Blue Spotted Sunfish and Compatibility

Does anyone have experience keeping blue-spotted sunnies in community tanks? Do they have aggressive tendencies like some of their cousins, or will they do okay in a tank with cyprinids and other "dither" fish? Also, what is their maximum size? Thanks.

I'm actually going against what most people will tell you. I'm keeping mine in a tank with a good flow to it. It has a few species of cyprinids as well as darters. They will only eat frozen bloodworms or live blackworms. I have no aggression problems whatsoever. Max size is around 3 inches.

I'm actually going against what most people will tell you. I'm keeping mine in a tank with a good flow to it. It has a few species of cyprinids as well as darters. They will only eat frozen bloodworms or live blackworms. I have no aggression problems whatsoever. Max size is around 3 inches.

I have 5 of them in my 150gl they are in there with some bluntnose minnows, brook sticklebacks, and blacknose dace. I have never seen them act up. They are imo some of the nicestsunfish to have in a tank. Mine have even started taking pellets and flake along with frozen.

I haven't had mine very long but I keep it with some blackstripe topminnows, sailfin mollies, fathead minnows, blacknose dace and BA tetras (not a native species) and I have never seen it take any interest in any of the other fish.

What are the chances of these guys taking flake/frozen food? Would they even be what you consider a hardy species? I'm only asking because I've read conflicting accounts on the hardiness of these awesome sunfish.

Bluespots have worked for me in tanks with other species. They are aggressive enough feeders that they have no problem filling up.

Getting them on prepared foods has been mixed with my fish. Raising youngsters up from tiny fish is a better way to get them onto prepared foods. Once they are really familiar and happy with prepared foods, they normally will feed on it very well.

Keeping them with other fish that eat prepared foods might help, but cannot be gauranteed. Old/larger ones are often set in their ways.

Flakes, no. Frozen bloodworms, yes. Mine will also take frozen mysis shrimp if mixed in with bloodworms. I will be trying FD bloodworms shortly.

I guess I should add what mine eat. Tetra bits, those little bacon bit looking pellets, they probably have another name for them by now. Hikari floating carnivore pellets, or maybe those have changed names too. Purina Gamefish chow, this food has had a consistent name for years thankfully.

The Hikari pellets I break in half, or crumble for the smaller ones. The Purina stuff I pick out the smallest pellets for adults only. The Tetrabits I crumble for dime sized young, and they usually start off with that as their first prepared food.

I also use live foods, but those should be no problem for anyone to get them to eat.

I like to do variety as much as possible.

Right now my blues are sharing tanks with bantam sunfish of similar size, and the one tank also has a group of blackstripe topminnows.

What are the chances of these guys taking flake/frozen food? Would they even be what you consider a hardy species? I'm only asking because I've read conflicting accounts on the hardiness of these awesome sunfish.

As opposed to the other Enneacanthus species we generally deal with, chaetodon, I would ay they are a hardy species. I feed primarily FD bloodworms. They will also eventually take the small New Life Spectrum pellets.

The two YOY I just recieved from Teleost acclimatd to a community life quite well. There are four killies, two rainbow darters, two small logperch, and about six flagfish. Mine take frozen bloodworms, brineshrimp, and Hikari mysis shrimp.

I have 8 bluespots and feed them both freeze dried and frozen foods and in the past have had them take pelets without much trouble. It is without a doubt easier to get young fish to adapt to eating a larger variety of things than older adult fish. Also I would say that bluespots are the easiest of the 3 Enneacanthus species to keep.

I have 8 bluespots and feed them both freeze dried and frozen foods and in the past have had them take pelets without much trouble. It is without a doubt easier to get young fish to adapt to eating a larger variety of things than older adult fish. Also I would say that bluespots are the easiest of the 3 Enneacanthus species to keep.

Mmmmmm, I would say obesus/bandeds is much easier than bluespots. I have never had problems with them feeding on anything, never had problems with them being shy, and so rarely had them get sick.

My spectrum is blackbands are ridiculous to get to feed on all but the best live foods ( although I do have two that eat pellets awesome now) and die when I look at them cross eyed, to bluespots that eat all non-prepared foods, but some times turn their noses up at the best prepared foods while seeming to on occassion come down with strange unexplained deaths, to the banded that will eat anything I put in their tanks from almost day one and being so hardy they stand up to green sunfish and dollars twice their size or larger in the same tank without stressing out.

