Bluegill Growth Rate

Wicky,

Your bluegill does appear to be male although, has not yet acquired the characteristics of what I call a bull or primary male with large ear tabs and black spots on and round the nape. My male bluegill, if added to your tank would rip your bug-eyed runt to shreds. Your runt is used to being top dog and is usually isolated. When you have added tank mates which were likely stressed and less likely to win an otherwise equal fight for dominance, your fish gets a testosterone rush. The rush can put him into breeding mode, at least when tankmates added. My males when isolated from other fishes will spin- up and dig when another sunfish is added, sometimes regardless of sex of the added fish. If only one such male present he will pursue tank mates all around even a 75-gallon tank. If two males spin-up, they tend to nest right next to each other and fight mostly with each other with little damage to each other, and largely leaving non-nesting tank mates alone unless they approach nesting area.

Wicky,

Your bluegill does appear to be male although, has not yet acquired the characteristics of what I call a bull or primary male with large ear tabs and black spots on and round the nape. My male bluegill, if added to your tank would rip your bug-eyed runt to shreds. Your runt is used to being top dog and is usually isolated. When you have added tank mates which were likely stressed and less likely to win an otherwise equal fight for dominance, your fish gets a testosterone rush. The rush can put him into breeding mode, at least when tankmates added. My males when isolated from other fishes will spin- up and dig when another sunfish is added, sometimes regardless of sex of the added fish. If only one such male present he will pursue tank mates all around even a 75-gallon tank. If two males spin-up, they tend to nest right next to each other and fight mostly with each other with little damage to each other, and largely leaving non-nesting tank mates alone unless they approach nesting area.

Hm I didnt know that, but I can understand better .. see is how I got him is that we were putting out a campfire with buckets of water from the river and him and 2 other landed on the smoking ashes I seen them and plucked them up right away and we took them home and added them to our already existing tank .. he was good for about 2 weeks then he started attacking the other bluegills and eventually the other fish.. I recently got two male convict cichlids and added them but all my bluegill did was picked on them so he is alone again.. and I am planning on getting some oscars early next year so I thought instead of having 3 tanks I could just have two.. right now I have my bluegill in a 29g, my cichlids in a 55g and my oscars have a 250g waiting for them .. but anyways what you are basically saying is that hes just a big bad ass male whos trying to show hes king?

I am confident you can overide the violent tendencies of your male bluegill by appropriate use of a partition and the addition of multiple new individuals, even other bluegill. There is a technique that is reproducable enough to generally calm any overly belligerent male bluegill so he can operate without killing all tank mates.

Your observation regarding introduction of two male convicts likely to be different if one were female. A bonded pair of convicts can easily whip even the largest bluegill. We have multiple pairs of convicts that can successfully reproduce in a large tank containing as many as ten male bluegill ranging 8 to 12 inches. Even when latter on nest oftheir own.

So then what do you suggest I do? Put a divider in? How long do you leave it in for? Is there anything I need to do to help him out of this?

Yes, use a divider for a 20 gallon aquarium. Divide into 1/3 and 2/3 components. Place agressive bluegill in smaller 1/3. Make certain oxygen levels adequate by watching his ventilation rate. Fish should relaxe within 30 minutes of handling. Now make larger 2/3 appear alien. Move structure around and / or add more structure, plastic plants and the like. Then add more fish to larger 2/3's. Best they be of similar size to your aggressor and similar to temperament to bluegill in general. I recommend about four fish be added. Confine fish for a week or so, then remove partion. Some fighting may follow but should not have the agressor bluegill causing so much damage. Can you acquire more similar sized sunfish / bluegill to your problem fish? If you use sunfish and one is a female, you may get a spawn off.

