My name is Joe , I've been keeping fish for over 30 years , mostly tropical .
But have an interest in natives , I have 6 young Sunfish that were given to me and I would like to try and ID , I'll post pictures when I have a chance .

I will most likely release them in the lake they were found after the weather has warmed up for a while .

I would like find and keep some Pygmies , Okies or Everglades . Don't know if it's legal , or where to find them .

Also I would like keep some darters .


Anyway thanks for having me .

Hi Joe, and welcome to the forum!

The http://www.nanfa.org web site has a lot of pointers to help you get started with keeping natives but the forum here can be very helpful in resolving issues that might come up along the way, or just to share success stories with others who can appreciate what it is you're enjoying.

Though I expect you're likely to get a lot of folks here discouraging you (and rightly so) from releasing those sunfishes back into the wild. Fishes pick up all kinds of pathogens in captivity and most of the time we, as aquarists, can treat the pathogens if they cause symptoms in the fish while they are in our captivity. Once a fish has been in captivity, it should never be released back into the wild for fear of these exotic pathogens being introduced into the wild.

However, there is a pretty good chance you could give those sunfishes a long healthy life in captivity. If you'd really rather not, I promise not to cringe if you decide to fry them up in a pan and eat them instead of throwing them back in the wild. Though I can't speak for everyone here on that point.

Welcome to the boards!

Glad to see that you have interest in keeping native fish..
I hope you're wearing some flame-retardant clothing, you might just get burnt for the re-releasing tidbit. Look around the boards and you'll see what I mean.

Welcome Aboard!

Thank you both , well , I may just keep them then .

I got these from a guy that was keeping them in a 55 gallon tank outside his house [ last summer] , he caught them with a net and was using them [ was going to ] for bait fish .

Never let a fish go before , then again I never kept natives .

Didn't realize I might be putting something so dangerous back into a native environment by releasing them back , it makes sense .
When I first got them I was very careful of cross contamination between their tank and my tropical tanks [ nets drain hoses etc.] , it's been over 6 months and many , many water changes , thanks for making me aware it works both ways before I made a big mistake .

[ we have snakeheads in a lake in Flushing Queens NY , and Cabomba choking out native Flora and fauna in several lakes as well , never considered parasites or diseases ]

Being a tropical collector the thought of releasing a fish never crossed my mind , until I got these guys [ thought they might be better off ] .

So an education I will get from this site , and these fish I will be keeping in captivity .

Thank you .

Welcome to the forum... if you have any questions just post in the appropriate section and there are tons of people willing to help you out.

Welcome to the forum... if you have any questions just post in the appropriate section and there are tons of people willing to help you out.

Thank you , drewish , I will do that .

Thank you both , well , I may just keep them then.

That would be cool, and we look forward to your pics. If you don't want to keep them or eat them, just offer them up on the Trading Dock section of the forum. I'm sure somebody will want them. Just please don't release them.

Didn't realize I might be putting something so dangerous back into a native environment by releasing them back...

Chances are you wouldn't be, especially if they have not been in contact with any other fish (including feeders) and if they are released at the original collection location. But is it worth taking the chance? It's not just pathogens, it's also mixing genetic populations. There are extensive discussions elsewhere on this forum, I suggest you peruse them.

Being a tropical collector the thought of releasing a fish never crossed my mind , until I got these guys [ thought they might be better off ] .

I think it's usually innocent. People think the fish might be better off. They mean well. With tropicals, they won't be better off, since they won't survive the winter. With natives, and exotics like the snakeheads you mentioned, these individual fish can survive the winter and might be better off released than flushed. But the bigger issue is not the individual fish. The issue is whether the ecosystem would be better off. We are talking many, many, many other fishes, and other flora and fauna, that can be impacted by the released fish. The ecosystem is NOT better off, it is worse off.



Anyway, welcome aboard, Lucky62.

I can't believe this was almost 6 years ago , We , my son and I kept them for a little over 3 years before they all eventually died off . Thank you all for the education . I will be asking questions about rainbow darters [ that I do not yet have ] when I find the correct place to ask .