arthur

Was fly fishing in Richardson and caught this fish. I am told it is pumpkinseed sunfish, but I was struck by how similar the coloring is to some discus.

bigstick120

Bass, sunfish, discus, all from the cichild family.

There are smaller sunfish that you can keep in a planted tank. The name escapes me now but it is possible.

arthur

well this one was fairly ambitious. He went after a pretty large fly.

Anyway, I think this fish is colorful enough that some would consider keeping them if they were available in the trade. It's probably a dominant mature male.

RandallW201

Sunfish/perch/bluegill, whatever you want to call them are all very aggresive and territorial. You'd need a very large aquarium if keeping more than one.
You are allowed to keep that fish if you wanted (although I wouldnt as he is too big, get a smaller one). Sunfish are not protected by law, just dont keep a bass or any other gamefish. And just wait till you catch a green sunfish, those are even more beautiful. I'd sure like to have a tank with them....

BTW, nice to see another fellow local flyfisherman. If you havent already, check out the Dallas flyfishers club or the Fort Worth flyfishers club. I'm a member in the Ft. W club and we have meetings and outings every month. Its a good bunch of guys.

Tex Guy

Check this...

http://texasfishingforum.com/forums/...pics/5582360/1

Of course, the problem that this guy doesn't address is the plants. I imagine that many of these guys will love rooting up your planted tank.

RandallW201

They'll definitely root up anything you put in there. I cant believe he's planning on putting that many aggressive fish into that small of a tank.
If I happened to have a 250gal or larger I'd definitely go with some native sunfish. I just got rid of my pair of Texas Cichlids as they were getting too big for their tank. That same tank is now becoming my planted community tank

arthur

my 120 gallon tank is empty in my garage. Maybe I should start a sunfish tank, lol.

It's been cool to observe the sunfish in my local creek. Seeing them over their round nests earlier in the summer. There are all kinds and colors. I'll bet this pumpkinseed would have looked amazing under aquarium lights.

Just getting into fly fishing, might look into the Dallas club.

digital_gods

I've tried Blue Gill before in a tank with plants and they were aggressive omnivores. Everything was dinner.

Gambusia Affins are a native fish. They are a live bearer but they will not overcrowd your tank like guppies because the mothers have a taste for anything smaller than them. They are very aggressive towards other fish their size. They do leave bigger fish alone. I have them in my goldfish pond to eat mosquitoes.

fishyjoe24

who they eat mosquitoes. where can i get these gambusia affins. i got bit by billions of mosquitoes, and broke out in chicken pox looking hives... i end up having to get a few steriod shots, pills, and cream.. the itching was so bad it made me look like i was a chrnic crack head. oh did i tell you i hate mosquitoes.

any way I'm better now, but now been resting from having a few booster shots in my left arm. i catch,thrown, and write with my let arm where i got a couple of shots... i can move it but it's sore. oh and now i have to do lab work..

I should just sell my body to medical science.

any way back to fish and plants. that sunfish will get big and mean, and your 120 will seem like a ten gallon to that few soon. trust me I've raised big fish. i had a 300g and a 225 tall. i raised the cute little petsmart tinfoil barbs in to the 18-24 inch adults they can be mine where 16-18 inches when i sold them. i had a 2 foot pacu, 8 inch red hook silver dollars. 14 -18 inch bala sharks, etc.

that Lepomis gibbosus is going to get to be on avg.of 1 pound and be 5-8 inches long, but could get up to 14 inches long and be 2 pounds

Tex Guy

I think it would be neat to get some native sail fin molleys. We see them in the San Marcos.