UncleWillie's 46 Gal

Update! Re-scape
Okay. Hornwort was out of control, and causing my once beautiful ludwigia to drop most of the leaves. The bottom needed a good vaccuum where leaves and dead algae had piled up. So I ended up re-arranging the now-waterlogged wood, replanting and creating nice space and light. Also, I ended up throwing out about 4 pounds of hornwort. I wanted to add more sand on some smaller gravel that I had left over from another tank. So the fish and plants went into the tub and I got to work!




Tank completely set up.
The water was a bit cloudy for 30 minutes or so, but cleared.
Soon after adding the fish the redbreast colored up and I have to show you how he changed. You can see here in this old picture that he was very red and the light was very dim from the overgrowing hornwort.

After adding the redbreast, he lost some red, but his blues began to show brilliantly. I think it was the extra light ad a bit darker substrate. He looks great (No photoshopping btw).




Okay, all mosquitofish have been eliminated by the sunfish... no sign of them. And here is a pic of the juvi bluegill. He is pitch black and is very hard to see.. so this picture I did photoshop so you can see him.


Sorry for being so photoheavy... I hope yall enjoy.
Willie

Edited by UncleWillie, 11 November 2008 - 02:25 PM.

Very nice. How big are those shells? They look pretty big. Your tank, plants and fish look great!

Edited by fishlvr, 11 November 2008 - 06:02 PM.

Thanks a lot, Steve. I figured you would enjoy the redbreast photos.
I am glad I got more structure and an actual arangment to it, rather than just a bunch of wood and random plants. I am a bit limited with scaping options with a bowfront - everything needs to be centered and symmetrical.
Two of the shells are about baseball sized. A bit larger in profile than a baseball, but from a dorsal view it is a bit skinnier when closed. Does that kind of make sense?

Thanks a lot, Steve. I figured you would enjoy the redbreast photos.
I am glad I got more structure and an actual arangment to it, rather than just a bunch of wood and random plants. I am a bit limited with scaping options with a bowfront - everything needs to be centered and symmetrical.
Two of the shells are about baseball sized. A bit larger in profile than a baseball, but from a dorsal view it is a bit skinnier when closed. Does that kind of make sense?

I definitely enjoyed the redbreast pics. They're one of the first natives that I kept and one of the main ones that got me into native fish keeping. Bullheads were the other one. I wish I had some pics of one of the males I caught last year. He was the most beautiful one I've seen.
Ha I think it makes sense.
Is the red under the ludwigia leaves really that intense? The ludwigia around here has a little bit of red under the leaves as well and in areas with a lot of light the tops of the leaves turn purple-ish. I'll try to get a pic one of these days.

I love mine -first Lepomis I've kept. And I am hooked. I don't think another one in a 46 would be a good idea. I intend to get another tank (hopefully 90g) and I would love to add another redbreast and hopefully find some spotted sunfish (L. punctatus). According to Natureserve, spotted sunfish are in the Middle Oconee drainage where Michael Wolfe and my parents are. I have yet to find one in the creek behind my folks house. A beaver has recently dammed a section of our creek, I may try to hook some sunnies in the newly flooded area when home for Thanksgiving to see if there are anything other than redbreasts (none for keeping though).

In regards to the ludwigia, they are not really that red. I had to edit the photo a lot to get the bluegill to stand out, so the intense red you see is just result of a lot of editing. It has a bit of a red ting, but nothing like my photo suggests. Sorry for any confusion. That bluegill is dark dark gray with black bars - really hard to capture in my dark tank with the black background.

I love mine -first Lepomis I've kept. And I am hooked. I don't think another one in a 46 would be a good idea. I intend to get another tank (hopefully 90g) and I would love to add another redbreast and hopefully find some spotted sunfish (L. punctatus). According to Natureserve, spotted sunfish are in the Middle Oconee drainage where Michael Wolfe and my parents are. I have yet to find one in the creek behind my folks house. A beaver has recently dammed a section of our creek, I may try to hook some sunnies in the newly flooded area when home for Thanksgiving to see if there are anything other than redbreasts (none for keeping though).

In regards to the ludwigia, they are not really that red. I had to edit the photo a lot to get the bluegill to stand out, so the intense red you see is just result of a lot of editing. It has a bit of a red ting, but nothing like my photo suggests. Sorry for any confusion. That bluegill is dark dark gray with black bars - really hard to capture in my dark tank with the black background.

