, but i know theres sunfish like bluespots, bandeds, black bandeds, and dollars that grow roughly half (or less) the size of the more common sunfish. So, can a 20 be done, or will I need a new tank no matter what? 
Sunfish in a 20 gallon?
Started by
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, Mar 10 2009 06:36 PM
18 replies to this topic
#1
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Posted 10 March 2009 - 06:36 PM
Well, with my native plan not going to be able to be put in place until at least july/august, I have a back up for if I can't get a 50 gal like I want. Since my dad is thinking of getting a 50 for tropicals, I would probably inherit my 20 gal instead (much cheaper and I'm very familiar with the filter in it). I know a 20 would toss pumpkinseeds out the window from the observation deck of the CN Tower , but i know theres sunfish like bluespots, bandeds, black bandeds, and dollars that grow roughly half (or less) the size of the more common sunfish. So, can a 20 be done, or will I need a new tank no matter what?
, but i know theres sunfish like bluespots, bandeds, black bandeds, and dollars that grow roughly half (or less) the size of the more common sunfish. So, can a 20 be done, or will I need a new tank no matter what?
#2
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Posted 10 March 2009 - 06:45 PM
You can definitely do a 20 for any of the Enneacanthus species and probably for at least the bantam sunfish as well. Plant it well though so everyone has some hiding spots.
#3
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Posted 10 March 2009 - 07:55 PM
well, i was thinking of going with a sand bottom to try to reduce crap getting into the gravel (sand obviously is made up of small grains so little space for food to get into), can i assume plants would have no problem with a sand (probly play sand) bottom?
#4
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Posted 10 March 2009 - 07:57 PM
Well, how many sunfish do you want?
#5
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Posted 10 March 2009 - 07:59 PM
i was thinking around 2-4 if i cant get my 2 p-seeds
#6
Guest_Fish4Fun_*
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Posted 11 March 2009 - 08:53 AM
I keep blue spots, Blackbanded, and obesus, in a 30 with no problems. You might also want to consider Darters, not to throw you off track, but they are really nice and interesting little Natives with lots of personality, and would also do nicely in a 20 gal tank.
#7
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Posted 11 March 2009 - 03:29 PM
i was thinking of getting some, since they do get the very vibrant color (darters in a reddish color would be most appealing to me)
#8
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Posted 11 March 2009 - 07:02 PM
You might be able to squeeze a couple of Northern longears (Lepomis peltastes) in there, since they are typically smaller than most Lepomis sunfish, besides the bantam. Pseeds can get about 13" in length, so a 20 would be pushing it for a pseed, unless you're planning on moving them to a larger tank as they grow. Other than that, bantams and Enneacanthus are your best options for sunfish.
#9
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Posted 11 March 2009 - 08:09 PM
i know that the 20 is too small, the smallest id get for them is a 40 long, although a 50 would be easier to find. Northern longears sound interesting, although im pulling more towards bandeds, bluespots or dollars if I cant get the p-seeds.
#10
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Posted 11 March 2009 - 08:26 PM
Fishlvr, You never know what you will learn in here 
I had no idea the P-Seed got that large 
I was able to aquire 3 and they are only about 2-3 in right now but already beautiful. Couldnt bring myself to part with them now so i guess a bigger tank is somewhere in my future. One of the 3 has already about doubled in size of the other 2 and is much more aggressive and flashy, im thinkin a male. Thank you for that knowledge.
I had no idea the P-Seed got that large I was able to aquire 3 and they are only about 2-3 in right now but already beautiful. Couldnt bring myself to part with them now so i guess a bigger tank is somewhere in my future. One of the 3 has already about doubled in size of the other 2 and is much more aggressive and flashy, im thinkin a male. Thank you for that knowledge.
#11
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Posted 11 March 2009 - 09:02 PM
Fishlvr, You never know what you will learn in here
Yeah I've learned a lot about natives from here, then some more just from observation. They rarely reach those sizes, but 8-10" is still pretty large for a 20, and those are pretty common sizes, even if they take a while to get that large.
Panfisherteen, I didn't even think about dollars. Those would be an excellent choice since they are both small in size and colorful, and if you wanted to spawn they seem pretty easy to spawn. When I had mine they almost always seemed to be in the mood, but I didn't have time or space to care for the fry at the time, and now I've gotten rid of them.
