Hello, i am new to this site, and i am very interested in keeping native fish. I have been keeping some store bought fish in a 25 gallon for a while now, but i am upgrading to a 75 gallon bow front. I am very interested in keeping all native fish in this tank, particularly a grass pickerel, a bullhead, and a sun fish. I would like to know if this would be too much for 75 gallons. any help would be greatly appreciated!
Grass Pickerel
Started by
Guest_cjthecatfish_*
, Jun 29 2011 08:14 AM
11 replies to this topic
#3
Guest_cjthecatfish_*
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Posted 29 June 2011 - 09:00 AM
yes, i do realize that. I have in mind the brown bullhead, and pumpkin seed sunfish.No, that would be fine. I am by no means a captive care expert but what I've always been told "1 per gallon. Now, you also have to keep in mind, there are many species of sunfishes and bullheads.
#5
Guest_cjthecatfish_*
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Posted 29 June 2011 - 12:24 PM
Thanks for the heads up on the pickerel. A friend of mine currently is keeping a largemouth bass, and he hasent had any legal trouble yet.That is a not a good combination. There are a number of posts on here regarding tankmates for redfin/grass pickerel. Also, check the regulations in NJ, as I don't believe you are allowed to have them.
#6
Guest_NVCichlids_*
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Posted 29 June 2011 - 01:22 PM
Thanks for the heads up on the pickerel. A friend of mine currently is keeping a largemouth bass, and he hasent had any legal trouble yet.
There are more than likely a lot of people in the US that are keeping fish illegally and have not had any issues, but that still does not mean it isn't illegal.
#7
Guest_EricaWieser_*
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Posted 29 June 2011 - 01:57 PM
Disclaimer: I've never kept sunfish or pickerel myself, so this is all conjecture.
Why don't you just have one predator and a bunch of small feeders? That way if (when) the big fish makes the occassional tank mate dissappear, it wouldn't be a big deal. You could pick a feeder fish that would stay small and be a good supplementary food for the predator. To put forth an analogy with tropical fish, I think people keep angelfish with neon tetras well. A well fed angelfish won't empty the tank of neon tetras, but it does enjoy the occassional nibble. If the angelfish keeper had a big, self sustaining spawning population of neon tetras, they probably wouldn't notice the predation. And if you kept a second, breeding tank of the feeder species, you could restock the 75 if (when?) the predator emptied it. That would be one happy, fat fish.
A native livebearer would make a good feeder fish tank mate. You could keep the females in the breeding tank and stick 90% of the males in with the predator. The ones that get eaten get eaten, and the ones that survive for a while in the 75 gallon tank would serve as decoration. The few males that don't get eaten wouldn't grow up too large and dominate the tank (that happens with feeder goldfish that escape). If you have lots of hiding spots and lots of feeder fish, maybe a few would stick around. Then again, maybe the predator would kill them for fun. That would put an end to the angelfish neon tetra analogy >.< I don't know, I've never kept sunfish. But it's something you could try, and tell me if it worked.
Why don't you just have one predator and a bunch of small feeders? That way if (when) the big fish makes the occassional tank mate dissappear, it wouldn't be a big deal. You could pick a feeder fish that would stay small and be a good supplementary food for the predator. To put forth an analogy with tropical fish, I think people keep angelfish with neon tetras well. A well fed angelfish won't empty the tank of neon tetras, but it does enjoy the occassional nibble. If the angelfish keeper had a big, self sustaining spawning population of neon tetras, they probably wouldn't notice the predation. And if you kept a second, breeding tank of the feeder species, you could restock the 75 if (when?) the predator emptied it. That would be one happy, fat fish.
A native livebearer would make a good feeder fish tank mate. You could keep the females in the breeding tank and stick 90% of the males in with the predator. The ones that get eaten get eaten, and the ones that survive for a while in the 75 gallon tank would serve as decoration. The few males that don't get eaten wouldn't grow up too large and dominate the tank (that happens with feeder goldfish that escape). If you have lots of hiding spots and lots of feeder fish, maybe a few would stick around. Then again, maybe the predator would kill them for fun. That would put an end to the angelfish neon tetra analogy >.< I don't know, I've never kept sunfish. But it's something you could try, and tell me if it worked.
Edited by EricaWieser, 29 June 2011 - 02:00 PM.
#8
Guest_MrCatfish_*
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Posted 29 June 2011 - 02:40 PM
Sunfish and pickerel will and can work. I have done it for over a year without problems. I have even had my grass pickerel spawn twice.You will need lots of cover and the sunfish have to be at least three inches. You must also have to keep the pickerel well fed. To prevent them from trying to take done a sunfish that they can't completely eat.
I have kept them with longear,green, and pumpkinseed sunfish.Also rockbass,crappie and bullheads.
I have kept them with longear,green, and pumpkinseed sunfish.Also rockbass,crappie and bullheads.
#9
Guest_nativeplanter_*
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Posted 29 June 2011 - 03:32 PM
That is a not a good combination. There are a number of posts on here regarding tankmates for redfin/grass pickerel. Also, check the regulations in NJ, as I don't believe you are allowed to have them.
I took a quick look at the NJ regulations - it seems that these species can be kept, but that they all have to be caught with hook-and-line. There are no size limits on bullhead or sunfish (except that banded, blackbanded, bluespotted, and mud may not be kept). There is a 15-inch minimum on redfin pickerel (Esox americanus americanus) and grass pickerel. While they don't mention chain pickerel (Esox americanus vermiculatus), I don't think I would try to argue that it doesn't have the same minimum length.
That being said, go through the regulations more thoroughly - I just did a quick scan and there could be other restrictions that I didn't see.
#10
Guest_cjthecatfish_*
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Posted 29 June 2011 - 04:14 PM
Thank you guys for the info. I looked over the NJ dept of fish and wildlife's annual digest, and it dosent say anything against keeping pickerel or anything as pet. i do understand the size limits, but i have never seen a grass/ red fin pickerel and i have been fishing this area for over a year. I would think that there has to be some kind of vendor, as listed on this form, that could ship to NJ. Also, once i get everything set up i will post pics
#11
Guest_gzeiger_*
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Posted 29 June 2011 - 06:59 PM
To make that work you'll need to get the pickerel first, probably a long time in advance. I've heard some people have had success training them to eat pellets, but it is by no means easy to do. If you just dump a pickerel and some sunfish into a tank together I'm pretty sure the pickerel will starve. I always fed mine live fish, but those won't survive the sunfish long enough for the pickerel to eat them.
#12
Guest_Drew_*
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Posted 30 June 2011 - 01:25 AM
Laura, you are right. They are not protected but the redfin pickerel have a 15-inch minimum size. There aren't many redfin pickerel that are going to be 15". They clump them with chain pickerel in the regulations.
Pickerel can be kept with other species if you are willing to do the work needed to keep the peace.
Pickerel can be kept with other species if you are willing to do the work needed to keep the peace.
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