Re: NANFA-- sunfish

Bob Bock (bockhouse_at_earthlink.net)
Sun, 23 Nov 2003 14:16:52 -0500

I'd say no to the pumpkinseed, unless you're only planning on keeping one.
They'll grow too big, and beat the heck out of one another under such close
quarters. Most will probably stop growing at 9 or 10 inches. A rare
individual may reach a foot. Care for them as you would a big aggressive
cichlid. And I wouldn't plan on a planted tank, as the males excavate
nests, which destroy careful aquascaping.

The orangespots, I'd only keep a male and one or two females. These top out
at 4-5 inches. Again, though, the male will do some excavating.

The bluespots, you can probably keep about 10. They're reputed to fan out
small depressions in the gravel, but I've never seen them do that. They
like a thickly planted aquarium, but tend to be a little on the shy side.

You could mix the larger lepomis species, but you need a very large tank to
give them room to get away from each other.
----- Original Message -----
From: "Fiesta Cranberry" <FiestaCranberry_at_webtv.net>
To: <nanfa_at_aquaria.net>
Sent: Sunday, November 23, 2003 2:02 PM
Subject: NANFA-- sunfish

> Hello,
> I have a 40 gal. tank (36X15X16) with lots of plants in it. Right now,
> there are angelfish in there, but eventually I would like to switch it
> over to a native tank featuring sunfish. I really like the blue spotted
> sf, pumpkinseeds, dollar sf, and the orange spotted sf.
>
> I know the blue spots are pretty small and not a problem as far as
> getting too big for the tank. I'm not sure about the others, tho. Is a
> 40 gal big enough for pumpkinseeds and/or orange spots? How many of
> these could fit in there and be happy? Can you mix the various sf, or
> should I stick to one kind?
>
> thanx in advance for your advice!
>
> Lori

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