in the area where i could put him. Thank you Sandy

 

[smb]

I've had quite a few Bluegills in my tanks over time. They get around 8"-10" in an aquarium. In the wild, it's rare to see them above 8" but have heard they get to 12".

Gills are extremely belligerent fish. I would say that they are as mean as most Central American cichlids.

They eat zooplankton when young and as they mature they switch to insects. As adults they still mostly eat insects but they'll also eat snails,crayfish and small fish. You could also feed worms.

The best water temp for them is 60-70 degrees.

I would get a 29g for him tho if you plan on keeping him.

 

[sandyd]

Thank you, i will have 1 for him as soon as my new 55 finishes cycling. Then i can put all remaining fish in there and he will have a cycled home to go to. He is still small, only about 2 inches from head to tail, but i know he will grow. Do you know if they are solitary fish or would like a tank mate that they wont eat. He eats everything that he sees, so i know small fish are completely out unless i want him snacking on them. He is most fond of bloodworms, but will eat anything. Kids will love helping me dig up some worms for him, but i dont want to start that until he is in a bigger tank. I dont want him to grow to quickly in the 2 gallon he is in now. LOL He is really pretty and as soon as i get a digital i will post some pics of him. Thanks again, Sandy

 

[smb]

Do you know if they are solitary fish or would like a tank mate that they wont eat.

They school very loosely in lakes so I would say that he doesn't need another gill in with him but you could get some dithers to add with him. Maybe even some barbs, tho I've never tried that. Silver dollars might work also. Heck, if it were me, I'd try a firemouth or something. I know people say not to mix like that because of water params, but I don't agree with that idea. I think most fish from LFS's are of the same water quality.

I had him in a tank with some smallmouth bass and only a couple times added any other sunfish. Most of the time they didn't like each other and left each other alone for the most part.

Their mouths are samll so putting other fish in with them that they can't eat shouldn't be hard but they are sometimes very aggressive fish.

 

[kevy]

Yea, blue gills are really pretty. Ones that live in heavily weeded areas are a lot darker and the blue under thier mouth is really cool. The ones that live in open areas that get a lot of sun seem bland as far as blue gills go. If I ever get a sunny I'd like to see if he would change his colors if I changed his tank, plants and all that

 

[Ginger726]

I have kept some sunfish off and on for a while. I always like to go to the lakes ponds and canals to see what all I can catch and throw in the aquarium. They are a lot like a cichlid. I am not real worried about putting the sunfish in with smaller community fish. Not too small of coarse, but they are less aggressive than some warmouths I caught. The warmouths only ate live food I never could convert them to flakes and pellets like the sunfish. I kept two sunfish for nearly half a year and then had to thin out the tank so I let them go in the canal. They shared the tank with 6 other assorted cichlids. They never picked on the cichlids and the cichlids never picked on them. Now the cichlids did chase each other around but I guess the perch looked scary enough for them. They grew from about 3" to about 7" by the time I let them go. They were about 4" tall. I kept them in a 29 gallon for a long time then I bought a 75 gallon tank and kept them in it for the rest of the time. They were great fish. They would eat the grass shrimp I would catch for the warmouths. So neons and small fish would be a little questionable. However I would always catch the mosquito fish while scooping for shrimp and I would throw a few in the tank for food, but they didn't get gobbled up much. Every now and then I would get one minnow fewer, it was probably the warmouth though. Cichlids and all always ate water larval insects, tadpoles, and shrimp readily. Hope this helps you. I would have kept the warmouths too they were interesting fish but fishing for shrimp in the winter gets to be a little much. The sunfish are a good choice. I still have three at work that I keep and feed cichlid pellets and crickets when I catch them. Talk at ya later.

 

[sandyd]

Thanks alot for the posts, he will soon be in a 29 so he can be happier. I figured that when he got there i could start feeding him those mosquito fish fry which would be something that i could have access to all year round, as well as most other things living here in Louisiana. If it starts to get cold i could always bring some mosquito fish in for him in the 29 and he could let nature take over. I just think he is adorable. He is shy still since he is so small i guess, but i hope he stays that way for a while. I dont know if he would be quite so cute if he turns agressive towards me.
I am glad to know that i am not the only one who has these fish. I end up with alot of different fish that literally wash into my yard due to flooding. I am trying to incorporate their habitat into mine. Easier said than done. If the wildlife keep moving in, i may have to move out. Living in the woods, i get to see nature at its best and that is the way i like it, although i could deal without skunks, armadillows and the racoons who are bigger than my dog, he is a Jack Russell Terrier. LOL
Sandy

 

[smb]

I love Native Fish.

My favorite of all and had quite a few tanks set up for them at one time. Sold all of them when I moved a few years ago and am working my way up again to more tanks. lol It's such an addiction.

My fav fish is the Musky ( Esox masquinongy) but I'll never have a tank big enough for those bad boys.

What other native fish have you kept and are trying to get?

 

[juliethegr8t]

smb - wow, I checked out your "Muskies".... impressive fish!! I've heard of them, but never knew much so reading about them was pretty interesting. They can get HUGE! And it sounds like they can be pretty aggressive too, so yeah, no tank for containing those buggers .

 

[smb]

smb - wow, I checked out your "Muskies".... impressive fish!! I've heard of them, but never knew much so reading about them was pretty interesting. They can get HUGE! And it sounds like they can be pretty aggressive too, so yeah, no tank for containing those buggers .

yea, when we go fishing they follow the lure right up to the boat and sometimes hit the boat before they leave.

I like those guys.