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Blackbanded Sunfish question


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#1 mattknepley

mattknepley
  • NANFA Member
  • Smack-dab between the Savannah and the Saluda.

Posted 21 May 2016 - 06:20 AM

Does anybody have an idea how long the spawning season is for these guys in Upstate SC? From what I've found, it seems as if they should be done by now. BUT, I have a BB-ed who appears to have staked out a territory in a hollow in some plants. Has for weeks now. Two days ago a whole mess o' eggs showed up there. I was pretty sure I had two males, and the breeding season was over. Will try to post some pics later and give a h2o temp reading later. But it this likely? Have other fishes suckered would-be sunfish parents into raising their young? (Only two sunfish, no sneaker males here.) My exhaustive 20 second forum/interweb search has me unconvinced of anything...
Matt Knepley
"No thanks, a third of a gopher would merely arouse my appetite..."

#2 littlen

littlen
  • NANFA Member
  • Washington, D.C.

Posted 21 May 2016 - 06:36 AM

Have you tested WQ lately?  What is the concentration in mg/L of Mojo in the water?  If it gets too high, things spawn unexpectedly. 

Congrats.


Nick L.

#3 centrarchid

centrarchid
  • NANFA Guest

Posted 21 May 2016 - 07:36 AM

In an aquarium setting breeding season does not apply for most sunfishes.  Fish in good nutrition with proper temperature and sufficient light will spawn.  

 

Show picture of adults and brood.


Find ways for people not already interested in natives to value them.

#4 Michael Wolfe

Michael Wolfe
  • Board of Directors
  • North Georgia, Oconee River Drainage

Posted 21 May 2016 - 07:53 AM

I didn't think there were any reliable differentiation of the sexes on Enneacanthus? Why did you think they were both make?
Either write something worth reading or do something worth writing. - Benjamin Franklin

#5 Evan P

Evan P
  • NANFA Guest
  • Knoxville, TN

Posted 21 May 2016 - 09:32 AM

See, I always thought orange on the pelvics was a giveaway, but I may be wrong.


3,000-4,000 Gallon Pond Full of all sorts of spawning fishes! http://forum.nanfa.org/index.php/topic/13811-3560-gallon-native-fish-pond/page-3 
 

#6 gerald

gerald
  • Global Moderator
  • Wake Forest, North Carolina

Posted 21 May 2016 - 11:16 AM

In general i've noticed female E. chaetodon have brighter orange on the pelvics and males have a more distinct gold edge on the rear edge of the opercular flap, but neither of these characters is totally reliable.  As James says, captive sunnies can breed any time of year, given suitable food and temp.

 

if these are outside ... are you sure he's not "guarding" treefrog eggs?


Gerald Pottern
-----------------------
Hangin' on the Neuse
"Taxonomy is the diaper used to organize the mess of evolution into discrete packages" - M.Sandel


#7 mattknepley

mattknepley
  • NANFA Member
  • Smack-dab between the Savannah and the Saluda.

Posted 21 May 2016 - 03:53 PM

Thanks for the input, folks. These guys are indeed outside; I neglected to mention that. They could be treefrog eggs, and I'd be as stoked over that as if they were BBeds. In Marcy's Fishes of the Middle Savannah River Basin it says spawning females are more brightly colored than males, and males have a prominent black spot on the operculum. These fish don't seem overly brightly colored and have black spots on the operculum. So that's why I was thinking two males. I tested the water and daytime temp is 73F, ph <6.5 (the lowest my cheesy strips would go down to), TDS were 22ppm and mojo was off the charts. Let me go out and check it again. Dag! They're gone! BB doesn't seem too protective of the area now. I'll see if I can't find some straggler eggs later, because I have to run now. I'll scope out the nooks and crannies with the Gopro.
Matt Knepley
"No thanks, a third of a gopher would merely arouse my appetite..."

#8 gerald

gerald
  • Global Moderator
  • Wake Forest, North Carolina

Posted 23 May 2016 - 11:53 AM

Sunfish eggs and treefrog eggs look pretty different.  Do an image search and compare.  Wild BBS spawning is reported mainly from March to June.  R. Raesly (Frostburg State Univ) reported spawning in August in a MD wild pop.   As long as there's enough food ... why not?


Gerald Pottern
-----------------------
Hangin' on the Neuse
"Taxonomy is the diaper used to organize the mess of evolution into discrete packages" - M.Sandel


#9 Dustin

Dustin
  • Forum Staff

Posted 23 May 2016 - 12:52 PM

I typically see the juvies around here starting in April so they probably spawn in March or so.  I caught a bunch of pinkie nail sized ones this weekend in one of the Santee lakes.


Dustin Smith
At the convergence of the Broad, Saluda and Congaree
Lexington, SC





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