14 replies to this topic

[Leo1234]

Ive been wanting to keep redear sunfish for a while, but every time I attempt them they seem to eventually get thin and waste away. They seem to be the only sunfish Ive had who have this issue as none of my other sunfish species seem to have this issue. For the most recent ones Ive been feeding spurlina brine shrimp, bloodworms, krill and cut market shrimp 3 times a week and then feed pellets almost daily. My current one is starting to have a sunken stomach, should I take it out of the community tank and try to feed it more often?

[littlen]

The Redears I kept over the years were always good eaters and got massive.  That sounds like a good diet and ample feeding, to me.  If they are still losing weight, you may have an internal/intestinal parasite problem.  Do you Qx your fish or medicate them after removing them from the wild?

[Leo1234]

I’ve gotten all my redear sunfish from Jonah's Aquarium and zimmermans fish, so I’m not entirely sure where they get theirs, but my last batch 3 disappeared almost immediately and then the last one was doing well for a while but now looks thin. I think these ones were pond raised then kept in an aquarium for a couple months before I received them. The warmouth I got with them is doing really well and in the past my other sunfish have done well too. I will see if I can get some medicated food for them today that supposed to help with internal parasites or get parazi

[littlen]

Both great vendors.  I wouldn't expect them to send you poor quality fish.  But you've provided another piece of the puzzle.  Tankmates....

 

What size are the Redear?  Warmouth?  Is the Warmouth larger and bullying them?  Do you see the Redear feed freely or at will until satiated? Or are they only able to dart and grab a piece or two?

What sort of structure is in the tank?  What size tank?

[Leo1234]

Both great vendors.  I wouldn't expect them to send you poor quality fish.  But you've provided another piece of the puzzle.  Tankmates....
 
What size are the Redear?  Warmouth?  Is the Warmouth larger and bullying them?  Do you see the Redear feed freely or at will until satiated? Or are they only able to dart and grab a piece or two?

What sort of structure is in the tank?  What size tank?

They do seem to usually come in pretty healthy to my knowledge. The redear is about 4in and the warmouth is 5. Other than them there are a bunch of barbs and oddball fish from subtropical and temperate parts of the world. No one seems to bully the redear from what I see and I tend to dump a lot of food in for the very reason that sometimes the barbs tend to eat pretty fast, (basically a lot of food and a lot of filtration/water changes). I do see the redear eat quite a bit when I feed them and he looks full after eating, but looks skinny after a couple of hours. In the past Ive even tried separating them to their own tank and the redears still eventually get too thin and die. Might try some again in a separate tank, though got to wait for more to be available. Just feels weird that they are the only sunfish Ive had issues with

[Leo1234]

Both great vendors.  I wouldn't expect them to send you poor quality fish.  But you've provided another piece of the puzzle.  Tankmates....
 
What size are the Redear?  Warmouth?  Is the Warmouth larger and bullying them?  Do you see the Redear feed freely or at will until satiated? Or are they only able to dart and grab a piece or two?

What sort of structure is in the tank?  What size tank?

Forgot to answer the rest of the questions
What size are the Redear? 4”
What size are the Warmouth? 4.5-5”
s the Warmouth larger and bullying them? No he usually ignores them
  Do you see the Redear feed freely or at will until satiated? Seems to be a bit slower At getting food, though the tank basically becomes a cloud of food so there is a lot for it to eat and it eats for more than 5-10min
What sort of structure is in the tank? A few rocks and large pieces of driftwood and plants. The tank is fairly open as some of the barbs and such are fasts swimmers and need the open space, though there are still a few good hiding spots
What size tank? 150 gallons
I’m down to 1 redear but plan on getting more since sunfish usually need 6+ individuals

[Leo1234]

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[Leo1234]

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Is in the front eating a bunch of pellets

[littlen]

It certainly looks to be wasting away.  I would pull it if possible and give it a smaller tank where you can feed it as much as it wants to eat and/or treat for possible worms.  

[Leo1234]

I’ll try to figure out something, though sadly all my small tanks are currently in use for other stuff or have some unexpected deaths in so I don’t want to risk them in there. I got a 33 gallon stream tank, though it has some fast feeding barbs in it. My next best option is those large plastic critter carriers that I could possibly use, though not sure how well it will work

[centrarchid]

Try a fatty live food such as waxworks and mealworms. Smash them a bit while feeding them out. Feed frequently as in multiple times per day.

 

In the past I collected wild redear for use as brood-stock to be bred in aquariums. A consistent issue was a weight decline during quarantine. Initially, they would not eat pelleted feed so live feeds such as chopped earthworms, wax worms and mealworms where the initial eats. They would readily consume frozen bloodworms although I think the fat content of those is low, possibly too low. I had to feed the redear two and three times per day to them going. if they are not eating enough, then it may be worse than eating nothing at all as maintaining the digestive tract and supporting organs is metabolically expensive.

 

Once they start eating live foods readily then I begin mixing in wetted pellets like used for carnivorous cichlids. That is when weight starts to increase.

[Leo1234]

Try a fatty live food such as waxworks and mealworms. Smash them a bit while feeding them out. Feed frequently as in multiple times per day.
 
In the past I collected wild redear for use as brood-stock to be bred in aquariums. A consistent issue was a weight decline during quarantine. Initially, they would not eat pelleted feed so live feeds such as chopped earthworms, wax worms and mealworms where the initial eats. They would readily consume frozen bloodworms although I think the fat content of those is low, possibly too low. I had to feed the redear two and three times per day to them going. if they are not eating enough, then it may be worse than eating nothing at all as maintaining the digestive tract and supporting organs is metabolically expensive.
 
Once they start eating live foods readily then I begin mixing in wetted pellets like used for carnivorous cichlids. That is when weight starts to increase.

I’ll try getting some of those too. I found out recently one of the pellets I’m feeding might be a bit too big so I now am feeding 2 types of cichlid pellets and the larger size of vibra bites by hikari in addition to all of those frozen foods. He is now eating enough that his stomach is really full after feeding so fingers crossed with that and the mealworms he’ll start gaining weight

[PBK]

It looks like wasting disease of some sort. Barring illness, Redears, Pumpkinseeds & some darters, (especially Bandeds and Greensides) are known to eat snails as part of their diets. Additionally they might need some “greens” in their diet?

[Leo1234]

so he's gained a little weight and is eating really well, though I do hope that he gains more. I do have pond snails outside and some malaysian trumpet snails, though they might be too big or hard for him at his size. I'm also a bit worried about the pond snails introducing more disease as birds frequently bathe in the ponds we have in my yard. the parazipro did seem to help a little bit too

[PBK]

The rams horn shaped snails are prone to parasites. Not sure about small pond snails. Some research may be needed.