I have an idea for a biotope- seeking approval

K

Kristin

Medium Fish
#1
Oct 22, 2002
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#1
 I have a pond near my house that has been stocked with bluegill (or freshwater sunfush). I know bluegill generally grow to 9 or 10 inches and have a personality similar to an oscar. I was thinking i would go to the pond, test the water peramiters, and set up a 55 or 75 gal tank with a few bluegills and some crayfish. I wouls also put some amazon swords in the tank because i hear it is hard for them to be uprooted, but bluegill like plants. i already have a brackish tank with some mollies that i can use as feeder fish if the bluegills won't accept pellets.
  what do you guys think? i have heard of it being done before first hand, and the person said it was like having an oscar that isn't as big or as dirty and destructive. sounds good to me, and also interesting because it is an unusual fish to have in a home aquarium. any suggestions?
 

Matt Nace

Matt Nace

Superstar Fish
#3
Oct 22, 2002
1,470
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Pennsylvania
#3
I think it would be cool.

I didn't think bluegills got that big(at least I never caught one that big)

Sunfish are pretty fish. I remember reading that they wont except flakes/pellets, but I have found fish from small ponds and lakes are not as picky  as the fish in the streams and rivers(around here)....We have caught fish at this one lake on just about everything that would go on a hook.

They like rocks, sandy bottoms, and some plants.

sounds neat.
 

R

ryanp15

Superstar Fish
#6
Oct 22, 2002
1,130
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Kentucky
#6
That idea sounds neat. ;D In a 75 gallon you could probably keep 3-4 or so. They usually don't grow as large in captivity as they do in the wild. I agree on the rocks and the sandy bottom. Watch out though cause bluegills breed like crazy! We just drained our lake beside our house (cause we're redoing it) and I got the pleasure of getting all of the fish out and we put 8 in there about 2 years ago and I got about 30-40 out with the net! That job really sucked though. ;D Sunfish are really cool too. Another thing they really like it moss/algea. They love it. It's not to great to look at but they really like it. It doesn't look to bad under water if you have the right surroundings and it makes it look really neat and natural. ;D

Cloth I don't personally see anything wrong with feeding fish fish. It's what they do naturally anyways so why stop their natural habits? Isn't that what we strive to do, provide them with an enclosure that strictly resembles their natural habitat? That's just my thought though. ;D
 

M

mrfootball70

Medium Fish
#7
Oct 22, 2002
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#7
good luck kristin..i wanted to try the same thing execpt with lrg mouth bass(but they can get TOOOO big) but there is a small pond by my house that has these tiny bass that i would luv to throw in a tank..but you may want to find out if there are any local regulations against taking wild fish(i wont rat ya out tho') and maybe try some local vegetation versus store bought plants...and go with a combination of live and pellet food... let us know how ya make out!
 

S

SegaDojo

Large Fish
#8
Oct 22, 2002
112
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www.intergate.ca
#8
i don't see anything w/ feeding fishes fishes... its the way things are in nature.. most fishes eat smaller fishes and insects.. others eat plants and algae, and quite a few eat both.

in nature, dogs don't eat dogs... but the wild dogs (Hienas (sp?), wolves, coyotes...) will hunt other living creatures.

Oh... and Kristin.. if Sunfish eats insects, why don't you supplement your fish's diet w/ some mosquito larvae, damselfly nymphs, or mayfly nymphs.. or anything else you can find at the pond?

BUT be sure to not overfeed.. you wouldn't want those critters flying all over the place.
 

D

discusaquarium

Guest
#9
#9

HEY I HAVE A DACHSHUND!!!! no feeding of him to german sheperds. i dont really know what to say about feeder fish though. i mean - there is a line to cross - but where? i feed live worms to my fish -some may consider that cruel, but others may not...like me. but feeding your fish feeder fish i guess just depends on the type of fish AND person you are dealing with here. personally, i'd say go for it, but just leave out the dachshunds. :)
 

K

Kristin

Medium Fish
#10
Oct 22, 2002
89
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#10
  Hey, I see nothing wrong with keeping my fish healthy by feeding them a natural diet. They would eat them in the wild, so why not? Also, what do you think they put in manufactured foods? Fish have to get the protien somewhere, and it doesn't come from fish who have alreeady naturally died. It's not like I like seeing smaller fish get killed- I do not turn my tank into a gladiator ring or a snuff film. All I am doing is trying to re-create a natural environment.  That is the whole point of a biotope.
 

C

clothahump

Superstar Fish
#11
Oct 22, 2002
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Deepest Darkest Dorset UK
www.corydorasworld.com
#11
To create a natural environment where fish eat fish, how large would the aquarium have to be???
In the wild Fish(A) is chasing Fish(B), if Fish B can it will hide or out swim Fish A, in this natural environment Fish B stands a good chance of survival.
If the above was repeated in an aquarium Fish B has nowhere to go, does this sound like a natural environment???
As I said in my previous post this is my personal opinion, I am not trying to change the way other people feed their fish. 8)
 

Matt Nace

Matt Nace

Superstar Fish
#12
Oct 22, 2002
1,470
1
38
Pennsylvania
#12
I know here in Pa , the regulations is not bass uder 8inches(it was anyway). Same with other fish. They don't have this on sunfish, carp, or catfish.

Oh..we need a license here as well to fish. I havent fished in like 10 years though.....or more.

Only fishing I do is in my tanks with a net.
 

R

ryanp15

Superstar Fish
#13
Oct 22, 2002
1,130
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Kentucky
#13
Cloth that's a good point on the feeder fish. To create a truly natural enviroment is impossible in the home aquariums. But we try as hard as we can don't we? I do at least. I don't feed any of my fish feeders because none of them would take them. If I had an oscar or somthing I would however. I personally don't see it to be wrong. This is just my personal opinion though. Everyone is different though. That's the great thing about life, people with different veiws. ;D
 

K

Kristin

Medium Fish
#14
Oct 22, 2002
89
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#14
  BUT if I catch a wild fish it will most likely not eat flakes, and if i stock the tank with smaller feeder fish and let nature take it's course, the fish would most likely eat all the smaller fish at once and end up killing themselves. The best way to create a natural environment for the type of fish i want to stock my tank with would be to just give them a few feeders a week, because that is probably how much they would find in the wild anyway. the only difference is that i will keep the feeders and the bluegills in a separate tank. Besides, it is much better for the feeder fish to live a comfortable and well fed life with a quick and useful death then to live thier lives in fear, if fish can even feel fear (which I doubt).
  BTW, I understand that you are not fighting with me- I am not angry. Just a good discussion. Takes me back to my debate team days in high school, LoL.  ;D
 

J

Justin

Small Fish
#17
Oct 22, 2002
22
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#17
I tried the whole lakefish thing and it was pretty cool. I had a 30 gallon tank, and I put a baby bullhead catfish, baby bass, and a bunch of baby bluegill. It was pretty cool. The poor bluegills only lived for about a week (the bass ate them) but when they were living they ate anything I put in the tank! I think this was because I caught them in a local fishing pond, and there was always somebody throwing food and other crap in the water (also fishing bait). I owned the bass and bullhead for a little over 2 months before they outgrew the tank and I had to let them go. The bass was strictly piscivorous, so I stopped by the pond every once in a while and caught some minnows.

Justin
 

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