Maybe if you come down this way Michael and I can get out and come with you to help you find some sunnies. I've been wanting to get into the Oconee drainage anyways.

I figured it may have been from the editing but I wasn't sure. I love it when the leaves turn red under high lighting. It adds some nice contrast to a heavily planted aquarium.

Maybe if you come down this way Michael and I can get out and come with you to help you find some sunnies. I've been wanting to get into the Oconee drainage anyways.

Come on down... I've never run into any Spotteds around here, but I have not probably been in the right habitat... on the other hand we did get a nice spotted when we were doen in the Ogeechee drainage (trips that khudgins and I have taken)... there is a photo of one on another thread.

I will be in Athens, but only for a day or so round Thanksgiving... most of the time I will be hunting. Although it will be cold, the only time I will be in GA for any substantial amount of time will be in mid-December.
Most of my sampling on the Middle Oconee has been on a single stream because of easy access and location. I would like to get a bit more diverse and sample new locations, but sadly, most of my time has been spent alone with a dipnet or 4 ft seine becuase my time in the Athens area is very limited and hard to actually make an organized plan. So maybe when I am in for a while we can work up a plan. Things now are pretty sketchy with graduation and not having any job/school plans set in stone... I have been applying to numerous jobs this last week, so we shall see.

I will be in Athens, but only for a day or so round Thanksgiving... most of the time I will be hunting. Although it will be cold, the only time I will be in GA for any substantial amount of time will be in mid-December.
Most of my sampling on the Middle Oconee has been on a single stream because of easy access and location. I would like to get a bit more diverse and sample new locations, but sadly, most of my time has been spent alone with a dipnet or 4 ft seine becuase my time in the Athens area is very limited and hard to actually make an organized plan. So maybe when I am in for a while we can work up a plan. Things now are pretty sketchy with graduation and not having any job/school plans set in stone... I have been applying to numerous jobs this last week, so we shall see.

Thanksgiving is bad for me too. And mid-December is not really that cold... particularly since I have neoprene waders... let me know where you want to go and I can drag seine for you any time you want...

Thanksgiving is bad for me too. And mid-December is not really that cold... particularly since I have neoprene waders... let me know where you want to go and I can drag seine for you any time you want...

I'm game. I'm still in the process of scouting, my local area, but within 3 miles of my house there are two strong and one maybe locations, all within the Yellow/Alcovy drainage. I need to get a good topo/street map. Google maps isn't doing it.

Looks beautiful Willie!

Now is the smallest mussel also a pocketbook? There's an endemic Arcidens over there too, I think. Kinda looks like that, but that's from a specimen in a photograph stuffed in the sand

I really need to take advantage of the relaxed restrictions in GA on Unionids before they change their mind. Maybe that will be the big 2009 trip, or even better, turn it into "work" (which really isn't too far out of the question). Then Jeffro, Ashton and I can get into all sorts of arguments over Elliptios lol.

Todd "The Farmer Went Down to Georgia" Crail

Thanks, Todd.
The smaller shell is Elliptio dariensis (GA elephant ear), also from the Altamaha. Here is a closer look:

And a larger one in my 12 gal w/ crayfish hiding:

It is a bit different than the Elliptio crassidens elephant ear from the Lower Flint.
While sampling mussels on the Altamaha and Lower Flint this summer, my boss incouraged me to make a collection... So I have quite a variety of nice shells, but I kept a few of the larger, more common ones for my tanks. I think it adds a bit of character. Also, here are some pics of snail shells from the Lower Flint: Viviparus georgianus:

Edited by UncleWillie, 13 November 2008 - 01:50 PM.

Great thread! I love those red breasts too. You are obviously giving yours a good diet and healthy environment. He looks beautiful and is growing nicely.
FWIW, I tried six small to medium red breasts in a 90 once. One male grew quicker than the rest and I soon had to remove the others or see them shredded. He never would tolerate any other sunfish of any species. The difference in our tanks is that mine was a stream tank with little cover for the victims to find refuge. If you plant your 90 heavily and put in plenty of drift wood, rocks etc, you might fare better.

Edited by mikez, 13 November 2008 - 05:04 PM.

Thanks. I just looked at the dates that I took the photos and I can't get over how much the redbreast has grown in a little over a month. In those first pics he was so tiny, and now he is the bossman in the tank. If I don't think I will freeze, I will try to go out tomarrow and try to get some more spotfins or BND to replace the 5 that that I lost during my ich incident.