Yes, use a divider for a 20 gallon aquarium. Divide into 1/3 and 2/3 components. Place agressive bluegill in smaller 1/3. Make certain oxygen levels adequate by watching his ventilation rate. Fish should relaxe within 30 minutes of handling. Now make larger 2/3 appear alien. Move structure around and / or add more structure, plastic plants and the like. Then add more fish to larger 2/3's. Best they be of similar size to your aggressor and similar to temperament to bluegill in general. I recommend about four fish be added. Confine fish for a week or so, then remove partion. Some fighting may follow but should not have the agressor bluegill causing so much damage. Can you acquire more similar sized sunfish / bluegill to your problem fish? If you use sunfish and one is a female, you may get a spawn off.

..wow I'm not even sure.. I can check into it though .. the dnr says I can legally keep game fish in a tank if purchased so I will look in some fish farms and see what I can get  pets (21).jpg   177.91KB   0 downloads

At this time of year your biggest hurdle will be finding a fish farm in your state (option 1) that has not shut down for the winter. Double check on legal nature of this, but do you now anyone with a private pond that contains bluegill they stocked (from a fish farmer)? If legal, get a little help with cracking ice and dip a few fish out. Will be cold but I used to do it a lot, usually with good results. If you choose this latter option, then confer about how to acclimate fish to room temperature.

Wicky,
My male bluegill, if added to your tank would rip your bug-eyed runt to shreds.

Yes, I get upset when others think they have meaner bluegill than I have. My big males can eat small children that put their fingers in tank. They are being bred for it. As for the fiesty little minnie bully that got me fired up, I have very little tolerance for such critters interfering with well being of tank mates. The minnie bullies can be managed! Can you feel my anger?

I may have issues.

May I ask why you're breeding bluegill for aggression? The only scenario that springs to mind involves people crowding around an aquarium in a dusty barn somewhere and laying bets on the toughest fish...

May I ask why you're breeding bluegill for aggression? The only scenario that springs to mind involves people crowding around an aquarium in a dusty barn somewhere and laying bets on the toughest fish...

In reality, the aggression I deal with is willingness to forget all other concerns in regards to getting to the food. Sometimes it is hard to distinguish the feeding effort from an agonistic encounter, even though no anger / directed torwards the food item.

I see. So does this food-aggression lead to increased growth rate, greater max size, earlier maturation, etc?

I see. So does this food-aggression lead to increased growth rate, greater max size, earlier maturation, etc?

Increased growth rate to a degree. Some animals mature at a smaller size and simply slow down in terms of growth, regardless of how much nutrition is available.

I think that greater maximum size is not only a function of more feed intake but also delayed maturation(sexual).

May I ask why you're breeding bluegill for aggression? The only scenario that springs to mind involves people crowding around an aquarium in a dusty barn somewhere and laying bets on the toughest fish...

I see the headlines now: College Prof Arrested for Involvement in Illegal Bluegill Fighting Ring.

I see the headlines now: College Prof Arrested for Involvement in Illegal Bluegill Fighting Ring.

At the present time it is not illegal (with bluegill).

Newt, the dusty barn venue is more similar to that used for cockfighting which looks nothing like the dank and slimy green fish lab.

Hey .... it could be your ticket to fame and fortune .... just look at Michael Vick.

You could do lots of TV interviews, write a book, get rich by claiming you've turned over a new leaf, etc.

Hey .... it could be your ticket to fame and fortune .... just look at Michael Vick.

You could do lots of TV interviews, write a book, get rich by claiming you've turned over a new leaf, etc.

You are using the word "fame" where "infamy" should be used. He (Vic) also took a financial hit as well.


A point that I will make concerning the keeping of fishes is that with improper management, the loss / damage of animals mediated by aggression in our aquariums can and does result in exactly the same negative results observed in the blood sports using breeds bred for purpose.

I fixed my problem without the divider I bought a bigger tank added his tankmates a convict cichlid a firemouth cichlid and the goldfish that was in his tank .. I then added him a few days later he hasnt attacked or shown aggression in the past five days. When it gets warmer I plan on getting him a mate then if need be to safely add her I will try the divider, I did this way only because he needed a bigger tank anyways.

How much larger is tank?

The mating system of bluegill is very different from that of your firemouth and convicts cichlids. You may need to consider multiple mates for your bluegill if propogation is your intent. Otherwise what your are considering has a high probability of success.