7 replies to this topic

[Veritas1980]

So I have two male green sunfish and one of them has made a nest, but the other is stuck in the corner. I am hoping someone has a female they may be willing to trade, I am in the Houston TX area.

 

https://photos.app.g...ja5iiwtPohrhS38

[centrarchid]

I would pull second male, then go into stream or pond to catch a female. Then setup a partition in tank placing female on opposite side of tank from male. Condition her for several days on good eats watching for behavior changes in the male where he tried to court through partition and she goes to him. Release under supervision if she is interested.

 

Otherwise condition a small group of females in another tank and transfer a fatty in with male for a short while each day, Again supervise and remove female if courtship not leading to actual spawning. Remove female immediately after spawning.  You can leave male in with spawn indefinitely with most sunfishes.

[Veritas1980]

Thanks. I've done some reading on breeding. I'm just looking for a trade for a female. I've not had much success catching adults. I usually get the fry/fingerlings in a dipnet and raise them. its how I got these.

[Jconte]

I am surprised that you are having trouble catching adult greens. They will readily take just about any panfish lure in my experience. And I have dipnetted many adults, especially by probing under vegetation in undercut stream banks.

[Veritas1980]

I've been dipnetting all around houston, tried a micro crankbait that looks like a hellgrammite and I've tried a bobber with worm on a hook. I also am not good at telling the sexes apart,

[Jconte]

I understand that. , I can identify a male in breeding colors but that’s about as far as my skills go.

[Veritas1980]

LOL about the same here.you can see that male in the video is in breeding dress and he's uprooted all the elodea and made a nest/bowl.

[Fleendar the Magnificent]

Used to catch a LOT of tiny greens in the creek nearby, but not so many anymore as the creek regularly dries up nowadays. However, despite that, I still have chubs a-plenty in the pools. Why is it that the chubs remain and the sunfish disappear?