Ok Willie, now its time to fess up, How many redbreast did you have to sort thru to get one that nice

Great thread! I love those red breasts too. You are obviously giving yours a good diet and healthy environment. He looks beautiful and is growing nicely.
FWIW, I tried six small to medium red breasts in a 90 once. One male grew quicker than the rest and I soon had to remove the others or see them shredded. He never would tolerate any other sunfish of any species. The difference in our tanks is that mine was a stream tank with little cover for the victims to find refuge. If you plant your 90 heavily and put in plenty of drift wood, rocks etc, you might fare better.

Ive had that same problem with several of the larger species, theyre great til theyve put on some meat, then its hey you guys this is my tank and im here to prove it. My problem is i cant be satisfied with just one sunfish in a tank and i cant afford enough tanks to separate them all, However after looking at Willies setup, Im beginning to think that if i could build one that nice, I might be able to stand it

Edited by jimv8673, 13 November 2008 - 06:49 PM.

While sampling mussels on the Altamaha and Lower Flint this summer, my boss incouraged me to make a collection... So I have quite a variety of nice shells, but I kept a few of the larger, more common ones for my tanks. I think it adds a bit of character. Also, here are some pics of snail shells from the Lower Flint: Viviparus georgianus:

Your boss was wise, as were you for taking his advice. You probably had access to places that were pretty much out of the way and could quickly approach the asymtope. And knowing at least some of the Unionids is going to be the make or break between jobs before too long. If you go the Academic route, we've had very little trouble getting funding for studying them. It really adds to the cache of tools you'll offer as a field biologist.

I ran into some stripey viviparid snail like that in Michigan this spring. These glacial lakes up here are insane with snails, and for that, I'm in sooooo much trouble. It was bad enough when I started pickin' up 'dem clam bones

Todd

Again, Thanks for replies everyone.

Mike Z, thank you. There is only one redbreast in the tank. He does well with the spotfins, flagfish and juvi bluegill. He will only give about a 3 inch jump towards them if they get too close to his face, but never chases them around. One day that may change. I have thought about adding another young redbreast (I catch quite a few when I fish), but I don't think a 46 g is the size tank to try. Do you?
I feed him Hikari Gold pellets 2x daily and a decent clump of bloodworms every couple of days. My feeding routine seems to be fine, the shiners go bananas on one side of the tank while he waits patiently on the other side for his goodies.
Another bosss of mine this summer added a full grown bull male redbreast to his 75g this summer.. bad idea... it killed off his warmouth, flier and juvi redeye bass in the first 2 days. Young is the way to go.

Jim, honestly, after much procrastination this summer, I decided I wanted to add him to my unstocked 46 (in TN) but at the time I only had a 12 gallon. So the day before I left to go TN, I caught this guy, put him in the tank until the next morning when I moved back to TN. So no sorting through any

Todd, before this summer, I never really had much interest in mussels. But now I have a great respect for them. I actually have been (somewhat) offered a MS position at UGA if (when) the funding comes in. I am not sure if I want to head that direction or not. I had a great time clamming this summer, but I am not quite sure if I want to be a mussel man from then on.. We will see I guess. It's hard to pass something up like that - especially since I can't find / haven't heard from anything else.
I, too, am bad about plucking snails off of rocks and whatnot. It's hard not to just start picking away and take em home.. Gotta resist..

I guess I should have checked into this thread a little more often since I just saw my name dropped. Most of my days revolve around Issac Lea's mess (i.e. Elliptio synonomy) it seems. The lanceolate species are even worse. Some days I seriously just think of calling things species A, B, and C. It seems easier than having to go back into a database and change angustata and fisheriana to producta if it's west of the Chesapeake Bay. I'm almost scared of impending genetic "resolution". Then continue to ID things by a line in the water when both fisheriana and producta are so insanely variable and then a 50 year old "fisheriana" from the Susquehanna shows up on my desk. What is it if it's not on either side of the bay but the middle! Then again, I don't need to shell out $115 a night for the FMCS meeting in April, so things aren't that bad.

Todd is right about two unionid things; 1) at least knowing them can be a deciding factor for a job, along with having that collection and who you worked with and 2) there definately is a need to make a collection from a couple of states.

UncleWillie, who would you be working with at UGA?

Nice looking tank Willie. Make sure you keep us updated when it grows out!