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Bluegill Spawning


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#1 ccarceo

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Posted 11 October 2016 - 07:53 PM

I've had 5 Bluegill in a tank for about a year, 3 males and 2 females. A few weeks back I noticed one male showing nest guarding behavior. He dug up a few plants and moved gravel around until the bottom of the tank was showing a bit. Well the little guy was finally successful because this morning there were eggs. So my question is: does anyone have advice for rearing bluegill fry? Should I remove the eggs now or wait for them to hatch? I figured I'd wait for them to hatch, siphon out the fry, and keep them in a floating laundry basket lined with fine mesh for the time being. I also have an extra 20 gallon that I can set up. Any recommendations on food? Any and all advice would be appreciated.

 

(apologies if some feel this is an exhausted topic, I searched in the archives but figured it couldn't hurt to reopen the subject for any new info that might be out there)

 

Thank you!



#2 littlen

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Posted 12 October 2016 - 08:48 AM

Search the forum by posts from "Centrarchid"/go to his member profile and look for topics he has posted or contributed to.  He is the leading authority on ALL things sunfish!  There is tons of info on rearing the fry of literally every species of sunfish.  Bluegill shouldn't be hard to find.

If you have the space, the easiest thing might be to remove all the other adults except the male.  He will raise the fry.  Just cover your filter intakes with a sponge to avoid sucking up little ones.


Nick L.

#3 ccarceo

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Posted 12 October 2016 - 09:50 AM

Search the forum by posts from "Centrarchid"/go to his member profile and look for topics he has posted or contributed to.  He is the leading authority on ALL things sunfish!  There is tons of info on rearing the fry of literally every species of sunfish.  Bluegill shouldn't be hard to find.

If you have the space, the easiest thing might be to remove all the other adults except the male.  He will raise the fry.  Just cover your filter intakes with a sponge to avoid sucking up little ones.

Thanks Nick! You're right he is definitely the leading authority on this topic!



#4 centrarchid

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Posted 12 October 2016 - 10:57 AM

Once the prolarvae hatch, move some to the 20-gallon tank leaving balance with male.  Remove fish but parental male from spawning tank.  Odds are they will be hatching out by end of day so expect them to be free-swimming in an additional 5 days.  Mine generally leave nest in evening about dusk or when light go off.  I would should off any power filters at that time.  Also have live baby brine shrimp (BS) added to tank at that time.  You can get by feeding them baby BS only 2 times daily as 12-h intervals.  Parental male will not eat his kids after exodus (swim-up) even though they would naturally leave his care as they leave nest.

 

What kind of bluegill are involved?  Northern or Coppernose?


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