ANY fish you catch out of a lake i would say you would want a 50 gallon +++ or your just torturing the fish i wanted to have a pet bass ut in reality its the dumbest idea.. although fun and amusing... but the fact you are taking them out of a huge body of water in putting them in only gallons of water... the fish will never act the way you think it will.... So what i did is give up hope on having a wild fish as a pet and rather get other native fish that are just as fun but are bread in captivity!
BLuegill problems!
- Thread starter williamC
- Start date
I've had Bluegill for a while now. I find them to be hardy, adaptable fish.
Buy a kit and check you water quality. Very important. If the nitrites rise above .25 ppm do a 25% water change. I've been doing that to a 20 gallon unit and I'm almost there.
I have a 48 inch long, 18 inch high, 11 inch wide tank. (41 gallons) Barely big enough for the 5 in there. Ranging in size from 2 1/2 inches long to 5 inches long. I'm looking for a bigger tank.
And get max filtration too. Filter should be minimum 2 times the capacity of the tank. 3 times is better. Bluegill are dirty fish. They need good filtration.
The ones I catch adapt to the tank in a day or two. Blood worms are great food, either live or frozen. They love them. They also like crickets, live of course.
The ones I have chase each other around. Except for one extreme bully, he is in a tank by himself. I'll check later and see if he will play nice with the others.
Lastly, the Bluegill I have are like my boys. I walk in the room and they line up waiting for me to feed them. Honestly. I reach in a move things around (after they have moved things around some) and not only do they not swim away, they swim up to check me out. Sometimes I have to push THEM out of the way, and then they come right back! So cool. They are so interesting in their habits. If you can get the water stable in high quality, you will be rewarded with some extremely interesting critters, in my opinion. And watch out. They are aggressive and will eat most other fish and shellfish.
Buy a kit and check you water quality. Very important. If the nitrites rise above .25 ppm do a 25% water change. I've been doing that to a 20 gallon unit and I'm almost there.
I have a 48 inch long, 18 inch high, 11 inch wide tank. (41 gallons) Barely big enough for the 5 in there. Ranging in size from 2 1/2 inches long to 5 inches long. I'm looking for a bigger tank.
And get max filtration too. Filter should be minimum 2 times the capacity of the tank. 3 times is better. Bluegill are dirty fish. They need good filtration.
The ones I catch adapt to the tank in a day or two. Blood worms are great food, either live or frozen. They love them. They also like crickets, live of course.
The ones I have chase each other around. Except for one extreme bully, he is in a tank by himself. I'll check later and see if he will play nice with the others.
Lastly, the Bluegill I have are like my boys. I walk in the room and they line up waiting for me to feed them. Honestly. I reach in a move things around (after they have moved things around some) and not only do they not swim away, they swim up to check me out. Sometimes I have to push THEM out of the way, and then they come right back! So cool. They are so interesting in their habits. If you can get the water stable in high quality, you will be rewarded with some extremely interesting critters, in my opinion. And watch out. They are aggressive and will eat most other fish and shellfish.
If it is a male and a female and you plan to upgrade to a 55 or better then it may be doable. 2 males would fight until one was dead unless you fed them hourly to avoid competition and to keep them distracted.
How big are the bluegills now? As soemone already pointed out, are you sure they are bluegills? Bluegills, especially young ones are fairly drab, other species of sunfish have awesome coloration like the green sunnies and the shellcrackers.
Can you match it up to here:
http://www.fishbase.org/Photos/FamilyThumbnailsSummary.cfm?famcode=302
How big are the bluegills now? As soemone already pointed out, are you sure they are bluegills? Bluegills, especially young ones are fairly drab, other species of sunfish have awesome coloration like the green sunnies and the shellcrackers.
Can you match it up to here:
http://www.fishbase.org/Photos/FamilyThumbnailsSummary.cfm?famcode=302
Another fish enthusiast said the length of the tank is more important than the width. 48" long by 11" wide is better than 24" by 24". Gives them space to swim.
The ones I have are saved from the trash can. I work at a water treatment plant and they come into the inlet. So, even though they don't know it, I saved them from the landfill. They seem pretty content to me. Especially when I toss in some crickets. Often times they splash water out of the tank when they hit them. And I will get a longer tank someday soon.
The ones I have are saved from the trash can. I work at a water treatment plant and they come into the inlet. So, even though they don't know it, I saved them from the landfill. They seem pretty content to me. Especially when I toss in some crickets. Often times they splash water out of the tank when they hit them. And I will get a longer tank someday soon.
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I have to disagree here..there are many tropical/SW/ and North American natives that are NOT captive bred yet. So with that mode of thought your really limiting your choices. Part of the fun with natives is the catching and keeping. They do keep there wild traits and this makes it educational for children as well. Right now my green sunfish tank is set up next to my Oscar tank the greenie will display and even try to go after the oscars which are twice hs size. They are by far the most aggressive sunfish I have ever seen.
Bass are not a good idea because they do grow to extrememy large sizes and have different habits than sunfish. A bass will travel thoughout a lake in search for food.
Bass are not a good idea because they do grow to extrememy large sizes and have different habits than sunfish. A bass will travel thoughout a lake in search for food.
William, I would seriously rethink your plan to keep a Bluegill. It's going to be extremely difficult to raise it. You're going to devote a lot of your time trying to keep it alive. The water and feeding conditions alone are going to be a pain. You can certainly choose to ignore everyones advice and go ahead with it. We are by no means telling you that you can't do it, we are just advising you that you shouldn't do it. After all, you came here seeking our advice, right?
whoa whoa whoa...releasing wildlife back into the wild after it has come into contact with captive fish is illegal in most states. This gives you 2 options euthanize it or keep it.
There is a chance that you have introduced this fish to foreign diseases, etc. that could destroy our native ecosystems.
There is a chance that you have introduced this fish to foreign diseases, etc. that could destroy our native ecosystems.
I just noticed the link in yoru sig, I was reading this Why Release of Captive-Kept Fish is Unacceptable - NANFA Forum before.
I did this once and am a bit worried. I caught a black acara and put him in a 10g by himself so I could identify him and released him 2 days later (a bad thunderstorm stopped me from doing it immediately.) He did not come in contact with any other fish or equipment and the 10g was sterilized before he was put in and after he was taken out.
I tend to worry about things like that too, blue ram. I would say that as we have all now been properly educated, there is no point in worrying about it now. You'll only cause yourself needless anxiety. It also sounds like you probably didn't give him a chance to catch anything before you releases him. I say, don't sweat it at this point.
many of us make mistakes...as I am sure william did...it happens, just learn from them and move on..the fact is in Florida there are alot of non natives inhabitating water ways due to either intentional release or natural disasters, it is these kind of things that put these hobbies under the microscope of law makers/ and lobbiest groups. Just have to do our part to inform others of the dangers of releasing "pets" into the environment.
FYI about 6 years ago the humane society of the Unites states was backing laws against keeping herps as pets for various reasons but one of hem was the release of exotics.
Not to take anything away from the folks here but if you have a question about natives I would ask on the NANFA forum many of the members/MODS work with state wildlife agencies and other direct involvement with native species of fish.
FYI about 6 years ago the humane society of the Unites states was backing laws against keeping herps as pets for various reasons but one of hem was the release of exotics.
Not to take anything away from the folks here but if you have a question about natives I would ask on the NANFA forum many of the members/MODS work with state wildlife agencies and other direct involvement with native species of fish.
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