anyone else keep pumpkinseeds?

  • We are currently upgrading MFK. thanks! -neo
demjor19

demjor19

Fire Eel
MFK Member
Dec 17, 2006
4,121
12
68
43
PA/OH
a few weeks ago i decided i wanted to try keeping some native species w/ my gar. so my girlfriend and i went to a local lake and caught a really nice pumpkinseed...didnt even have to use a rod and reel. we just used a net...not a real smart fish i guess? anyway he was pretty skittish for about a week and settled down during the second week. he is now eating any prepared foods i put in the tank and eats out of my hand. it's like these guys were meant for the home aquarium. i will post some pics of him when i get them. he is only about 5" long.

have any of you kept pumpkinseeds for any extended period of time? if so what was there growth rate like and what was their disposition like? so far he seems very calm and gets along w/ the tankmates.

thanks for any info!
 
Back in my early days I really like the fish I caught so I brought him home and put him in my tropical community and he beat the crap out of the angels that were in there... but he was cool. Try feeding him wax worms.
 
I have one in my native tank right now. I had two but I had to get rid of one because I believe she was a female and was starting to spawn (the reason I think this is because in the lake I got them from the pumpkinseeds are spawning everywhere. There are beds every few feet and mine was acting just like the fish on the beds.) She got SSOOOO aggressive she was dominating the tank and tearing up my Small Mouth Bass and causing my LMB to cower in the corner. Not a good site. The other guy I believe is a male and is real calm. Doesn't care about anything and will eat pellets and loves worms.

They are beautiful fish and mine is doing great. I haven't had him too long so I don't know about growth but this is my second stint in keeping them. I was unsuccessful in my first attempt cause I didn't know what I was doing.
 
topoftheline77;918118; said:
Back in my early days I really like the fish I caught so I brought him home and put him in my tropical community and he beat the crap out of the angels that were in there... but he was cool. Try feeding him wax worms.
Click to expand...

him beating up his tank mate isnt going to be a big deal.
he is already eating krill, frozen/fresh shrimp, and anything else i throw in.
so far he is doing great and seems to be happy.
 
Derpeder;918144; said:
I have one in my native tank right now. I had two but I had to get rid of one because I believe she was a female and was starting to spawn (the reason I think this is because in the lake I got them from the pumpkinseeds are spawning everywhere. There are beds every few feet and mine was acting just like the fish on the beds.) She got SSOOOO aggressive she was dominating the tank and tearing up my Small Mouth Bass and causing my LMB to cower in the corner. Not a good site. The other guy I believe is a male and is real calm. Doesn't care about anything and will eat pellets and loves worms.

They are beautiful fish and mine is doing great. I haven't had him too long so I don't know about growth but this is my second stint in keeping them. I was unsuccessful in my first attempt cause I didn't know what I was doing.
Click to expand...

this is my second attemp and i didnt know what i was doing the first time either. i am 90 percent sure i have a male too. i am just curious how big i can get him in captivity. i think it will be fun.
 
Derpeder;918144; said:
I have one in my native tank right now. I had two but I had to get rid of one because I believe she was a female and was starting to spawn (the reason I think this is because in the lake I got them from the pumpkinseeds are spawning everywhere. There are beds every few feet and mine was acting just like the fish on the beds.) She got SSOOOO aggressive she was dominating the tank and tearing up my Small Mouth Bass and causing my LMB to cower in the corner. Not a good site. The other guy I believe is a male and is real calm. Doesn't care about anything and will eat pellets and loves worms.
Click to expand...

With pumpkinseeds it is the males they get aggresive come spawning time, they are the ones that establish a territory, build nest, guard young etc. etc.

I have had my current pumpkinseed for almost two years but have kept others in the past as well. They aren't very fast growers, mine grew about 4" in the span of a year. They tend to be one of the more aggresive sunfish species so watch out for that, they will even go after fishes larger then themselves.
 
sandtiger;918365; said:
With pumpkinseeds it is the males they get aggresive come spawning time, they are the ones that establish a territory, build nest, guard young etc. etc.

I have had my current pumpkinseed for almost two years but have kept others in the past as well. They aren't very fast growers, mine grew about 4" in the span of a year. They tend to be one of the more aggresive sunfish species so watch out for that, they will even go after fishes larger then themselves.
Click to expand...


Oh cool. Thanks for the info sandtiger (you should be a mod.... :D I'm just playing around..... LOL... you are very knowledgable though.) In this case it was a male I got rid of from the tank and the female I still have in there.

That male was brutal though. The Smallie and LMB were at least 2 inches bigger and that pumkinseed had no problem bullying them around.
 
i dont even think mine knows he has tankmates. he is in w/ a crappie, spotted bass, and my florida gar. doesnt bother any of them. he was making a nest when i caught him...so i am pretty sure he is a male.

when i first caught him i did have two other pumpkinseed males. he started bullying them though and as soon as i removed them he settled down.
 
I met a person who had a pumpkinseed and a pike in a tank, the pumpkinseed killed the pike!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
MonsterFishKeepers.com
Top Bottom