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My 55g tank and Texas Longears

Started by Guest_Usil_* , Sep 07 2011 04:23 PM

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19 replies to this topic

#1 Guest_Usil_*

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Posted 07 September 2011 - 04:23 PM

Here are my first attempts to do a quick video of my Longear posing and feeding after three days in the tank (Freeze dried blood worms). Definitely not shy. I have 5 fish in the 55 gallon. Three are longear with one being largest and dominant. The other two might be smaller males or maybe females. I will try to get clear pictures later and maybe someone can help me identify. The other two tank mates are blugill. I find that 5 seems to be a good number for this tank.

I just put the drift wood and plants in this afternoon. Tomorrow morning when things clear up I will try to do some decent pictures of the fish and the tank.

Would be nice to get something for the bottom clean up. What do you guys usually use for your tanks?

Usil

Attached Files

Longear posing.wmv 1.05MB 66 downloads
feeding-1.wmv 953.42KB 31 downloads

Edited by Usil, 07 September 2011 - 04:28 PM.

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#2 Guest_Usil_*

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Posted 07 September 2011 - 05:10 PM

I decided to take a quick picture of the tank tonight before settling in. Here is the makeup:

1. Gravel: Bought this from Pet-o-Rama in Keller for about 6 bucks a 25 pound bag. I put 100 pounds in.
2. Filtration: There is dual filtration.
A. One is an underground filter to pull bits to the bottom to establish some nutrients for the plants and to make it easier for vacuuming
B. One is a Rena Filstar XP3 capable of filtering 350 gallons/hour. It is the size for up to a 175 gallon tank but used here for for my 55.
I used the flow bar at the back with the holes pointing out and slightly down. The fish seem to like the current.
3. Stone and Rocks: Slate and Large river (igneous) river pebbles were picked up at local landscape store. They gave them to me for free.
The gravel is neutral so I added a lot of dark colors to bring out the color in the fish. They do seem to be displaying their best colors.
4. Drift wood: The two pieces on the left are Malaysian Drift Wood. Each piece was 10 dollars. Both were soaked and were non floating on arrival.
What looks like driftwood on the right is my cheat. It is plastic but the look of it and the hidy holes were what I was looking for and it looks realistic in the tank so I am pleased.
5. Pump: I use a Tetra Whisper Pump for tanks up to 60 gallons. Seems ok but nothing beat my old Silent Giant from the 80's.
7. Plants: I just picked up a few at local pet store (potted/buried) to add some color and definition. I will have to review plants as that is another whole ball of wax.
8. 55 Gallon Tank: Craigs list special from a kid going to college and no longer needing it. He even delivered it to me with the tank stand all for 190.00.

The fish were finally added three days ago. Caught the longears and bluegill at Bear Creek Park in Keller, Tx using a line and hook with tang filed down. All have been very healthy and were eating voraciously on the second day. They know me and come to the front every time I step into the room. This tank is in my home office so I wanted it to look pleasing. (I find myself already watching it a lot as I look over my computer), As for food - I tried cut nightcrawlers (liked), mealworms (liked), Freeze Dried Blood worms (really liked), freeze dried tubifex worms (liked but mouth a bit before finally swallowing), medium cichlid pellets (don't like).

Here is the first picture:

Posted Image

So, this is my first tank in probably 30 years. Always wanted to do longears and so far pleased with color, action and personality. I have read virtually every post in the forum so thanks for all who contributed their expertise that helped me set this up. I ordered 6 central longear from Brian and have a smaller tank to raise them for the 55. I will see what they develop into and probably add the best along with two of the Texas longear later next spring. Five seems like the perfect number for this tank but I would like to get something for bottom cleaning. Any suggestions? Afraid the bluegill will have to go to another tank when I make room for the Central Longear. You can see the dominant long ear resting in his place of power. For the most part, however, they get along and all feed together at the top. Nobody is trying to kill each other.

Usil

Edited by Usil, 07 September 2011 - 05:45 PM.

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#3 Guest_MichiJim_*

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Posted 07 September 2011 - 07:42 PM

Looks nice. As hard as it sounds, now is the time to be patient. There are others on the forum with more experience with madtoms and other bottom feeders, so I'll leave it to them.

Enjoy, you have a great start here.

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#4 Guest_CATfishTONY_*

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Posted 07 September 2011 - 08:07 PM

Looks nice. As hard as it sounds, now is the time to be patient. There are others on the forum with more experience with madtoms and other bottom feeders, so I'll leave it to them.

Enjoy, you have a great start here.

