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Any chance of him allowing a tankmate? (bluegill)


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#41 Guest_nickag9_*

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Posted 28 March 2014 - 10:53 AM

A longear won't get as large as a pumpkinseed and will be almost as colorful. I don't know if he would get along with your Bluegill or not though?

#42 Guest_Aireal_*

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Posted 28 March 2014 - 11:15 AM

wow ya longears are beautiful too. Tough choice I need something at least semi aggressive and similar in size to stand up to my boy so he won't terrorize/kill it but at the same time I don't want it to harm him either. Hummm, I should just say forget it and just have him. But that 55 is so big and empty with just one fish in it. Frustrates me! lol

#43 Guest_Aireal_*

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Posted 28 March 2014 - 11:32 AM

He’s been nesting and looking like he wants a female. How would I go about getting him a female longears or pumpkinseed? I don't care if they breed was just thinking a female might keep him aggression down some.

#44 Guest_Erica Lyons_*

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Posted 28 March 2014 - 11:35 AM

"was just thinking a female might keep him aggression down some. "

Ehhh, you've got to be careful with that line of thinking there. Have you ever put a male and a female betta together? Just because offspring are being generated doesn't mean the parents get along or stay together long term. A lot of animals don't go through life in pairs. It's commonly more of a 'give me offspring then go away' relationship.

Humans are very different from most other animals because our babies are so helpless for such a long period of time. We invest so much energy into them before they're even born that it's worth our time to make sure the few that get generated survive long term. This means societal support, or the amount of energy the parent is putting in would severely limit its own survival. That's why we find it advantageous to raise babies in pairs, and to hang out in groups. Other animals have different strategies. Pop out a thousand eggs and it doesn't really matter whether you stick around or not: a few dozen will survive. If it doesn't take too much stress and the adult can pop out eggs like, once a month, then heck it can be way more advantageous to do that than spend 9 months gestating one offspring and another 5 minimum years feeding it. There are some good articles online about r and k breeders that discuss this more. Choosing to live life as a pair is more common in animals who require a lot of parental investment if their young are going to survive. Lions are an example of animals who live in groups to communally feed their young. Lionfish are an example of an animal that just lays 12,00 to 15,000 eggs in a mat and swims away. A single female can lay 2 million eggs per year (source below). Lionfish don't live in pairs. I think the only thing that stops them from eating other lionfish is their spines. All I'm saying is, you might want a second tank to put the female(s) in so the male doesn't beat her to death, and it's completely natural for him to do that.

Lionfish info: http://www.reef.org/... quickfacts.pdf

Native fish vendors:
zimmerman's fish
jonah's aquarium
btdarters
sach's aquaculture

#45 Guest_Aireal_*

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Posted 28 March 2014 - 11:54 AM

Alright then good to know. Like I said I am not so much worried about breeding but just thought a tank mate or two would be nice. Previously it was mentions a bullhead but as I read they advised if my boy could fit in his mouth most likely he will be eaten which I really do not want to do as his wellbeing means more to me than any of the other fish. I have been on the search for a smaller bullhead but so far no luck with what I feel will both survive and not outgrow the tank or have me fear for it will eat BAMF. I’ve also considered putting him into a somewhat smaller tank like possibly a 30 or 40 and then put multiple in at once in the 55 but feel that’s probably not right after he has gotten so used to his home. Oh well guess I can always try and if it doesn’t work learn from my error.

#46 Michael Wolfe

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Posted 28 March 2014 - 01:03 PM

The other alternative is to just realize that you have a pet... not a community. There is nothing cruel or inhumane about keeping a fish alone in a tank. He is fine. He is not a human looking for companionship.
Either write something worth reading or do something worth writing. - Benjamin Franklin

#47 Guest_Aireal_*

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Posted 28 March 2014 - 02:08 PM

Lol ya i know he likes it. It's my stubbornness that likes the interestingness of a community tank. But then he's the only fish I have that has a name. Guess I can wait till I get my larger tank and fill that one up. Leave my boy be.

#48 Michael Wolfe

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Posted 28 March 2014 - 03:58 PM

I'm with you I have always been a community tank aquarist... but there is a certain kind of fun with having a single big fish. Simple solution is always but another aquarium!
Either write something worth reading or do something worth writing. - Benjamin Franklin

#49 Guest_Aireal_*

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Posted 29 March 2014 - 09:22 AM

I'm with you I have always been a community tank aquarist... but there is a certain kind of fun with having a single big fish. Simple solution is always but another aquarium!

True I'm starting to think i should have bought a 4 bedroom house so i could have a fish room! Lol

#50 Guest_Subrosa_*

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Posted 31 March 2014 - 07:02 AM

"was just thinking a female might keep him aggression down some. "

Ehhh, you've got to be careful with that line of thinking there. Have you ever put a male and a female betta together? Just because offspring are being generated doesn't mean the parents get along or stay together long term. A lot of animals don't go through life in pairs. It's commonly more of a 'give me offspring then go away' relationship.

