Green Sunfish

[alisha]

I somehow adopted a Green Sunfish when my cousin came back from a fishing trip and I was wondering what would I need to be able to keep it? Right now, I am keeping it in a 10 gal tank which I know it will grow out of, so what is a suitable size for a Green Sunfish? I do have a Rena XP1 laying somewhere in the house, but I wanted to try a Planted tank. Will this be a good idea? I've read that wild fish don't do very well with live plants, but it seems more natural to me.

Other then a filter, should I consider getting any other equipment? Advise will be great.

 

[Journeykc]

I have several that I keep in a 55 gallon. They won't get much bigger than the size of a man's hand, if they get that big in a tank. The males are super aggressive andtend to own a tank if they're not with other sunfish(my experience). I haveno experience with planted tanks though. They are very easily adapted to pellets. I feed mine a mix of pellets, worms, grasshoppers and crickets

 

[alisha]

I have several that I keep in a 55 gallon. They won't get much bigger than the size of a man's hand, if they get that big in a tank. The males are super aggressive andtend to own a tank if they're not with other sunfish(my experience). I haveno experience with planted tanks though. They are very easily adapted to pellets. I feed mine a mix of pellets, worms, grasshoppers and crickets

Since I only have one Green Sunfish, can I keep it in a smaller tank? Also, how can you tell from a female and a male? I haven't tried feeding it yet since I got the fish yesterday, but what kind of pellet/flake food can you feed it?

 

[Journeykc]

I don't see a problem in keeping it in a 10 gallon, however there are probably some here who would disagree. I had 3 of them in a 10 gallon untill I got my 55, and they did just fine. The males will have nice crisp bright colors. I use mini chiclid pelets and hakari sinking wafers, and they seem to like them both. They will eat just about any insect that you put in the tank as well. I tried a few larger carpenter ants in mine and they gobbled them up.

 

[alisha]

I don't see a problem in keeping it in a 10 gallon, however there are probably some here who would disagree. I had 3 of them in a 10 gallon untill I got my 55, and they did just fine. The males will have nice crisp bright colors. I use mini chiclid pelets and hakari sinking wafers, and they seem to like them both. They will eat just about any insect that you put in the tank as well. I tried a few larger carpenter ants in mine and they gobbled them up.

Okay, I think I will get it a 20 or 30 gal tank. Now I have a fish that will eat the ants outside. lol Btw, thanks for the advise.

 

[Journeykc]

No prob,

 

[WattaMelon]

Since I only have one Green Sunfish, can I keep it in a smaller tank? Also, how can you tell from a female and a male? I haven't tried feeding it yet since I got the fish yesterday, but what kind of pellet/flake food can you feed it?

Sexing larger fish is easy with practice. If you look at their vents (the place that the fish poop and lay eggs out of) you'll see two holes. In males, the holes are about the same size. In females, one hole will be considerably larger than the other.

Also, as journey mentioned, sunfish tend to be dimorphic when it comes to outward specific sexual characteristics, ie color and size. Males tend to be more colorful and larger than females. This isn't a guarantee however, because it varies from population to population. I've seen fish in lakes where males and females of breeding age were the same size and just as brilliant in color. I've seen fish in other areas where females are considerably smaller (sometimes half the size of the males). Usually though, the latter holds true. You'll also find male fish that develop outwardly like females to trick males into allowing them on their nests, where they fertilize the males eggs without being caught.