Bluegill In 55g
- Thread starter william
- Start date
I know sombunya has bluegill and sculpin, and loves them. He got the sculpin from the water treatment plant he works at I believe, and maybe the bluegill too. If not, I think he caught them. I'm sure he'll jump on here, but I know he has said that they have a lot of personality and are really fun. I think that their tank size requirements are on the bigger side though, and they may do best in a species only tank, I don't think they are community. But, this is based on what he has said, so he's the one to help you out. I'm sure he'll jump on here soon.
Here's his signature:
100 gallon
4 Bluegill
2 Crawfish
40 gallon
2 Bluegill
1 Crawfish
1 Catfish
20 Gallon
10 Sculpin
10 Gallon
3 Goldfish, 1 Betta
(Sorry for copying and pasting sombunya, hopefully you'll be on here soon)
I think his are lightly stocked, so you may be able to get away with 4 in a 55 gallon. You should do a search for threads started by him and read up on them. I think there is a thread about crawdads with them, I don't remember what the outcome was, but I don't think it was good.
100 gallon
4 Bluegill
2 Crawfish
40 gallon
2 Bluegill
1 Crawfish
1 Catfish
20 Gallon
10 Sculpin
10 Gallon
3 Goldfish, 1 Betta
(Sorry for copying and pasting sombunya, hopefully you'll be on here soon)
I think his are lightly stocked, so you may be able to get away with 4 in a 55 gallon. You should do a search for threads started by him and read up on them. I think there is a thread about crawdads with them, I don't remember what the outcome was, but I don't think it was good.
No problem. Sorry I can't help more, I just don't know anything about them other than all the stuff I've read on here. Sometimes it's easier for members who have been on for a few months to find stuff easier than new members cause we know what we're looking for. Hope you get more info soon. I'm sure you will.
I thought this sounded familiar. Here's what sombunya said before:
That seems like a lot of info. And he mentions and gives you the link to NANFA. I'm not sure what else you're looking for. Did you read everything he suggested? You asked before about a 20 gallon tank, but all of the information still applies to a 55 gallon tank. I'm not sure why you started this thread, since it's basically the same as the one you started before, just with a different tank size.
That seems like a lot of info. And he mentions and gives you the link to NANFA. I'm not sure what else you're looking for. Did you read everything he suggested? You asked before about a 20 gallon tank, but all of the information still applies to a 55 gallon tank. I'm not sure why you started this thread, since it's basically the same as the one you started before, just with a different tank size.
Bluegill are lots of fun. I don't know if you'd call them a species only fish but I know they are rowdy. They didn't seem to bother the small one too much. But now the small one is bigger and steals food so it gets chased a bit. They don't bother the 4-5 inch catfish in there, but the cat hides out a lot of the time.
Feeding time. I turn off the filter and they gather around. I throw crickets in and they splash water all over the place. So cool! One of them jumped up and almost completely out of the water. They get really excited at the start of feeding. I tend to over feed a bit because it is so much fun. They eat out of my hands. Most of them anyway. If I reach in the tank to do something they come over to investigate. (The goldfish hide)
They seem to be a bit picky. The four in the big tank like Krill. They don't love the stuff, just like it. The two in the 40 like it less. I think it is a competition thing. They all love crickets. They go crazy over them. They also like blood worms. They always eat all the blood worms. It may take them a while, but they eat them all. They are like cows. I try to control how much they eat now. I tried frozen brine shrimp. No way. Flakes, balls, sinking food. No eat. But I have never starved them into eating anything. I like them too much. Guppies, they eat them all. I quit feeding guppies because the big ones would eat them but the little one would just bite chunks out of them. Kind of funky to see.
I got the 100 because 6 Bluegill in one long 40 gallon tank was way too many. I was going to put them all into the 100 but as I could not set up the HOB filters the way I wanted I just kept the 40 going. I'm glad I did. Although they are considered a messy fish the water quality was always excellent. They just need space. One was so mean he kept the other 5 in the other half of the tank. If anyone strayed over to his half he would viciously chase it away. I put it in a 20 gallon for a while and it just stared at me, all the time. I consider the 100 gallon tank the minimum for the four good-sized fish I have. I was told a long tank is better than a tall one. I believe it too.
Crayfish. I had a small one in there when I had five Bluegill in one long 40 gallon tank. (48" long, 12" wide, 18" tall) I provided a good hiding place for it but I came home one day and, lets just say they killed it but did not eat it, yet...
The Crays I have in there are pretty big so they don't mess with it too much, if at all. Also, I feed them pretty good too. One Cray hangs out in a clay pot, another just roams around at night and lays low in the day. None of the Bluegill are afraid of the Crays. Even the little fellas come in real close and watch the Crays eat a piece of shrimp. Be careful with Crays. They are climbers and will get out if you let them.
