View Full Version : BLUEGILLS AND SUNFISH
TOM A.
05-17-2006, 8:43 PM
Can someone tell me why this fish group is not in the cichlid family. Is it because they live in a colder water temp. range. :confused:
payara
05-17-2006, 8:47 PM
they are not related at all,thats like saying gar and piranah are related.
sandtiger
05-17-2006, 8:53 PM
Because they are in the sunfish family (Centrarchidae) and the sunfish family is not related to the cichlid family. One key difference is the lateral line. A sunfish has a complete lateral line while cichlids have a broken lateral line, this is not the only difference but it's an easy one to understand.
sandtiger
05-17-2006, 9:01 PM
they are not related at all,thats like saying gar and piranah are related.
Not quite, sunfish and cichlids belong to the same order (perciformes). Gars and pirahna belong not only to different familys but to different orders as well. Gars are Lepisosteiformes and piranhas are Characiformes.
TOM A.
05-17-2006, 9:02 PM
Oscars and angelfish are cichlids but they dont look alike
dredcon
05-17-2006, 9:29 PM
Fish are classified by the presence/absence of derived characteristics, not on the looks alone.
Classification is based part on sciences such as genetics, part on opinion and part on guesswork.
fisher12889
05-21-2006, 11:54 PM
i know they may seem alot alike, but they are completely different
sandtiger
05-22-2006, 1:10 AM
Oscars and angelfish are cichlids but they dont look alike
No but they share enough other characteristics that make them related. Animals are not classified by how they look.
TOM A.
05-22-2006, 9:49 PM
Well, I have a lot to learn. I did some looking and found out the sunfish family and the cichlids are not even close related. In fact , there is only 30 kinds of sunfish species and all come from N.America. I know this all sound boring but I like the sunfish . Some day a have to set up a tank full of them.
fishyz
05-23-2006, 3:40 PM
:iagree: I might have to do the same. To me sunnies are way better than cichlids.
sandtiger
05-23-2006, 4:22 PM
Well, I have a lot to learn. I did some looking and found out the sunfish family and the cichlids are not even close related. In fact , there is only 30 kinds of sunfish species and all come from N.America. I know this all sound boring but I like the sunfish . Some day a have to set up a tank full of them.
Yeah, there aren't very many of them but I do agree that they are great fish. I currently have more sunfish species that cichlids myself. Plus, with so few sunfish species out there it gives me a goal I might be able to do...own all the sunfish species known to man (you can't do that with cichlids). :D
fishyz
05-23-2006, 4:24 PM
Go for it sandtiger.
TOM A.
05-24-2006, 10:54 PM
Do sunfish fade in color in the tanks? I was told you need lots of green colors , like plants and background,to keep them from fading out . Any truth to that ?
sandtiger
05-24-2006, 11:34 PM
The fade in and out like cichlids, depends on their mood really.
cichlids and sunnies may look alike but have a different skelatal and gill structure, theyare very cool fish. They adapt well to tanks but do tend to fade if they have no shady spots
fishyz
05-25-2006, 9:40 PM
Lilypads or duckweed should fix that.
guppy
05-27-2006, 12:15 AM
They also gain color during breeding season.
fishyz
05-30-2006, 5:25 PM
I just cought a 2" pumpkinseed sunfish yesterday and I already love this fish. It's in a ten gallon tank with a johnny darter Etheostoma nigrum and a juvanile Ameca splendas. It will go into a 150 gallon tank once I get it set up. The only cichlids I've ever kept were anglefish and I'm never going to keep cichlid again because this sunfish is just to cool.
TOM A.
06-01-2006, 9:35 PM
The sunnies are spawning right now on beds. I see them when fishing. I think I will collect some fry this summer and set up a bluegill tank. Cant wait to try it.
MrRngr94
06-01-2006, 11:57 PM
Does anyone know what their fry look like? I caught a few fry and can't tell what they are. They look similar to geos with black stripes running down them and a dot on the back of thier dorsal fin. I was describing it to my cousin and he said they were bluegills, but he hasn't seen them. Anyone have a pic? I can't find anything on the net.