My own arrogant opinion ( IMOA), sunfish are the best aquarium fish from our continent. Diverse enough to have something for most everyone, and most everyone of them have some kind of habits that ensnare those looking for some personality in a fish. So from a pet fish to some kind of breeding experiment, this group of fish has something to offer.
Like blazing color, longears, dollars, and pumpkinseeds, like rough and tumble with body builds to go with it, greens and warmouth, all out sports fish and the room to keep them the bass, crappies and fliers are good for the delicate but substantial fish, rock bass types for a stocky yet more reserved type, and the dwarfs of enneacanthus and bantams and orange spots. Just something for everyone, in perfect packages that can be accomadated with almost any budget. Bass, crappie and some of the rock bass do get pretty big and require a large tank, but that is something that anyone can look up about cichlids and find the information to get them going.
They are all similar enough to keep one is to know the rest, yet their diversity allows something if one doesn't float your boat, another most certainly will.
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