#12
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Posted 11 March 2009 - 09:28 PM
Bantams or orangespotted would be better choices than Dollar or Northern longear sunfish. The best choices would be the Enneacanthus species. Both Dollar and the Northern Longear are rather small species but the males of both can be very territorial. You could keep a single male of either of those in a 20 gallon tank but a male and female long term would be bad... I currently have a very nice male western dollar being kept in a 20 long alone but I have to admit it is a rather boring tank no matter how good that one fish looks.
#13
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Posted 11 March 2009 - 09:35 PM
hmm, i could get an aquaculture licence and make dollars both fishwise and moneywise to local pet/fish stores Yea, 13" for a p-seed is to the extreme, theres the odd report of a 10", the rare report of a 12" one, but its like finding a flea in a haystack finding a p-seed in the wild that big. General rule of thumb for the p-seeds are they'll get as big as your hand, and possibly up to your wrist watch(nice anology eh 
), thats why a 20 gal is pushing it for one
ya snuck yer post in there smbass
well with your advice i guess its back towards bluespots/bandeds 
Yea, 13" for a p-seed is to the extreme, theres the odd report of a 10", the rare report of a 12" one, but its like finding a flea in a haystack finding a p-seed in the wild that big. General rule of thumb for the p-seeds are they'll get as big as your hand, and possibly up to your wrist watch(nice anology eh ), thats why a 20 gal is pushing it for one ya snuck yer post in there smbass
well with your advice i guess its back towards bluespots/bandeds
Edited by panfisherteen, 11 March 2009 - 09:40 PM.
#14
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Posted 13 March 2009 - 08:08 PM
im pretty sure ill be getting the p-seeds (if the aquarium is in my room, its under my full care ), but I was wondering if I could have some bandeds (and maybe even black bandeds, they look awesome) with the 2 p-seeds (2 would be most likely for bandeds or black bandeds)?
), but I was wondering if I could have some bandeds (and maybe even black bandeds, they look awesome) with the 2 p-seeds (2 would be most likely for bandeds or black bandeds)?
#15
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Posted 14 March 2009 - 08:06 AM
Well the wild and captivity are totally different. In the wild there are several factors that affect a fish's full size. However, you take that fish that's only hand-size and bring it into a tank with a constant temperature w/o a cooling period, no competition, food, and good water parameters and that fish will grow to it's maximum size. I learned that first hand with what I thought was a "stunted" bluegill when I first started keeping natives.
#16
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Posted 21 March 2009 - 01:00 PM
Well the wild and captivity are totally different. In the wild there are several factors that affect a fish's full size. However, you take that fish that's only hand-size and bring it into a tank with a constant temperature w/o a cooling period, no competition, food, and good water parameters and that fish will grow to it's maximum size. I learned that first hand with what I thought was a "stunted" bluegill when I first started keeping natives.
It's a crapshoot with "stunted sunfish". I have a green that I've had for 2 years and he's only like 3"-3.5", and been that way for at least a year. The pond I got him out of had no sunfish larger then his current size. I started a thread about revamping my 20 gal, but I'm thinking I can safely move my sunfish to my 20 gallon (he lived in a seperated 40 gallon for a while because he didn't get along with other fish). The 20 gallon would be heavilly (fake) planted, and have enough filtration for an 80+ gallon tank on it. Thoughts?
#17
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Posted 21 March 2009 - 04:34 PM
I would say a 20 gallon would be fine for a single green sunfish but you will have trouble if you try to add anything else. It sounds like you have already experienced this with this particular fish.
#18
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Posted 21 March 2009 - 11:54 PM
I would say a 20 gallon would be fine for a single green sunfish but you will have trouble if you try to add anything else. It sounds like you have already experienced this with this particular fish.
Thanks for the green light. I'm still debating whether or not to do it. Doesn't seem fair to move him out of his big territory for no reason other then my fancy.
Do I qualify as a fish-nut when I start worrying about my fish's feelings towards his environment? I guess if I do the switcheroo, I'll actually go the full mile and get real plants. Just so I don't feel bad.
#19
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Posted 22 March 2009 - 03:42 AM
Do I qualify as a fish-nut when I start worrying about my fish's feelings towards his environment? I guess if I do the switcheroo, I'll actually go the full mile and get real plants. Just so I don't feel bad.
The short answer is, "Yes!".
Brian
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