Javascript Disabled Detected

You currently have javascript disabled. Several functions may not work. Please re-enable javascript to access full functionality.

What species of pygmy sunfish do I have?

Started by Guest_zapins_* , Apr 02 2013 12:53 AM

Please log in to reply

11 replies to this topic

#1 Guest_zapins_*

Guests

Posted 02 April 2013 - 12:53 AM

Hello everyone!

I just found this forum and I see that a lot of people here have some excellent info on US native fish.

I bought some pygmy sunfish about a year ago as babies they have grown and recently started breeding. I have about 3 males and 5-6 females. They are in a small 2.5g tank and eat freshly hatched brine shrimp every day, there is moss and riccia for them to spawn in. The tank is unheated at about 70F.

So far they have bred many times, I've separated about 140 or so babies into another 2.5g tank. I took them out of the parent's tank because I figured the babies would eat all the infusoria living in the riccia and the newly hatched babies wouldn't have anything to eat for the first few days until they grow big enough to eat baby brine shrimp.

Anyway, my question is, what species do I have? They were sold to me as okefenokees but the pictures I have seen online are somewhat more colorful.

I'll also be getting some elassoma gilberti in 2 days time. I am looking forwards to breeding them as well.
Female
Posted Image

Female

Male

03-31-2013
Posted Image

03-17-2013
Posted Image

02-25-2013
Posted Image

02-19-2013
Posted Image

My original thread on my other forum:

http://www.aquaticpl...okefenokee.html

Edited by zapins, 02 April 2013 - 01:03 AM.

Back to top

#2 Guest_dmarkley_*

Guests

Posted 02 April 2013 - 09:08 AM

Wow, nice fish and excellent pictures!

Back to top

#3 Guest_Dustin_*

Guests

Posted 02 April 2013 - 10:59 AM

I am fairly certain that those are evergladei. The spangling on evergaldei can align into loose bands on some populations and an okefenokee/gilberti that was colored like your first male would show obvious thicker bands.

Back to top

#4 Guest_Kanus_*

Guests

Posted 02 April 2013 - 11:20 AM

I was going to say they looked a lot like the evergladei that I used to have, but I am not familiar enough with okeefenokee to have been able to rule that out.

Back to top

#5 Michael Wolfe

Board of Directors

North Georgia, Oconee River Drainage

Posted 02 April 2013 - 12:00 PM

I would agree with Dustin. After last years Okefenokee trip where we saw so many of each, I would say that they have the overall look (blunted looking nose/mouth) of evergladei.

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

Back to top

#6 Guest_EricaWieser_*

Guests

Posted 02 April 2013 - 06:13 PM

You are both an excellent photographer and fish breeder. I wish you the best of luck with your 140 babies

They are in my opinion Elassoma evergladei.

Back to top

#7 Guest_zapins_*

Guests

Posted 02 April 2013 - 06:44 PM

Nice! Thanks guys. I use a 100mm canon macro lens with a 5D II camera body.

I'm working on fixing my microscope to be able to take pictures. Hopefully this weekend I'll be able to take some high definition photos of eggs, embryos and freshly hatched fry. No guarantees though, the parts I need are extremely rare so we'll see

I'll post more pictures as they grow.

The fish are still breeding, I've seen at least 30 new babies in the riccia. They are newly hatched and so are really tiny. I think there are 2 males breeding on opposite sides of the tank every 3 days or so.

Good to know they aren't okees I was surprised at how differently colored they are. Also, the anal fin ray number is 8 (by my count) which is not what okees have right?

I'm looking forwards to bringing some to NEC this weekend in CT (are any of you going??

).

Back to top

#8 Guest_gerald_*

Guests

Posted 02 April 2013 - 07:06 PM

Does anybody know why Elassoma larvae have those evenly-spaced silver-gold dots along the body, evident in zapin's last photo? I've seen those on gilberti larvae too and I think also on Badis and Dario (tropical fish). Are those the first lateral-line sensory cells?

Back to top

#9 Guest_zapins_*

Guests

Posted 02 April 2013 - 08:29 PM

I was wondering about those as well.

Back to top

#10 Guest_Auban_*

Guests

Posted 12 April 2013 - 02:13 AM

great job on getting the fry, and those are some really awesome pics

Does anybody know why Elassoma larvae have those evenly-spaced silver-gold dots along the body, evident in zapin's last photo? I've seen those on gilberti larvae too and I think also on Badis and Dario (tropical fish). Are those the first lateral-line sensory cells?

i dont know what they are, but you can see them in this pic. maybe someone who knows more about their anatomy than i can comment.

Posted Image

you can also see them in this pic of a bluefin killifish fry. this one is just out of the egg, and the spots all but vanish within a week.
Posted Image

better look:
http://s1242.photobu...492167.mp4.html

Back to top

#11 Guest_fundulus_*

Guests

Posted 12 April 2013 - 10:19 AM

My crazyass guess as to those glowing dots is that they're the remnants of neurogenic placodes, bundles of thickened epithelium that differentiate in to various parts of the nervous system especially. If so, they're still growing and differentiating in the days after hatching as the larva becomes more physically competent.