86 replies to this topic

[Michael Wolfe]

No, blue spots are a different genus, Enneacanthus, and behave much differently. That is what Yeahson was calling out as a good small swamp species.

I had some success breeding these this year and have four about the size of a quarter in a 25 bow front. They chase a little but are not much less aggressive than Lepomis.

[cjohns]

AWW! I see. I'm still new to this. Scientific names are still over my head. 😕 I did know what I call "sunfish" are Lepomis...lol. Are the Banded, Bluespotted and Blackbanded the only species in Enneacanthus genus?

[Michael Wolfe]

No problem, we were all new to these names once... sunfish is a common name and actually includes a few different groups... but check out a couple of things I linked below to help you...

yes there are only three, from the NANFA website http://www.nanfa.org/checklist.shtml
Enneacanthus chaetodon (Baird 1855); Blackbanded Sunfish
Enneacanthus gloriosus (Holbrook 1855); Bluespotted Sunfish
Enneacanthus obesus (Girard 1854); Banded Sunfish

also from the NANFA website check out this link and cursor down to the "Sunfish" category... there are several articles on Enneacanthus sunfish http://www.nanfa.org/ac.shtml

[Sean Phillips]

AWW! I see. I'm still new to this. Scientific names are still over my head. 😕 I did know what I call "sunfish" are Lepomis...lol. Are the Banded, Bluespotted and Blackbanded the only species in Enneacanthus genus?

This is the basic breakdown of the Sunfish Family.

-Family: Centrarchidae "Sunfish"
*Genus: Lepomis "Lepomis Sunfish" or just "Sunfish" (13 species)
*Genus: Enneacanthus "Enneacanthus Sunfish" (3 species)
*Genus: Poxomis "Crappies" (2 species)
*Genus: Micropterus "Black Basses" (14 species)
*Genus: Ambloplites "Rock Basses" (4 species)
*Genus: Centrarchus "Flier" (1 species)
*Genus: Acantharcus "Mud Sunfish" (1 species)
*Genus: Archoplites "Sacramento Perch" (1 species)

[cjohns]

Thanks for the information guys!

[cjohns]

First coat of concrete went on yesterday morning.  20141228_140906.jpg   117.45KB   3 downloads

Once dried the background was siliconed into the aquarium and the second coat was applied. While the second coat was still wet color was applied.
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Once dried I added sand

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After setting for 24 hour I added water. Time for detox!  20141229_202803.jpg   111.71KB   2 downloads

GREEN ALGAE OUTBREAK!
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Haha.... Just some multicolored leds.
Now I'm just waiting for my stump to get water logged and all the impurities to flush. After several water changes hopefully I'll be able to start the cycling process.

[mattknepley]

Polk City and Davenport were the closest I ever got to living in Lake Wales. I can remember plenty of "fishy"-looking scenes from hiking, but most of those are from further north in central FL. Even then, I don't have any specifics. I know if I get the chance next time I'm in the Orlando area I want to see if I can find some spots around Orlando Wetlands/Tosohatchee area; as well as the Wekiva River area...

http://myfwc.com/hun...ne/tosohatchee/
http://www.cityoforlando.net/wetlands/
http://www.floridast.../wekiwasprings/

I have hiked and birded all these areas, and seen interesting fish; although I have no idea of any regs they may have regarding collecting. Yet...

When I lived in Davenport, it was in a new subdivision that backed up to one of those monster size cattle grazing areas. When it flooded, there were lots of bright gold fishes cruising the new "shore" that I guess were golden topminnows.

[mattknepley]

Green Swamp might be a little closer for you. Parts of it, anyway. Again, don't know the regs, so you'll have to do some due diligence in that dept, but I remember plenty of nice looking habitat in the the Little Withlacoochee and East tracts. If these areas aren't open for collecting, perhaps areas close to them are.

http://www.swfwmd.st...greenswamp.html

Just a heads up as regards toothy reptiles; the biggest gator I ever saw outside of the Everglades was in Green Swamp. The thing was easily 12 feet long, most of the others were only half that size, and there weren't really that many.