I catch them at the inlet screens (rather I save the ones that live from landing in the trash can) at the water treatment plant I work at. A pal of mine used to net them at a lake somewhere in Southern Cal. I think you can buy them from breeders. I also believe they are used as bait for big Catfish.
I never, ever thought fish keeping could be so much fun. They are the coolest. However, I have never kept any other kind. If I can answer any other questions, please ask.
Feeding time. I turn off the filter and they gather around. I throw crickets in and they splash water all over the place. So cool! One of them jumped up and almost completely out of the water. They get really excited at the start of feeding. I tend to over feed a bit because it is so much fun. They eat out of my hands. Most of them anyway. If I reach in the tank to do something they come over to investigate. (The goldfish hide)
They seem to be a bit picky. The four in the big tank like Krill. They don't love the stuff, just like it. The two in the 40 like it less. I think it is a competition thing. They all love crickets. They go crazy over them. They also like blood worms. They always eat all the blood worms. It may take them a while, but they eat them all. They are like cows. I try to control how much they eat now. I tried frozen brine shrimp. No way. Flakes, balls, sinking food. No eat. But I have never starved them into eating anything. I like them too much. Guppies, they eat them all. I quit feeding guppies because the big ones would eat them but the little one would just bite chunks out of them. Kind of funky to see.
I got the 100 because 6 Bluegill in one long 40 gallon tank was way too many. I was going to put them all into the 100 but as I could not set up the HOB filters the way I wanted I just kept the 40 going. I'm glad I did. Although they are considered a messy fish the water quality was always excellent. They just need space. One was so mean he kept the other 5 in the other half of the tank. If anyone strayed over to his half he would viciously chase it away. I put it in a 20 gallon for a while and it just stared at me, all the time. I consider the 100 gallon tank the minimum for the four good-sized fish I have. I was told a long tank is better than a tall one. I believe it too.
Crayfish. I had a small one in there when I had five Bluegill in one long 40 gallon tank. (48" long, 12" wide, 18" tall) I provided a good hiding place for it but I came home one day and, lets just say they killed it but did not eat it, yet...
The Crays I have in there are pretty big so they don't mess with it too much, if at all. Also, I feed them pretty good too. One Cray hangs out in a clay pot, another just roams around at night and lays low in the day. None of the Bluegill are afraid of the Crays. Even the little fellas come in real close and watch the Crays eat a piece of shrimp. Be careful with Crays. They are climbers and will get out if you let them.
I catch them at the inlet screens (rather I save the ones that live from landing in the trash can) at the water treatment plant I work at. A pal of mine used to net them at a lake somewhere in Southern Cal. I think you can buy them from breeders. I also believe they are used as bait for big Catfish.
I never, ever thought fish keeping could be so much fun. They are the coolest. However, I have never kept any other kind. If I can answer any other questions, please ask.
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My thoughts as well...I believe I posted in that thread as well informing you about NANFA...not to sound harsh but if your not going to follow the advice given why bother asking, you will see that in almost any post refering to natives i always refer to NANFA because I can give you my experience and so can Sombunya but in the end the experts are on the NANFA forum, those guys are amazing on their knowledge and they dont mind sharing if u ask. I also think that Sombunya 9 nout of 10 times refers native questions to NANFA...thats 2 members of this forum telling you thats the place to get your info. The forum is free to join, to become an actual member of NANFA there is a fee..I would suggest reading thru the site and always obey local laws on collecting native fish.
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Bluegill are great. Just make sure to give them plenty of space. You'll see why if and when you get some. A 55 gallon? 3 fish max. 2 medium sized ones are better. And maybe a (big) Cray. The Catfish I have in my 40 lays low most of the time. Info from a NANFA expert is, they come out at night.
You will most likely get the same or more enjoyment out of two fish as you would if you have five. My advice is to get two tanks, long ones.
About NANFA. Most of the people there are experts. I have very little to add to that site. I just read the posts there, a lot. Plus they are a great organization. I joined to support them a little bit.
One more thing about my Bluegill: it's been a few days since I fed them some crickets. After I fed them some Krill I thought they were settled down a bit. Wrong. The first two crickets went into the tank, big splashes of water came out !!!
They are so cool I can't believe it.
You will most likely get the same or more enjoyment out of two fish as you would if you have five. My advice is to get two tanks, long ones.
About NANFA. Most of the people there are experts. I have very little to add to that site. I just read the posts there, a lot. Plus they are a great organization. I joined to support them a little bit.
One more thing about my Bluegill: it's been a few days since I fed them some crickets. After I fed them some Krill I thought they were settled down a bit. Wrong. The first two crickets went into the tank, big splashes of water came out !!!
They are so cool I can't believe it.