My current crop of bluespots are not anymore picking than my bandeds on food, but they still are much more easily stressed and have had some problems with them. My current crop of blackbands are the best I have had, since they were born and raised in my water ( I think that makes a big difference), but still I don't ever count on any or all of them making the winter until next spring ponds season - or if they make it that long living long enough to reproduce in the ponds. Versus that, every banded sunfish I have kept has been sturdy, and even large wild caught ones tame within a week, not bothered by anything.

Besides, I figure I had to stand up for the bandeds , they are the short changed of the trio of Enneacanthus.

I stand corrected and I guess rightly so since I should not speak for bandeds seeing how I have never kept any of them in a tank. I only breifly had them in a pond last summer and they mysteriously disapeared. I would love to have some however (hint to anyone who happens to have extras) and they are something I actually could fit in right now unlike some of the larger species of sunfish I currently don't have because I don't have room for them.

Besides, I figure I had to stand up for the bandeds , they are the short changed of the trio of Enneacanthus.

I can't imagine why that should be. They sure look pretty. One day I hope to set up an enneacanthus tank, featuring all of them. Wouldn't that be awesome!

I have found the Bandeds to be the easiest to keep as well, and definately the more aggressive when it comes to eating they will get their share and thensome whatever they are fed. Bluespots are a bit more delicate but not as much as Blackbandeds. I've kept the all together but if not in a fairly large tank the bandeds get the majority of the food. Over 55 gallons seems to be fine. The bandeds are really just as beautiful as the others in my opinion.

OK, maybe not in the NANFA type circles does obesus get the short end of the stick. But most magazine articles, and older books that mention these fish, the obesus is tossed in as an after thought.

I figured some of this might be that they are similar to the bluespot, but the bluespots color spangles are more striking, atleast at first glance. Besides, how can the banded sunfish stand up against the diamond sunfish and poor man's angelfish*? Pretty well as I will point out....

http://jonahsaquariu...enneaobesus.htm

Here you can see John Brill's excellent photo of a banded sunfish. Really striking, and quite different from the bluespotted. When one becomes more familiar with the two fish, the differences are stark. Even telling small fish apart becomes quite easy.

This reminds me how I have to slap myself in the head when I see those identification signs telling the differences between largemouth and smallmouth bass. Like the one and only difference is the distance of the rear of the maxilla from the center of the eye.

A tank with all three species can work quite well, so long as it is long enough ( four foot ) that they can all find areas to use. Crammed into a shorter tank, the blues and bandeds would do fine, but the blackbandeds would most likely have too much stress.

Oh, and one for IRATE. Bluespot banded hybrids can really goof up things when trying to learn the diffrenences. This is one I have never seen, only heard about. Possible they don't exist....

* now things are reversed, angelfish are the poor mans chaetodon!

I only have one bluespot that teleost sent me but it takes all frozen food I offer it, started eating the day I got it and will also take HBH super soft pellets.

OK, maybe not in the NANFA type circles does obesus get the short end of the stick. But most magazine articles, and older books that mention these fish, the obesus is tossed in as an after thought.

I figured some of this might be that they are similar to the bluespot, but the bluespots color spangles are more striking, atleast at first glance. Besides, how can the banded sunfish stand up against the diamond sunfish and poor man's angelfish*? Pretty well as I will point out....

http://jonahsaquariu...enneaobesus.htm

Here you can see John Brill's excellent photo of a banded sunfish. Really striking, and quite different from the bluespotted. When one becomes more familiar with the two fish, the differences are stark. Even telling small fish apart becomes quite easy.

This reminds me how I have to slap myself in the head when I see those identification signs telling the differences between largemouth and smallmouth bass. Like the one and only difference is the distance of the rear of the maxilla from the center of the eye.

A tank with all three species can work quite well, so long as it is long enough ( four foot ) that they can all find areas to use. Crammed into a shorter tank, the blues and bandeds would do fine, but the blackbandeds would most likely have too much stress.

Oh, and one for IRATE. Bluespot banded hybrids can really goof up things when trying to learn the diffrenences. This is one I have never seen, only heard about. Possible they don't exist....

* now things are reversed, angelfish are the poor mans chaetodon!

Seems to me the person that started this thread was asking about the Blue Spotted.