[cjohns]

9

Green Swamp might be a little closer for you. Parts of it, anyway. Again, don't know the regs, so you'll have to do some due diligence in that dept, but I remember plenty of nice looking habitat in the the Little Withlacoochee and East tracts. If these areas aren't open for collecting, perhaps areas close to them are.

http://www.swfwmd.st...greenswamp.html

Just a heads up as regards toothy reptiles; the biggest gator I ever saw outside of the Everglades was in Green Swamp. The thing was easily 12 feet long, most of the others were only half that size, and there weren't really that many.

Thanks for the location information. I will definitely check it out. I have seen several monster gators in the last few trips. I enjoy watching them but not being in the water with them. I plan on stopping at a couple of feeder creeks and taking a look.
The only problem is the lake we fish is located around a nature preserve. I'll have to be careful not to collect there until I look up the regulations. Weohyakapka or "Walk in water" is the name of the lake. It's actually located in Polk County.

[cjohns]

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[cjohns]

72 gallon bow:

[cjohns]

I need to give a special thanks to my wife for letting me borrow her yoga weights.

[Evan P]

The tank looks great! Nice job!

[cjohns]

The tank looks great! Nice job!

THANKS. I can't wait to tie up all the lose end and get some fish.

[cjohns]

PH Is good and I added quick start a few days ago. The green sunfish you see is no longer in the aquarium. I added a couple of Rainbows today and did not want them harassed. He is back in his old home. The minnows have been in a couple of days and are doing great. I will slowly use them as feeders over the next couple of weeks until they are gone. By then I'm hoping to have made up my mind on what to stock.

Did a little aqua scaping today. The water is still stained because of it. Not 100% sure if I'm happy with the arrangement. The stump may look better in the middle or laid on its side. The big rock on top is of course going to be taken out once the stump is water logged. If I had to do it over again the big ledge on the back ground would be thicker and more rounded off.

Please give your opinions and ideas of what you think this aquarium needs. Criticism will be appreciated. I have been moving stuff around off and on all day and could use some help. Maybe I have just been looking at it to long...😠

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[mattknepley]

I think it looks great; very natural looking! The stump is a little bit of a puzzler, though. I love the way the roots hang down and form a nice fish-friendly, seine/dipnet repelling place to hide like you'd see in the wild. But it does kinda look like it's "floating" there. You might be on to something concerning repositioning it. Merely my opinion, doesn't mean anything, really- just do what makes you happy. And when you get to that point where nothing makes you happy, give it a rest and enjoy it for a while...

[Michael Wolfe]

Keep the minnows! They make this look good!

I like the stump as a stump. Like Matt says it looks very natural and some oft the he fish will appreciate the structure. If the top bothers you then raise it slightly out of the water and it will look like... Well a stump. Or attach somw kind of emergent plant to it...

[Josh Blaylock]

On the stump, you could be waiting a LONG time. Depending on the type of wood. I have a stump that has been submerged for years and still floats. I had to anchor it to the bottom of the tank.

[smbass]

Nice looking tank! If you do indeed decide to go with the swamp theme then here are a few suggestions for you...
Various killifish/topminnows goldens are nice and easy to find in FL.
Mudminnows work well in that type of a community.
Darters that work well include Brown, Iowa, Swamp, Least, Slough, Cypress, Gulf, and I'm sure there are others.
As previously mentioned all three Enneacanthus sunfish.
Cyprinids any species in the Pteronotropis genus but signipinis the Flagfin Shiner is my favorite. Also pugnose minnow, blacknose shiner, blackchin shiner, taillight shiner, weed shiner, redeye chub, ironcolor shiner and I'm sure there are more.
A chubsucker for a large lumbering centerpiece, any of the species will do but my favorite is the sharpfin.

I'm sure I am forgetting some things that work in this type of a setting but those are the major ones. I actually happen to be replacing my own swamp/wetland tank too but I'll make my own thread for it as I get further along. I could give you a locality from a walmart parking lot near Kissimee Fl where I found 12-14 species of fish in the retention pond. Send me a PM and I'm glad to share that and maybe a few others.

I also love sunfish and I think 6-10 Lepomis sunfish would look awfully nice in there...

[cjohns]

Or attach some kind of emergent plant to it...

I was planning to once it will stay down on its own. What do you suggest?