NOW that is one good looking setup.
as for the food, i can send you a starter culture of meal worm's or just pm me and i will share the info on how to raise and culture them for life.
my setup is 14 years old now with only 3 new blood lines added. i have adult Tenebrio molitor, a species of darkling beetles.
you will find that the cost of feeding 5 sunfish can get high.
mine will not eat those pellets are years now of trying. but they will eat the cheep goldfish pellets.

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#5 Guest_Usil_*

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Posted 07 September 2011 - 08:31 PM

Thanks for the kind words. And yes, it is time to slow down and smell the flowers or the fruits of my labor. Right now I am trying a few mornings of different local spots to see what is around me. This is relaxing in the mornings as I am always the only one there being retired and everyone else is at work at 9 am in the morning. Sat on my favorite bank under a tree this morning and tried for more longears but none showed up. The water had gotten cloudy as it was crystal clear on the morning I caught my first three. Only more bluegill and one warmouth showed up this morning. And a lot of pesky turtles chasing my bobber.

It is relaxing watching the tank now.

Usil

Edited by Usil, 07 September 2011 - 08:31 PM.

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#6 Guest_EricaWieser_*

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Posted 08 September 2011 - 07:44 AM

Oooh, what a pretty fish in the first video. And they seem to be eating very well in the second video, that's good.

To answer your question, I use a Python No Spill Clean And Fill® to remove water from my tanks and refill them. I use live, growing plants as nitrogen sinks. I mostly empty and refill the tank to decrease alleopathic interactions between the varied species of plants I keep, not to 'clean' it (the plants do that).

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#7 Guest_IvanMike_*

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Posted 08 September 2011 - 04:48 PM

FWIW, the python itself is discontinued, but I think it's Aqueon that makes an identical product. Great thing to have and you don't need to use the venturi adapter and waste water as long as your tank is higher than the ground (just fill the hose with water and then use it to siphon out the tank with the gravel cleaning attachment). The water is great for plants as well. (sunfish make a LOT of waste).

Unless you have about 20 times the mass in plants as you do fish, nitrates will still accumulate in the tank (as well as hormones and other stuff not consumed by nitrifying bacteria), so water changes are essential, doubly so for big messy fish. I'm more of a cichlid guy, but I'd treat sunfish the same way. It isn't unusual for me to change 50-80% of the water a week along with vacuuming the substrate and rinsing the filter media in a bucket of tank water to get rid of the "crap" that's just decomposing in the filters. With a 55 and that stocking level, I don't think changing the water twice a week is overkill.

BTW, those fish look HUNGRY.... :biggrin:

Edited by IvanMike, 08 September 2011 - 04:53 PM.

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#8 Guest_Usil_*

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Posted 08 September 2011 - 07:32 PM

I just received today the Aqueon Aquarium Water changer kit with parts and 25 ft of tubing. I will be shuffling/cleaning the gravel tomorrow and doing a partial water change. Never used this product before so this will be a first. Any tips?

Also, how do you prepare for 'adding' 15 to 20 gallons of fresh water to the tank after the cleaning? Obviously, not from the tap directly. I thought about filling a 15 gallon tank I have with water tonight and adding a water conditioner to remove chlorine and chloramines. Then tomorrow morning after cleaning the tank, add the new water. Does this sound reasonable?

Usil

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#9 Guest_Usil_*

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Posted 08 September 2011 - 07:35 PM

By the way, the longears are always hungry. I have been feeding them three times a day as I figure this will quicker get them acclimatized to the tank and me. After a week or so what should be the feeding frequency? Would twice a day be ok?

I will be changing the diet frequently with a try at getting them eventually to pellets. (But not entirely without adding some live or freeze dried favorites they already like. I would like to keep them happy.)

Usil

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#10 Guest_IvanMike_*

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Posted 08 September 2011 - 07:43 PM

I can only go by experience with cichlids with similar size and morphologies and say - yeah, twice a day is fine, even once a day might be OK (and you can skip days - lots of fok do a 1 day fast every week). Our fish get fed a LOT compared to what they get in the wild.

A good deal of your feeding frequency will/should be dictated by how often you want to change the water... :mrgreen:

Oh, and I've been sending water straight from the tap through my python for almost 20 years now - just put the dechlorinator/water conditioner in the tank first. The active ingredient in those (usually sodium thiosulfate) acts almost instantly, and in any event, a lot faster than any damage to the fish from chlorine/chloramines. With the massive water changes you'll be doing on that tank, you don't want your life to be any more difficult.

