Deciding on a new tank

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alisha

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Aug 2, 2009
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I'm planning on getting a new tank for my Green Sunfish. Right now it's around 4 inches and it lives in a 10 gal, but he's(?) growing rather fast, so getting a new tank is a must. I wanted to know what would be the right tank size, I also wanted to know if Sunfishes do well with live plants. I have a Rena XP1, but I'm worried that it will eat up too much electricity and if it does, this will make my mom mad. (yeah I still live with my mom lol still a young college kid) Will it be alright if I did a full planted tank with my Green?

I did some reading around the board, and I'm getting different answers for homing a Green Sunfish, anywhere from 40gal to 150. I'm afraid I don't have room around the house for anything larger then a 55gal, but even then I think my mom will go crazy if she sees a giant fish tank in the living room. :|
 
A 55 will be more than fine for one green. I'd say even a 40 would be fine. I've had success with sunfish and established, hardly live plants myself (like coontail, anachris, val etc), but the general consensus states that sunfish tear up plants...which they do and they love to do it. Welcome, by the way!
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Thanks for the welcome. :)
I was thinking about getting a 37gal and I've read about Sunfish tearing up plants too. That's why I was afraid to do a planted tank with my Green, but I guess it's just a trial and error kind of a thing. Which plants would you recommend? Also, do external filters run up the electricity bill? D:
 
alisha;3442012; said:
Thanks for the welcome. :)
I was thinking about getting a 37gal and I've read about Sunfish tearing up plants too. That's why I was afraid to do a planted tank with my Green, but I guess it's just a trial and error kind of a thing. Which plants would you recommend? Also, do external filters run up the electricity bill? D:
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It all depends on the size of filter, but nothing that appropriately fits a tank of the size you're going to be getting is going to draw a ton of power, thus cost a lot of money. It's not something I'd worry about myself. If you're looking to minimally impact your mother's electricity bill, I'd consider sponge filters. They don't power through the water like the filter would so you'd need to do more water changes etc, but they draw little power.

As for plants, get really hardy ones like hornwort and anachris. Hornwort doesn't really root itself into substrate, so you don't have to worry if your fish decides to rip it up.
 
It all depends on the size of filter, but nothing that appropriately fits a tank of the size you're going to be getting is going to draw a ton of power, thus cost a lot of money. It's not something I'd worry about myself. If you're looking to minimally impact your mother's electricity bill, I'd consider sponge filters. They don't power through the water like the filter would so you'd need to do more water changes etc, but they draw little power.

As for plants, get really hardy ones like hornwort and anachris. Hornwort doesn't really root itself into substrate, so you don't have to worry if your fish decides to rip it up.
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Yeah, that's true. I could always get a couple of sponge filters, my Rena filter can filter a tank size up to 45gal, so I think it'll be okay if I got a 40.

I thought about a full planted tank last night, and after watching my fish, I don't think it'll be a good idea. My Green likes to move around the rocks for it's little sleeping nest and I can't imagine what it would do if there where live plants in the way.
 
That's probably a good idea then. You can make a really attractive tank with rocks and pieces of driftwood. Easier to keep clean too.
I actually love sponge filters.
Also, if you have a pic of your fish you should post it. Sounds to me like he's got a great caretaker!
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I really liked the drift wood idea too, but I'm afraid it won't give the Green enough hiding places, so I'm probably going to stick in some fake plants. Thanks! I'm trying really hard to give my fishes a good home. Besides my Green, I also have 2 Bettas and some Feeder Guppies which I will home with my male Betta once I can get the Green a new tank.

The fish in my avatar is my Green Sunfish and here's another pic:

d212a78ea4fc4b026246c787a1602351.jpg
 
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