14 replies to this topic

[shaft6977]

Started these guys off on Omega One Freshwater Flakes and transitioned them to New Life Spectrum Cichlid Pellets and Hikari Cichlid Gold. Once a week I let them pig out on frozen brine shrimp. Their colors have really come on nice in the last few months. What do you feed to yours?  ImageUploadedByTapatalk1426236107.686483.jpg   300.14KB   3 downloads

[Sean Phillips]

I don't have longears but I feed my green sunfish primarily custom made growth formula flake and occasionally frozen mysis shrimp, she's about 4.5" now so I'll probably try to get her on cichlid pellets when she hits 6".

[smbass]

Those are some beautiful looking longears, very healthy looking. Keep doing what your doing. I will say for a frozen food I prefer mysis shrimp for adults because they are larger than brine or blood worms and a better suited size wise food item for adult sunfish.

[shaft6977]

These 2 are from a group of 4 that you sent me back in September. The whole family has fallen in love with them and how they come right up to the front when we put our faces up to the glass. Needless to say, you're pretty popular in my household! Thanks for the mysis tip, I'll try getting some this weekend.

[NotCousteau]

Just stopping by to say that those are some nice-looking longears! How old are they? I'm just curious to learn about when they start getting that coloring.

[shaft6977]

Thank you! When I got them back in September, they were about an inch long or so. I started them out in a 10 gallon tank at 78 degrees and fed them 4 times a day. By the end of October, they had outgrown the 10 and I moved them to a 29. I kept them at the same temp and feeding regimen and by December, they had outgrown the 29 and I moved them to the 55 that they're in now. I took the feedings down to twice a day and I don't heat the tank either. They're close to 6 inches as of right now and the color started becoming noticeable in December. I wouldn't have bothered trying to accelerate their growth if it wasn't for the stonecat that I had in the 55. I had to make sure they were too big to be eaten before I moved them in with it.

[smbass]

They hatched at my place in late June or early July last summer. This is a great example of how if you want to and dedicate yourself to a pretty intensive feeding regime you can get sunfish to mature in a hurry! Those guys are less than a year old and 6" long! Even I am impressed! Their brothers and sisters that wintered over under ice outside are not even 1" long yet! Temperature and and lots of food with good water quality can really change the growth rate. In comparison a more average growth rate would be my 2-3" ones that I separated out for a future breeding group. They have been fed 4-5 times a week all winter and are in about 68 F temp wise in unheated tank in my basement. That gives the full spectrum, these fish on the "fast tract plan", my future breeders in the middle, and then some that wintered over outdoors that are downright tiny all from the same spawn in late June last summer. This is probably made even a little more extreme by me cleaning out the pond in the fall and bringing about half of the young indoors to sell and leaving all the smallest ones outside over the winter. Those smallest ones probably were from spawns in July or August because these just keep making babies all summer long in an outdoor pond.

[NotCousteau]

They hatched at my place in late June or early July last summer. This is a great example of how if you want to and dedicate yourself to a pretty intensive feeding regime you can get sunfish to mature in a hurry! Those guys are less than a year old and 6" long! Even I am impressed! Their brothers and sisters that wintered over under ice outside are not even 1" long yet! Temperature and and lots of food with good water quality can really change the growth rate. In comparison a more average growth rate would be my 2-3" ones that I separated out for a future breeding group. They have been fed 4-5 times a week all winter and are in about 68 F temp wise in unheated tank in my basement. That gives the full spectrum, these fish on the "fast tract plan", my future breeders in the middle, and then some that wintered over outdoors that are downright tiny all from the same spawn in late June last summer. This is probably made even a little more extreme by me cleaning out the pond in the fall and bringing about half of the young indoors to sell and leaving all the smallest ones outside over the winter. Those smallest ones probably were from spawns in July or August because these just keep making babies all summer long in an outdoor pond.

Great information, smbass! Thanks!

[shaft6977]

Fascinating stuff!

[ponder]

Does the size indicate sexual maturity?  i.e. Do you think the 6"ers will start spawning?

[shaft6977]

I have no idea. The female I have in with them hasn't grown nearly as fast as the two males so until she catches up, it would be hard for me to say. smbass would be the guy to answer that one. I would assume that if they're not ready now, they will be soon.

[smbass]

They look more than ready to me. The females seem to be slower growing and stay smaller for longear sunfish. They are probably ready to spawn now if there was an increase in temp and day length. Be careful though if they start that activity they can get pretty nasty with each other. If you just have three in the tank you might end up having to separate them out. It does help that they grew up together but 2 males and one female might be bad news if they get into spawning mood in a confined space.

[shaft6977]

I've actually got 4. There's one that hasn't grown much at all, so it's hard for me to tell what sex it is. It's so small that neither of the big males really even acknowledge it. I have noticed in the last couple of weeks that the dominant male has been a little more pushy than normal with the other one. They got in quite a little rumble a few months ago over food and ever since then, there's been a pecking order established and things have been pretty smooth. But like you said, that may all go out the window here real soon.

[smbass]

I see that frequently when growing out a group of sunfish that one or two get big, one or two stay real small, and the rest are in the middle. If you have more tanks it can be remedied by moving the biggest fish out and putting them with other larger fish. and then moving other similar sized sunfish in with the small ones. I really think there is some sort of hormone thing going on suppressing growth once a fish establishes that it is the dominant fish in the tank. I have no proof but it just seems very odd that despite good water quality and plenty of food the small ones stay so small. With my breeder sunfish and or future breeders that I keep and grow out I sort them more by size in all my tanks rather than species. This seems to help keep the small ones growing. About once a month or so I move everyone around and resort them. I have most of my breeders of my currently 6 separate stocks that I am perpetuating at my place in five 75 gallon tanks. I don't keep breeding groups of local sunfish species, just catch new ones for my outdoor ponds when needed (pumpkinseed, warmouth, green, orangespotted, redear, central longear) I have 8 tanks that size but one houses my pet gar and the others have various fish I am selling in them. I also have about twenty 20-40 gallon tanks. Having so many tanks is a real advantage to being able to do what I am describing. In your case it is probably good these grew up together and three decided to be submissive to the 4th one. That may help in the long run in keeping the peace...

[shaft6977]

I sure hope so. I have a 29 gal that I could move the smallest one into, but it currently has 4 calvus cichlid juvies in it. Not sure how that would work out. I've heard the hormone theory before, and it sure makes sense in my case. I have also noticed that the smallest one isn't a very voracious feeder like the other 3. He seems to only get a bite or 2 at feeding time while the other 3 are attacking the pellets.