Humans are very different from most other animals because our babies are so helpless for such a long period of time. We invest so much energy into them before they're even born that it's worth our time to make sure the few that get generated survive long term. This means societal support, or the amount of energy the parent is putting in would severely limit its own survival. That's why we find it advantageous to raise babies in pairs, and to hang out in groups. Other animals have different strategies. Pop out a thousand eggs and it doesn't really matter whether you stick around or not: a few dozen will survive. If it doesn't take too much stress and the adult can pop out eggs like, once a month, then heck it can be way more advantageous to do that than spend 9 months gestating one offspring and another 5 minimum years feeding it. There are some good articles online about r and k breeders that discuss this more. Choosing to live life as a pair is more common in animals who require a lot of parental investment if their young are going to survive. Lions are an example of animals who live in groups to communally feed their young. Lionfish are an example of an animal that just lays 12,00 to 15,000 eggs in a mat and swims away. A single female can lay 2 million eggs per year (source below). Lionfish don't live in pairs. I think the only thing that stops them from eating other lionfish is their spines. All I'm saying is, you might want a second tank to put the female(s) in so the male doesn't beat her to death, and it's completely natural for him to do that.

Lionfish info: http://www.reef.org/... quickfacts.pdf

Native fish vendors:
zimmerman's fish
jonah's aquarium
btdarters
sach's aquaculture

I assure you that the spines don't stop Lionfish from eating each other!

#51 Guest_Aireal_*

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Posted 31 March 2014 - 07:09 AM

So roomie decided she didn't want the bullhead anymo so i got him back. So far BAMF knows it's there, isn't happy but hasn't killed it yet.

#52 Guest_ttman_*

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Posted 08 April 2014 - 08:04 PM

IMO, it's a P'seed

#53 Guest_smbass_*

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Posted 28 April 2014 - 08:32 AM

I keep bullheads and sunfish together all the time and you should have no problem. You will have a problem if you try to add one or two more sunfish to a tank with a male sunfish that has that entire tank as his territory. I think a brown bullhead is a great tank mate for that hybrid green x probably a bluegill. Just give the bullhead a hiding place for it to sit inside during the day and they will both be happy.

#54 Guest_Aireal_*

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Posted 28 April 2014 - 09:22 PM

I keep bullheads and sunfish together all the time and you should have no problem. You will have a problem if you try to add one or two more sunfish to a tank with a male sunfish that has that entire tank as his territory. I think a brown bullhead is a great tank mate for that hybrid green x probably a bluegill. Just give the bullhead a hiding place for it to sit inside during the day and they will both be happy.

Thank you, I was wondering about a Jack Dempsey. I've seen several people with them with green gill. Do you think think one of those would work? I was going to take him out rearrage things and introduce them both at the same time so maybe it wouldn't be so much "his territory" at the moment. He did good with the catfish but my cousin took it for his Oscar tank since he needed a bottom feeder.

#55 Guest_smbass_*

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Posted 30 April 2014 - 11:42 AM

I think this would be just like putting another sunfish in the tank, I do not think it would go well.

#56 Guest_Pumpkinsteve_*

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Posted 19 May 2014 - 12:00 PM

This one is a tough id, looks like a green x bluegill to me based on the shape, colors, and pattern. Also, many fish farms breed green x bluegill for stocking, which makes this type of hybrid to most commonly caught by far.

But, but, but, the eye color is wrong. Greens and Blues have dark eyes, this one has a red/orange eye striped with black, like a Pumpkinseed or Redbreast.

If you decide to add fish, I would suggest a lot of structure, so that there are several out-of-sight locations, and have a tank divider at the ready from the start.

#57 Guest_Aireal_*

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Posted 30 May 2014 - 01:32 PM

This one is a tough id, looks like a green x bluegill to me based on the shape, colors, and pattern. Also, many fish farms breed green x bluegill for stocking, which makes this type of hybrid to most commonly caught by far.

But, but, but, the eye color is wrong. Greens and Blues have dark eyes, this one has a red/orange eye striped with black, like a Pumpkinseed or Redbreast.

If you decide to add fish, I would suggest a lot of structure, so that there are several out-of-sight locations, and have a tank divider at the ready from the start.


That's interesting, truly I have no idea. Sounds like he is a "mutt" of a fish which suits me and my dogs anyways. lol

I actually decided to not introduce a fish, I had a JD and a salvini to try but right before their quarantine was up my jewel cichlids killed my firemouth after they had already established their territories and everything. Well as BAMF is the only fish I am actually attached to I decided it wasn’t his head I wanted to find when doing maintenance. But this brings up a next question which I can post in a new thread if I need too. But as BAMF has matured going on 6 plus inches he literally never leaves his one half of the 55 tank. Well if he is not going to utilize the whole tank and isn’t going to have a tank mate what do you think of me putting him in my 30 gallon? It’s basically the same room he uses in the 55 now but doesn’t allow him that extra room which currently is useless.
What is ya’lls option of downsizing a tank? Because truly if he isn’t going to use the full tank I would like to put my cichlids from the 30 plus a few more into the 55. But I am not sure if a 30 is an appropriate for a full grown single sunfish as he could still be growing (I guess I’ve never had a sunfish before but read they could get 8”).




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