Bluegill and Pumkinseed sunfish in aquarium Lepomis macrochirus & gibbosus

[smegzilla69]

how big is that aquarium and why do u have those fish?

im asking because i bought a 55 and it came stocked with 3 blue gills and 1 creek chub along with gauramis and pangaseus catfish i know how to take care of the tropical fish but idk about these ones regarding feeding, ph, temerature, living space, flow in tank....

thanks. would like any info if possible i have been feeding them cichlid pellets

[rogue7135]

@smegzilla69 Wierd combo... The Bluegills don't beat up on the Gauramis? I kept & bred tropical fish nearly 15 years & got bored so decided to keep fish I trap local, thats why. Don't know about Creek Chub but Sunfish are VERY hardy & will do well in wide variety of water qualities. As I have said on here before, treat the Sunfish same as u would a large, hardy S.A. cichlid such as J. Dempsey or Oscar & they will do just fine, only difference is sunfish can handle much lower temps.

[rogue7135]

@smegzilla69 and btw my tank is also a 55 (long)

[StormReturns]

Dumping food in like that will dirty ur tank fast!

[rogue7135]

@StormReturns It could be a concern, but, well the fact that the fish eat it all and the tank is now full of live plants and 2 whisper 5s seems to keep it pretty clean

[billygtrg]

whats the best live plants for bluegills? respond pls

[impactlures]

Awsome tank! Do you do water changes?

[MrFishBoy1997]

Koolz

[jg97live]

I am glad I am not the only one who knows about sunfish! We have 3 native fish tanks. One is a 55 gal and we have bullheads Longears orange spots pumpkinseeds and green sunfish and then we have a 30 gal with spawned longer baby's orange spot babies and green sunfish babies but I like your video and your giving great info to beginners

[rogue7135]

@jg97live Thx for the comments.. The Pumpkinseed is still going strong, is the only fish left aside from a few stray killifish, and w/ the warmer weather now here he is once again making his nest. The tank looks good, tons of bog wood and quite a few live plants. I had pickerel last year, started w/ 4 about same size. 1 died of natural causes, 1 grew really big really fast and ate the other 2. He got about 12" long and then just stopped eating, died. Debating what to put in there next...

[jg97live]

@rogue7135 ahah thats awsome... you should put in some bullheads or something where are you from?

[youngoutdoorsman2001]

What did you feed them? I think there grass shrimp.

[JThe7thFool]

Love your Sunfish I used to keep 2 green sunnies before they outgrew theyre 39g.

[yupyup39]

ok i have a 3-4lbs bream in a fish tank it is absolutly huge and i was wondering how to keep it alive? ive had a bream in there before and it lasted 2-3 weeks how much and often should it be fed and what?

[rogue7135]

@yupyup39 What type and how many bream? How big is the tank? Filtration? Plants? To be healthy u need a large tank 50 gal min, proper filtration, live plants are a big plus, and u should be feeding it everyday or at least there should be some live food living in the tank most of the time for them to eat like minnows, shrimp, nymphs, helgramites, etc... It would be best for you to get them when they are juvenile and raise them from there.

[yupyup39]

@rogue7135 well i got maybe a 20 gal or so not real big and the i got a bluegill 3-4 pounds

[pharyngealized]

THat's scull makes it an ugly jock tank.

[rogue7135]

@pharyngealized ... Jock tank? lol, I was going for Ugly pirate tank. Hey that's my lucky skull, I've had it for over 20 years so I think I'll keep it around, but thanks for the "constructive criticism". My bumblebee cat loves it, but getting big and won't fit in it much longer.

[pharyngealized]

@rogue7135 ha ha, you can upgrade to a horse scull :)

[garrette94]

haha u ever gone fishing in your tank before???

[rogue7135]

@garrette94: the Pumkinseed really likes a 1 1/2" bass assassin, "albino shad" color, on a 1/16 oz lead head ;)

[garrette94]

@rogue7135 lol i jsut throw a tiny hook with bacon fat on it and they go ape shit over it

[nothing4224]

Awesome tank, awesome music

[rogue7135]

Thanks. Going to be looking for some Redfin Pickerel in the next week or two... Can't wait!

