Stocking questions

Hi.

I'm setting up my 125 gallon tank for natives. I'm torn between two options and I'm hoping some of you could weigh in with your ideas.

Option 1: 3 male redbreast sunfish, ~9 females. Once a colony is established I might adjust accordingly depending on aggression. This option would be more of a biotope. I'd like to keep a school of crescent or warpaint shiners as well.

Option 2: 8-10 males of assorted Lepomis. Once I see how the fish behave I might need to adjust a bit as well.

In my experience, a somewhat overstocked tank helps a lot with curbing aggression issues as well, this has worked for me in the past with various African and CA/SA cichlids. I don't see why it wouldn't work with sunfish as well.

I want my fish to look their absolute best. When I kept Lepomis in the past they were quite drab and I know they can look better. When I collect them from local waters, they are gorgeous and I want that in my tank. I'm particularly interested in L. auritus, not sure why but they've always been my favorite.

Sorry for a lengthy post and thank you for your advice.

Mike

Edited by mikeb210, 02 March 2011 - 09:13 PM.

Stocking numbers sound appropriate for that size of tank. I usually recommend 1 per 10 gallons of water for larger Lepomis sp. but if you plan to have a school of larger shiners with them it is wise to go a little less than that. As far as keeping them in good color I have 3 suggestions... 1. If your not planning on breeding them forget the females and just have all males. My 200 gallon Lepomis display has 14 sunfish and all males (and 6 other large fish). 2. Variety in their diet helps a lot, shrimp, earthworms, live crickets, and a good cichlid pellet as the primary food. 3. Dark substrate and or background with good lighting helps bring out the colors.

Hey Brian, I was hoping you'd weigh in on this. I don't particularly care to breed them, I thought that might provide better colors and a more "natural" setting for them. Do you by chance have photos of that tank you described? I like the multiple male tank as well, it looked good when I kept African cichlids that way. That would allow me to keep the redbreasts I love and the Lepomis megalotis whose pictures I've been drooling over online.

Does anyone else have pictures of tanks done this way, with lots of large Lepomis?

Hey Brian, I was hoping you'd weigh in on this. I don't particularly care to breed them, I thought that might provide better colors and a more "natural" setting for them. Do you by chance have photos of that tank you described? I like the multiple male tank as well, it looked good when I kept African cichlids that way. That would allow me to keep the redbreasts I love and the Lepomis megalotis whose pictures I've been drooling over online.

Does anyone else have pictures of tanks done this way, with lots of large Lepomis?

There is a thread in my vendor section about all my tanks including that one...link