Like I said, I tend to put the tube with the gravel vac in the tank and connect the hose directly to the tap until the tube is full. (If you're concerned about a bit of chlorine getting in the tank this way you can go ahead and put a drop of dechlorinator in the tank first. As soon as the hose is full, I disconnect from the tap and throw the hose out the door. Gravity does the rest (and doesn't waste all the water that the venturi adapter does). I actually fill some buckets with the tank water for watering plants and the garden. I alternate vacuuming the gravel and changing the intake bucket. I take one of those buckets inside when less than full, and wash off the filter media in it and replace it in the filter(s). Then I connect the hose back to the tap, put the appropriate amount of dechlorinator in the tank, and turn on the tap and try to match the tank temp by feel. Once done, I grab the end from the tank and hold it up high, disconnect the other end from the sink, go outside and throw one of those ends down, and then coil the whole thing up while holding up high to let all the water drain out.

Edited by IvanMike, 08 September 2011 - 07:51 PM.

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#11 Guest_IvanMike_*

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Posted 09 September 2011 - 07:32 AM

FWIW, most of those guys should be easy to switch to krill as another food source. If you buy online you can get a huge tub of krill for about 30 bucks. Sometimes this is the gateway for pellets. Don't be discouraged if they only mouth the krill at first (but take it out of the tank). Feed nothing but that for a week and they'll come around.

Earthworms are one of the best foods around - if you can build an earthworm breeding area in your basement that can help during the winter. I have a compost heap which I use for summer earthworms (for fishing and feeding!)and let me tell you, compost produces some huge nightcrawlers. Nothing quite beats watching a tug of war between two sunfish over a big fat worm both want... :twisted:

Keep in mind they will make the water cloudy a bit faster due to the silt and clay content of the soil they are in, but water changes and gravel vacuuming takes care of that.

Nice looking tank!

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#12 Guest_EricaWieser_*

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Posted 09 September 2011 - 08:18 AM

Unless you have about 20 times the mass in plants as you do fish, nitrates will still accumulate in the tank (as well as hormones and other stuff not consumed by nitrifying bacteria), so water changes are essential, doubly so for big messy fish.

You would be surprised how much nitrogen growing plants consume. Yes, I still do weekly water changes, but no, the nitrate has never reached a high concentration by the time I do. Even when I don't change the water for two months, the nitrates peaks at around 10-20 ppm. Plants are great

By the way, I agree that you can add water directly from the faucet tap to the tank. Chlorine damage to gills is a long, cumulative injury. Dosing the tank with chlorine/chloramine remove a few minutes after the new water is added (not before; chlorine remover is toxic in high concentrations) eliminates the chlorine/chloramine and prevents long term gill damage. So yes, adding water directly from the tap is perfectly fine. Some people even run automatic water changers that are continually adding and removing water from the tank, and they don't have problems. Example: http://www.aquaticpl...nge-system.html

Edited by EricaWieser, 09 September 2011 - 08:19 AM.

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#13 Michael Wolfe

Board of Directors

North Georgia, Oconee River Drainage

Posted 09 September 2011 - 08:50 AM

My water changing regimen includes PRIME (for chlorine and chloramine)... and certainly do use water straight from the tap... kinda goes like this...

Python to vacuum and remove water
Prime into the tank (per the instructions on the bottle at twice the dosage)
Python to refill the tank with cold water
watch the shiners play in the cold current

There is no real risk of overdosing when I am adding a cap-full of PRIME and start filling the tank within seconds.

Either write something worth reading or do something worth writing. - Benjamin Franklin

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#14 Guest_Usil_*

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Posted 09 September 2011 - 02:10 PM

Let me understand clearly on the water change procedure using tap water.

Let's say I take 15 gallons of water from my 55 gallon tank from the bottom cleaning process and water removal. Then, I fill the tank with 15 gallons of tap water. Then I add the chorine/choramine removal agent back into the tank. Here is where I am unclear. Do I add the chemical for the 15 gallons I took out? or do I add more and if so how much and why?

Usil

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#15 Guest_Usil_*

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Posted 09 September 2011 - 02:13 PM

I have not tried Krill but am trying just about everything else as I see what the Texas longears eat and don't eat.

I currently have a large arsenal of food in my fish cabinet. I want to eventually provide a varied diet that is healthy (to include some live food) and economical. I have not come to the economical part yet. Posted Image

Usil

Edited by Usil, 09 September 2011 - 02:14 PM.

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#16 Michael Wolfe

Board of Directors

North Georgia, Oconee River Drainage

Posted 09 September 2011 - 02:24 PM

Let me understand clearly on the water change procedure using tap water.

Let's say I take 15 gallons of water from my 55 gallon tank from the bottom cleaning process and water removal. Then, I fill the tank with 15 gallons of tap water. Then I add the chorine/choramine removal agent back into the tank. Here is where I am unclear. Do I add the chemical for the 15 gallons I took out? or do I add more and if so how much and why?

Usil

I think it varies by the chemical used, but I think PRIME tells you to double the dose... so in your case add enough chemical for 30 gallons... this is since you are not mixing before adding you are mixing in the tank.

so, this is what I do...

