25 replies to this topic

[El Todd]

Okay, so some big changes have happened. A friend gifted me an 80 gallon, basically a custom-built 75 that's an inch taller (48x18x22 as opposed to 48x18x21) so I have enough room for pretty much whatever lepomis species I want. My LFS sometimes gets bluegills in with their goldfish, because the manager is an experienced native keeper himself, so I'll probably be going with a bluegill.

Now my next question is, can I keep central stonerollers with the bluegill if I get them all around the same time? How many do I need for them to be comfortable? I've also read that they like cool temperatures, but is this cooler than room temperature? The tank is in my basement and I'm going to guess that it hardly ever gets above 70 down there.

 

I think you'd be better off with a smaller lepomis species; green sunfish are much more common in home aquaria for example. 70 degrees should be fine for any lepomis AFAIK.

[chicagofisher]

I have thought about a green sunfish. I'm just concerned that with a much bigger mouth they'd be more inclined to try and eat the stonerollers. I've seen videos of green sunfish eating big golden shiners, so I have no doubt they could eat a full-size stoneroller too. But I guess I don't necessarily need the stonerollers either if it comes down to it.

[El Todd]

I have thought about a green sunfish. I'm just concerned that with a much bigger mouth they'd be more inclined to try and eat the stonerollers. I've seen videos of green sunfish eating big golden shiners, so I have no doubt they could eat a full-size stoneroller too. But I guess I don't necessarily need the stonerollers either if it comes down to it.

 

I don't think a stoneroller would fair any better with a bluegill; I would guess worse. Maybe something like a chubsucker would work better. My assumptions are just based on reading about other people's experiences with lepomises - I  haven't tried it myself, so that's all I have to go on.

[UncleWillie]

With a tank that large, you have much better options than in the original 29 gallon.  Anything that fits in a fish's mouth is usually fair game.  Sounds like you are pretty much set on having a bluegill.  It stinks that you are limited to just what is available at your LFS.  In my opinion, bluegill (and redear) are the least showy Lepomis in aquaria.  Of course, beauty is in the eye of the beholder (I am a guy that really likes brown fish (pirate perch, mudminnows, snail bullheads), but I do prefer sunfish will some color.  One of my favorite sunfish to keep is warmouth.  But like others mentioned, you could go with something prettier and smaller than a bluegill by going with longears/northerns or dollar sunfish.  You could have a small group of sunfish plus a group of decent sized minnows.  I assume you can get the bluegill for dirt cheap (or free) from your LFS, but if you don't mind spending the money, Sach's aquaculture store and Jonah's aquarium sell other sunfishes.

[chicagofisher]

 
I don't think a stoneroller would fair any better with a bluegill; I would guess worse. Maybe something like a chubsucker would work better. My assumptions are just based on reading about other people's experiences with lepomises - I  haven't tried it myself, so that's all I have to go on.

I took a look and decided instead of stonerollers, a lake chubsucker. It gets to 12" long so it won't end up as bluegill food. However, it hates a high flow and considering the tank will be running an FX4 most likely, I'll have to figure out how to reduce the flow while keeping the filtration high.

[swampfish]

My wife has a Fluval FX4 Canister Filter hooked up to our basement 125 gallon tank containing a dozen adult Bristol Shubunkin goldfish and 10 adult dwarf bristlenose Ancistrus. She directed the inflow about 2/3's up the tank towards the front glass to avoid too much current for the goldfish. That should work for your sunfish as they can handle more current than these fancy-tailed goldfish.

 

Phil Nixon