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Stocking a 75

Started by Guest_lmhollister_* , Apr 16 2010 06:47 PM

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#1 Guest_lmhollister_*

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Posted 16 April 2010 - 06:47 PM

So I'm considering the possibility of stocking my 75 gallon show tank with native species when I move in a couple months. I'd like to do groups that have some sort of distribution S.D. but I'm not entirely sure what would be appropriate for this size tank, plus I'm still learning about my state's policies regarding native species in a home aquarium.

Anyway, I'm still researching fish but I do have a couple in mind that I think are possibilities:

Some variety of sunfish
Rock bass (I've caught these before on fishing trips in the Black Hills and they are gorgeous!)
Perch

Does anyone else have any suggestions for species? Or I suppose a better question would be how many of each species (if I can have more than one) should I stock this tank with? Do male/female ratios matter?

I'd like to do a sandy bottom and I have some really nice pieces of driftwood and rock (South Dakota rocks of course :smile2:

). This will be a low light set up as well. This tank is already running with Central American cichlids, but I'd really like to do something a little different.

#2 Guest_donkeyman876_*

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Posted 16 April 2010 - 08:16 PM

I like pumpkinseed sunfish the most. However maybe you could try some darters at the bottom, and sunfish and yellow perch in the middle and top. With sunfish the key is not to overcrowd them, they will get aggressive if crouded.

#3 Guest_lmhollister_*

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Posted 16 April 2010 - 08:24 PM

Ah, that's interesting. With some African cichlid species you need to overcrowd them to reduce aggression ... more fish = more spread out aggression and not single fish getting picked on. So how many of each species should I look at getting then?

#4 Guest_lmhollister_*

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Posted 16 April 2010 - 08:41 PM

Hmm, came up with another question...

What sort of temp. would fish like perch or sunfish need to be kept at? Room temperature? Or do they need a heater? I know at least in SD they must go through some sort of hibernation cycle with the cold winters but I don't really have much of an idea of lake temps. in the summer, it would vary based on what depth they are at I guess.

#5 Guest_topminnow_*

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Posted 17 April 2010 - 01:44 AM

I’m not aware of your states policies regarding collecting or shipping native fish, however, another option might be to purchase fish of interest from a vendor on this forum or elsewhere.

Have you looked over a list of fish species found in South Dakota? Heres a start…

http://www.sdgfp.inf...specieslist.pdf

http://www.sdgfp.inf...versity/TES.htm

In my opinion, keeping one or two larger fish is not as interesting as keeping several smaller species. Have you thought about what type of habitat you’d like to create? How about a shallow weed choked pond, glacial lake, slow flowing stream, or maybe a fast flowing river? Set-up can be intricate or very basic. Usually somewhere in-between is rewarding to both fish and aquarist.

Regarding you questions, I don’t think a heater would be necessary if you plan to keep fish native to South Dakota.

#6 Guest_BTDarters_*

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Posted 17 April 2010 - 03:30 AM

I always have to recommend a darter species. Logperch (Percina caprodes) are native to SD and get to a larger size - up to seven inches. They're peaceful and will do well in an unheated tank. They do like some current, though. If you still plan to keep the sunfish species and Rock Bass, Logperch would be a nice addition.

Brian

#7 Guest_donkeyman876_*

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Posted 17 April 2010 - 07:09 AM

Hmm, came up with another question...

What sort of temp. would fish like perch or sunfish need to be kept at? Room temperature? Or do they need a heater? I know at least in SD they must go through some sort of hibernation cycle with the cold winters but I don't really have much of an idea of lake temps. in the summer, it would vary based on what depth they are at I guess.

Just about all of the native species will do fine at room temperature.

#8 Guest_lmhollister_*

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Posted 17 April 2010 - 08:16 AM

Those were just potential species I was considering. I've been done some thinking about it and even though I love the look of a rock bass I just don't think it would work well long term, especially in a tank the size of a 75. However, I do like the idea of doing two small groups of sunfish, and a group of darters (they are so pretty!). Do sunfish have high aggression towards each other? Or would say ... a group of six for just a single species be ok? How closely do you need to pay attention to the ratio of males to females? Most of my experience is with cichlids, mostly those from Lake Malawi, and many of those are harem breeders, so having more than one male, especially in a smaller group can mean death.

This is kind of the setup I'm looking to go for ... this is my 75 show tank that I'm housing my Central American cichlids in now. I'd like to incorporate the rocks and driftwood. I also use a Koralia 3 pump to help create surface agitation.

Posted Image

I'm still trying to confirm exactly what South Dakota means in their Fishing Manual about "possession". Like for instance, your daily limit for catching certain sunfish types is 25 and your total possession is 50. So does this mean I can possess those 50 in my aquarium or in my freezer? Essentially all they say is that you must maintain a vaild fishing license to "possess" game fish. I've been sending out some emails to Game, Fish and Parks so hopefully I will get a clear response.