I take 25 gallons out of my 75 gallon tank

then per the instructions on the PRIME bottle I double dose the tank... adding enough PRIME for 50 gallons... into the existing tank

then I hose in the 25 gallons from the tap

I tend to put the PRIME in one end of the tank and then put the hose right there as well so that the new water that I am adding creates a 'mixing' and turbulence to get everything homogeneous.

Either write something worth reading or do something worth writing. - Benjamin Franklin

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#17 Guest_Usil_*

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Posted 09 September 2011 - 03:21 PM

Ok, got it.

Thanks.

Usil

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#18 Guest_EricaWieser_*

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Posted 09 September 2011 - 05:29 PM

The DeChlor® product by Weco instructs to add two drops per gallon for chloramine and one drop per gallon for chlorine. There is no instruction to change the drop count if you add the water before or after you dose. If you add 15 gallons of tap water, you dose for 15 gallons.

The technique used for the product Dechlor® by Weco is to:
1. Remove water
2. Add water
3. Dose for as many gallons as you added. Dose one drop per gallon for chlorine, two drops per gallon for chloramine. Do not overdose.

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#19 Guest_Usil_*

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Posted 11 September 2011 - 09:54 AM

My 55 gallon tank is doing well. Filtration is excellent, plants are living and fish seem happy. Two days ago I caught another Texas longear and added it to my tank while removing one of two bluegill to keep the population at 5. I also added about 6, 3/4 to 1" baby bluegill/longear to the tank for natural food (which all seem to be doing very well and eating on the freeze dried bloodworms - maybe they will survive). My largest Longear continues to be dominant.

The new Texas longear is as big as the dominant one. I have not gotten the ruler out but the two larger ones looks more like about 5 inches. The others are about 4 inches. The dominant one established himself right away and the new kid in the block dutifully took up residence in the corner behind the log. The first day he did not eat even though all around him a feeding frenzy was going on three times a day. The second day he did eat when I had chopped up some worms and fed them a few at a time by dropping it right in front of him.

Today, I started all out with the usual freeze dried blood worms which they really like. Then, while all were busy except the new longear I threw him a Hikari sinking carnivore pellet just to see what he would do. He immediately swung out and snarfed it down fast. Threw him another and he got that one too. He made no hesitation. There was no mouthing to see what it was he just gulped it. So, new kid on the block likes pellets - that is weird. Others, just ignore them. Weird but I will take it as now I have a good food for the new guy and maybe he will eventually present himself a little more when he get's used to the tank. The dominant one needs a little competition.

The one Bluegill ever once in a while, swings out to the center of the tank and sides along the Longear and does some tail wagging. Then he leaves. Sort of saying hi I guess and that some day you will have some competition. I love watching the interactions. They are dynamic and looks like they can change over time. It has only been a little over a week and they are already bring a lot of joy to my home office.

Usil

Edited by Usil, 11 September 2011 - 10:13 AM.

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#20 Guest_frogwhacker_*

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Posted 11 September 2011 - 12:47 PM

The new Texas longear is as big as the dominant one. I have not gotten the ruler out but the two larger ones looks more like about 5 inches. The others are about 4 inches. The dominant one established himself right away and the new kid in the block dutifully took up residence in the corner behind the log. The first day he did not eat even though all around him a feeding frenzy was going on three times a day. The second day he did eat when I had chopped up some worms and fed them a few at a time by dropping it right in front of him.

Today, I started all out with the usual freeze dried blood worms which they really like. Then, while all were busy except the new longear I threw him a Hikari sinking carnivore pellet just to see what he would do. He immediately swung out and snarfed it down fast. Threw him another and he got that one too. He made no hesitation. There was no mouthing to see what it was he just gulped it. So, new kid on the block likes pellets - that is weird. Others, just ignore them. Weird but I will take it as now I have a good food for the new guy and maybe he will eventually present himself a little more when he get's used to the tank. The dominant one needs a little competition.

Sounds like he's still a little overwhelmed with such close quarters and in the mode of 'take what you can without being seen'. I've got a rock bass that has always been that way and his only tank mates are half a dozen striped shiners. I caught him as a juvenile so he should have acclimated to tank life OK, but he's just very shy. At 6-7 inches long you'd think he'd just come out and let the shiners know who's boss, but he'll hide under something and watch the shiners eat worms, crickets, and whatever else I drop. I think he's just overwhelmed by the constant movement of the shiners, although there's been times I've had him by himself and he's still been shy. Just his personality I guess. Interestingly, my daughter's rock bass was caught at the same place, same time, and at the same size. He's not at all afraid, and even enjoys coming out to watch TV.

Sorry for rambling, Hope your longear overcomes his shyness soon.

Steve.