[whiteblade212]

my bluegill only eats minnows from my pond howd you ween it onto fish food

[rogue7135]

I never could get the Bluegill to eat fake food. I was able to get him to eat frozen and dried grass shrimp. The younger they are the easier you can get them to adjust. My pumkinseed will eat flakes if I dont feed for few days, but he doesn't like them. He will however eat frozen minnows and killies. He will also eat shrimp in almost any form... been feeding him chopped up cocktail shrimp I had left over from a party all week. It is difficult to get adult fish out of the wild to eat fake food

[rogue7135]

You can by frozen freshwater shrimp on ebay in big bags. Let the fish go a day or 2 with out food and then try the dried shrimp on them. I rehydrate some shrimp by letting them sit in a container of water for 10 minutes 1st

[SpinelessScales]

is there a ratio of marine salt per gallon that you use when making the aquarium water brackish?

[rogue7135]

There are numerous recommendations for this depending on the species of fish and/or plants you intend to keep. I would suggest you google it or talk to a professional. The most precise way to measure it is by measuring the "specific gravity". All I know is that I have put up to 1 TBSP of sea salt per every 3 Gallons in my tank with no apparent problems on the fish or plants. My fish come from local tidal creeks and pools that do get a big dose of saltwater from time to time.

[Aquagrdn]

Do you find that NiN makes your fish hungrier when feeding?

Also I liked at 2:00 when he had a little salad with dinner.

[rogue7135]

Yes I do :)

[313foxbody420]

Hi i was wondering what size tank this is. by the way nice fish, when they get that big be call them bulls. are they hard fish to keep?

[rogue7135]

The tank is a 55 Gal (long). All sunfish are relatively easy to keep, very hardy and will adapt to a wide range of foods and conditions. The big bluegills get a bit messy, they like to knock stuff over, dig up plants, etc... Pumkins are easier. I have the one male Pumkin left now. He made a nest in the middle of the tank, just like in the wild. Trying to upgrade to a 125 Gal (long) and get some local Redfin Pickerel! Hopefully if I can get that all set up I'll have some new vids of it.

[thund3rskunk]

do you need to put salt in to keep these sunfishes? because mine was caught in a freshwater lake.

[rogue7135]

Nope, you do not have to. I put salt in mine only because most of my fish and the crayfish were trapped locally in a tidal pond and seem to prefer some salt. Sunfish will thrive in a wide variety of water types. I believe adding a little salt same as recommended for most american cichlids is a good idea for the sunfish. Ask your local pet store for info on that.

[redeyesthe20th]

sunfish are sunfish NOT cichlids.

[rogue7135]

No kidding, but thanks for the input. They are the family Centrarchidae (sunfish, crappies, largemouth bass, etc.) My reference to certain American Cichlidae was making a comparison to other types of fish that the average aquarist would most likely be familiar with and have an idea what type of behavior to expect and environment to provide.

[redeyesthe20th]

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo­h

sorry about that =)

BTW nice aquarium

[fallenrocks9]

i have a 55 gallon tank plz tell me what i need im planing on getting a bluegill and a sunfish i subed thanks

[rogue7135]

Set up the tank same as you would for american cichlids, such as Oscars, firemouths, jack dempsey, etc and you should be in good shape. Try to get the sunfish as young as possible as younger fish will adjust much quicker to a tank and to different foods.

[peachey2021]

what is your ph levels for the bluegill? please let me know soon cause im gonna be getting a baluegill.

[rogue7135]

Honestly I do not know. I no longer have the bluegill. I just have the pumkinseed now. The tank is also very different now than it was in this video. I have all live plants which have taken very well, a local crayfish, local freshwater clams, local killiefish, a catfish, and a pleco. I do 50%water changes once every 2 weeks and everything seems quite happy and healthy. I'll put a new vid up soon, I keep forgetting to.

[rogue7135]

If you are capturing the bluegill yourself, check the source water's PH and try to match that, but I'm sure they will adjust over time to whatever you set up. Bluegills and pumkinseeds are very hardy and live in a wide range of water types! They are stocked in rock quarries with very hard water and high PH. Around here I they live in tidal creeks, high salt and low PH. I have put up to 1 TBSP of sea salt per every 3 Gallons in my tank with no problems on the fish.

[killmattic]

did your bluegill ever just stay in the same spot for awhile. like in a corner of the tank. cause mine do that. is that normal

[rogue7135]

My big bluegill did that for a while. Try to get the fish when they are very young so they will adjust to the tank much better. Also do not overcrowd the tank and try to set your tank up with many pieces of structure such as wood, rocks, and plants so the fish feel at home and safe.

[hawaiidoves]

Yeah, let me know when you do take another video!

[hawaiidoves]

Nice looking tank!

[rogue7135]

TY! You should see it now! The bluegill died recently, unfortunately. But the pumpkinseed looks better than ever, and I have removed all of the fake plants and put in a bunch of live plants that all seem to be doing well. I'll have to get my good cam back and take a new movie :)