I think we may go through a vendor for the darter species, South Dakota just doesn't have much to offer regarding that. However, pumpkinseed and orange-spotted sunfish are really common in my area of the state so we may just try to do some collecting on our own for those. But we'll see, I'm still in the research stages of this right now.

Thanks for all your replies! You've been very helpful!

#9 Guest_Bob_*

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Posted 17 April 2010 - 09:50 AM

You know that when the temperature comes up and they day length increases that the centrarchids will dig a big gaping hole in the sand, right?

If that doesn't bother you, then I think the smaller Lepomis species will work better for you. L. megalotis is a nice one. Dollar sunfish are also nice. Pumpkinseeds can really be beautiful, but they get kind of large and might do each other some damage in the confines of a 75.

So I'm considering the possibility of stocking my 75 gallon show tank with native species when I move in a couple months. I'd like to do groups that have some sort of distribution S.D. but I'm not entirely sure what would be appropriate for this size tank, plus I'm still learning about my state's policies regarding native species in a home aquarium.

Anyway, I'm still researching fish but I do have a couple in mind that I think are possibilities:

Some variety of sunfish
Rock bass (I've caught these before on fishing trips in the Black Hills and they are gorgeous!)
Perch

Does anyone else have any suggestions for species? Or I suppose a better question would be how many of each species (if I can have more than one) should I stock this tank with? Do male/female ratios matter?

I'd like to do a sandy bottom and I have some really nice pieces of driftwood and rock (South Dakota rocks of course ). This will be a low light set up as well. This tank is already running with Central American cichlids, but I'd really like to do something a little different.

#10 Guest_Gene2308_*

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Posted 18 April 2010 - 06:46 AM

Are those Congo tetras? Great tropicals.

With sunfish the key is not to overcrowd them, they will get aggressive if crouded.

My experience with centrarchids is just the opposite - I've had good luck heavily stocking large tanks with longears, bluegill and green sunfish (nasty fish at times) many times.....seems to work at least in my experience. I can't back that up with anything solid though, it's just personal experience.

If you stick to some of the smaller sunfishes you could probably keep other species more easily. Personally I'd just keep some large schools of shiners, a few darters, and try to find some madtoms. I always get tired of staring at a tank with just a few large sunfish, but that's just me.

Edited by Gene2308, 18 April 2010 - 06:50 AM.

#11 Guest_schambers_*

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Posted 19 April 2010 - 08:22 PM

You could have a school of orangespots. They get along well. I have nine mixed sexes in a 100 gallon and haven't had any aggression problems. They are great looking, too. You could do some shiners and darters along with them.

#12 Guest_CaptDave_*

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Posted 28 May 2010 - 07:03 PM

pumpkinseeds are really pretty in the tank. They always get compliments from people but they can be very nasty!!!

#13 Guest_Elijah_*

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Posted 31 May 2010 - 12:57 AM

I have a pumpkinseed and a bullhead in my 30 gallon tank. This tank is heavily planted except one area where the pumpkinseed likes to dig his nest. No problems with the plants.
I have 14 tanks and many different types of sunfish, as well as many other types.
My pumpkinseed and my bullhead are two of my favorite fish. I have noticed that since some other fish that were in the tank are no longer my p-seed is pretty aggressive towards the bullhead. -No real damage. It's kind of like watching looney tunes or tom and jerry.
Over all I do like my tanks with small species of sunfish, darters, dace, shiners, and killies more. -more cool fish to watch. I also have 4 madtoms in this tank. The only one that I ever see is the tadpole madtom, and only because I have a moonlight on the tank. He never comes out in the daylight.
My pumpkinseed is gorgeous!

#14 Guest_lmhollister_*

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Posted 18 June 2010 - 04:14 PM

So just thought I'd do a little update. We've finally moved into our new house and now that our two fishrooms are nearing completion I'm starting to think again about how we want to do our show tank in the living room.

I have made some progress, we had a very pleasant and helpful conversation with an SD GF&P conservation officer. From what he said, so long as one of us maintains a valid fishing license, we can keep up to the legal limit of any particular fish species in our home, whether in an aquarium or the freezer. He also offered to write up a special license so that we could collect wild fish by seining or trapping if we wanted and he directed us to a localish breeder that raises a large variety of native species for ponds, bait, whatever.

I still think I'm looking to go for a group of sunfish, and to hopefully find a smaller variety. And I'd still like to do a group of darters as well. My main concern is still male to female ratios. Are sunfish pairing species or harem brooders? For instance, would I have better luck aggression-wise with just one or two males and the rest female, or does it just not matter?