Tropical Fish Forums

[UncleWillie]

Hey guys,
I got a bit of time today to snap a few pictures of my babies.
These are young western Dollar sunfish Lepomis marginatus. There are small, aggressive North American native sunfish. I got these guys from a reputable native fish dealer Zimmerman (for more info, PM me).

These guys hatched in late June or early July, and were sent to me in September at .5-.75 inches long. At six months old, most are at 1.25-1.5 inches, with my already large and dominant male at 2 inches. He is already showing color. Here are some pics of the largest male and the other youngsters. No photoshopping on these pics - the fish don't need it! haha. Here they are.
Forgive the tank - they are growing out in a 20 gal long until they are big enough to go into the display tank.

[unissuh]

Nice looking fish, surprising they're not more widespread in the hobby.
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Fishing in the Rivers of Light

[59FIFTY]

Those are nice fish! Are all of your fish Wild caught riverfish or as I say "real fish". I think of real fish as bass and perch and trout. and aquarium fish as pleco or tetras. so do you have any "aquarium fish" fishtanks or are they all "real fish" fishtanks.
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In the End, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends. - Martin

[Jason L]

Beautiful fish! I have always been fascinated by native fish, but other than a few experiments gone wrong at the cottage, I have not kept any.

What are the care requirements like for these guys? Difficult to keep? Do you need to use a chiller?

Sorry for all the questions, but NA natives aren't exactly widely kept. I would love to set up a tank someday when I have the space, and can source the fish.

I am amazed that sunfish aren't kept often at all. They rival some of the most vibrant tropicals.

Thanks for sharing!

Jay

[monstrosity]

Those are very nice fish and very colorful fish. Extremely natural looking tank, once again!!!! Lol.
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29 G

[diademhill]

I do like sunfish.

Pity ther are, understanably, illegal here.

[UncleWillie]

Thank you very much for the comments, everyone. And there is no need to apologize for questions - that's why we all joined the forum. Wouldn't be here if I didn't enjoy talking fish.

59FIFTY, I think I see what you are asking. Most of my fish are wild caught by myself. However, these natives I purchased because I have kept sunnies before (redbreast, greens and bluegill)that I personally catch, but all reached sizes that were too big for any tank I have. So, with these guys reaching about 4inches, I decided to order them since they are not native to my area. I don't keep tropicals anymore - only NA natives.

Jason, these guys require no more care than the next fish. In fact, I'd say that overall, all of my native fish have outmatched tropicals in terms of hardiness (possibly due to coming from the wild - where they are more tolorant of water fluctuations than say a neon tetra breed in a pristine tank environment for generations.
They do not require a chiller, but just kept in an unheated tank. With most of the temperate fishes, they will need a 'cooling' period in winter if you want to induce spawning, but otherwise can be kept at ambient room temp. These guys were feeding on bloodworms for the majority of their life, but now are on Hikari Gold cichlid baby-size pellets. Thus far they have been a joy to keep, though you can tell there is certainly a dominant male who runs teh show. Though they are small, the dollars are one of the most aggressive sunfish. Other more peaceful Lepomis of similar size would be orange-spotted and bantam sunfish.

Though they aren't seen much in the hobby, I would say that out of all NA natives, the sunfishes are the most kept fish (as opposed to darters, killies, minnows). I'm glad to have shared with everyone. Again, thanks for the comments. Any questions / chit-chat is always welcome.

[blodhi74]

Beautiful fish

[UncleWillie]

Wow. So it has been nearly 10 or so months since I have updated. All 5 fish were moved to my main 46 gallon tank once they reach the 2 inch mark soon after the first post. They have all doubled in size, though the females remain quite petite compared to the males, especially the largest male. Here are some pics from about 4 months ago...

Male:


Female:


Male:


Male with female and second male:


Females:

I originally thought I had 2 males, and three females. But now I think the top fish is actually a 'sneaker' male, judged by its recent appearance and behavior since too much larger dollars are present.

[UncleWillie]

The 5 dollars share their tank with one bluehead chub, and this small warmouth. Here are some photos of the chameleon of the North American fish:



This guy is so cool. He lurks and swims about the plants and roots until feeding time. Then just about flies out of the tank attacking pellets and food sticks.