Bluegill in an aquarium, anyone ??

[Johnny]

My yougest daughter bought a 30 something gallon aquarium & dont know what kind fish she wants, so I'm think'n.... (duh) BLUEGILL,  I told her it would be a blast to have a pet BG, put in some lilly pads, drift wood, maybe a beer bottle on the bottom of the tank so it'll feel at home, no hassle feeding (rite outta the yard), its a no brainer.

 

What say you ?? 

[David, aka, "McScruff"]

They would work fine.

I've had "generic" sunfish in the past and liked that they would eat regular fish food.

[Patrick O'Connor]

I love my bluegill. My 55G tank currently plays host to a crawfish, a female bluegill, and a plecostomus. They are so interactive and interesting, they truly develop their own personality. This is the second Gill I have kept. The first was a male and died after seemingly going blind, he lived to be a touch over 10 inches and I'm estimating 5 years old (I had him for two+ years).

My only recommendation is double filtering your tank. I have two individual 60 gallon tank filters on my tank to handle the waste load. The plecostomus and crawfish help a lot as well.

[Johnny]

David...You mentioned I need to soak the wood in salt water to kill bacteria, but if it comes from a local scource the same (or close to the same) as the fish I should be OK ??

 

 

[David, aka, "McScruff"]

Mike is generally right in his thinking. Sunken wood from the same waters from which you capture your stock *should* present no problems. There is the risk of an infestation, however, which always looms large in all aquariae.

Normally, the parasites and micro-crawlies in a fishes environment, to which it is adapted, present no problems within that same environment. But in the un-natural, altered microcosm of an aquarium, much can go wrong in quick hurry.

I mention the saline soak as a harmless option against infestation, should you decide it is warranted. Call it "insurance," if you like.

As always, your mileage may vary.

[Suzanne Lazar]

Actually, I think it's less an issue of pathogens, but more to do with the wood leaching tannic acid and altering the aquarium pH. Also, wood would have crevices in which anaerobic bacteria could accumulate and foul the water.

Regular partial water changes should help prevent problems with the aquarium.

[Suzanne Lazar]

After I wrote that, I tried to find more about effects of bacteria living within the wood...there isn't much about this online, and those who do mention it say it's beneficial. But anything with small crevices could trap uneaten food and make a mess.

[Johnny]

Man, thers more to fish in a tank than I thought, looks like a search for info in my future, also need to learn to post pictures I guess, just to up the fun factor.

 

have to say it gets more interest'n with every post.

[Suzanne Lazar]

Everything gets complicated if you look too closely...

-I can't wait to set up an aquarium myself! Next summer I hope to catch some tadpoles.

[David, aka, "McScruff"]

There is ALOT to getting it right, Johhny.

But let me give you one tidbit - patience. Dont be in a hurry. It takes  a tank - any tank - 3 weeks or so to stabilize. During this time, the complex biologic functions needed to stabilize the system get going.

Contrary to what you may think, an aquarium is more about bacterial and micro-biological balance than anything. Get these building blocks working right, first, and you are on the way.

[Stan Wright]

My daughters elementary school teacher sent a note home asking for donations for the aquarium they were putting together.  I donated 2, one inch talipia from my live bait tank. Several months later the teacher sent home 2,  6" talipia with a note saying they had eaten all the plants and other fish in the aquarium.  LOL

My son brought home a one pound Red Devil he caught in the lake and put it in the 100 gallon aquarium.  It killed everything in the tank and piled all the gravel in one end of the tank.  Red Devils, I found after a little on line research, do not play well with others... they don't even get along with each other.

[Johnny]

Never heard of a red devil, wher are they found ?? any pics ??

[Stan Wright]

Red Devils are a tropical aquarium fish that someone dumped into our lake and streams here in Hawaii. I understand they are in the canals of southern Florida too. They sit in the shallow water and are fun to site fish. They will eat about anything and put up a good fight on light tackle. The ones we catch average around 3/4 of a pound, but we've caught ones over one pound.