Pygmy Sunfish in Europe?

I saw this post on an ice fishing website. Is someone importing sunfish to Europe? If so who?

In Europe among real hardcore Aquarists several of the pygmy species of American sunfish are very sought after and command quite high prices. Expensive setups on tanks used to keep these fish usuall include chillers as well as filtration and very advanced lighting setups. The Dutch are huge enthusiasts and maintain mind blowingly beautiful aquariums.

Edited by az9, 27 January 2009 - 01:20 PM.

Chillers? That seems like overkill for obsessive compulsives.

Chillers? That seems like overkill for obsessive compulsives.

When some Europeans put there mind to something they can be quite OCD about it. One half of my family is European.

That's funny stuff considering most of those Euro-aquarists are in colder places than where the sunnies are from. I think it's interesting how much more people appreciate something once it crosses an ocean and becomes "exotic." I think the fact that they're right here makes them cool.

Edited by rjmtx, 27 January 2009 - 07:54 PM.

That's funny stuff considering most of those Euro-aquarists are in colder places than where the sunnies are from. I think it's interesting how much more people appreciate something once it crosses an ocean and becomes "exotic." I think the fact that they're right here makes them cool.

I have heard that many North American fish are quite popular in Europe. I have been asked to export fish a few times but I don't have all the permits and such to do so. I imagine they would be quite pricey and I don't really have an interest in finding out.

Many North American fishes are established in Europe. I wonder what agents are likely involved in establishing our species in their waters. Bluegill, largemouth bass and pumpkinseeds are sunfishes I know to be present and I would be surprised if a great many more are not also present. Has anyone ever gone sampling in some of the Eurpean countries such as Germany? I wonder how many of our Orconectes spp. besides O. limosis are established.

Pumpkinseed sunfish were imported into Europe decades ago as pond and aquarium fish

I think people who are surprised at the popularity of keeping NA native fish in Europe are people unaware of how common coldwater tanks are in Europe. In the US the first question people ask of you is "fresh or saltwater"? Euros ask if your tank is warm or coldwater. Once you commit yourself to a coldwater tank, adding NA fish greatly expands the colorfulness of the tank.

I think people who are surprised at the popularity of keeping NA native fish in Europe are people unaware of how common coldwater tanks are in Europe. In the US the first question people ask of you is "fresh or saltwater"? Euros ask if your tank is warm or coldwater. Once you commit yourself to a coldwater tank, adding NA fish greatly expands the colorfulness of the tank.

That's interesting, it seems to me that tropical freshwater is really all people are interested in here in the US. The only coldwater fish I ever see for sale are goldfish and koi. Now that I've discovered native fish this is kind of a curiosity to me considering the diversity and color of NA natives.

It's also a little strange that Europeans are interested in NA natives; Europe is a big place, and I'd assume there's a diversity of colorful native coldwater fish...

That's interesting, it seems to me that tropical freshwater is really all people are interested in here in the US. The only coldwater fish I ever see for sale are goldfish and koi. Now that I've discovered native fish this is kind of a curiosity to me considering the diversity and color of NA natives.

It's also a little strange that Europeans are interested in NA natives; Europe is a big place, and I'd assume there's a diversity of colorful native coldwater fish...

European freshwater fish diversity is on par with that of, say, New York state. The Wisconsian glaciation affected the whole continent directly or indirectly, and didn't really end until about 9,000 years ago. So existing river systems have had only that much time to be recolonized, and little time for speciation. In North America much of the native fauna was able to retreat south ahead of the ice sheets and peripheral tundra.

I wouldnt say that cold water fish are popular here in Europe. Not at all, but we are a few who breeds some species. One of the better organised working groups for cold water fish works with Aphanius where many species are very interesting. The question is still the same here: Do you work with fresh or saltwater. Us with cold water fish are really not many.

We dont have many interesting cold water fish here. Not unless you go to greece, the balkan or Turkey where there is many smaller species with restricted range, and thats really far from here. As mentioned our wild life is not as diverse as what you have as we were covered with ice not that long ago. Here in Scandinavia we have like 3 species of newts, 1 species of crayfish, and in the whole of Europe theres like 2-3 species of turtles. I think there is a number of around 500 species of fish in Europe.

Martin