keeping bluegills
- Thread starter gulperfan220
- Start date
depends how long you want to keep them, and how open the tank is. you could probably keep 2 for life, as they'll get pretty big, around a foot or so.
it depends really like what saavedra said you dont want to crowd your tank with plants. also when having more then two there is a great rish that there will be fighting due to their wild nature. I had a tank with 3 very small bluegills. one became dominant and killed the other two. The gender may also have something to do with it. anyway id say like 2. less the better
Just my opinion , but , i think a 55 is too small as a permanent home for a bluegill as they can reach 13" + . if you are wanting to keep some native sunfish in a 55 i would recommend either redear or pumpkinseed
I think for a short term home, a 55 can handle 4 bluegills. As the fish reaches sexual maturity, their growth is substantially slower. They will eventually reach a pretty tremendous size, several pounds is not unheard of. To minimize agression, you are gonna wanna keep all male or all female. If you want them to breed, you will need another tank to move the females to, and only keep one male. A trio would work, but once they get in the breeding mood, the male will kill anybody else in the tank.
Really, bluegills will require a larger tank in the long term. Even for one bluegill, a 55 is just not wide enough to be comfortable. I have personally handled a 16" bluegill, he was a monster.
Really, bluegills will require a larger tank in the long term. Even for one bluegill, a 55 is just not wide enough to be comfortable. I have personally handled a 16" bluegill, he was a monster.
kzimmerman;3917099; said:
I agree, he knows what he is talking about. My first experiance with bluegill I had 3 3" blue gill a 5" pumkinseed and a 6"pumkinseed. So 5 fish total in a 55g. After the first day it was noticable that I had too many fish and too large of fish. So i got rid of the big pumkinseed and two bluegills. Then what happened was the pumkinseed harrassed the bluegill endlessly.
Its really true that a 55 can house one good sized bluegill or pumpkinseed. I personally loved my pumpkinseed, it has way better coloring, and is prettier to look at. Its hard to keep any other fish in a tank with one. They are very agressive
Yup, I had a five inch pumpkinseed kill a 10" bass before. And a golden shiner about 8", and he harrases my channel cat and my white cat. I've also got two tiny ones, in a 55 with two larger bluegills, one 3" one 5". The pecking orger goes big bluegill, small pumpinseed, smaller pumpkinseed, small bluegill. They chase each other around the tank alot, but there isn't really any aggression yet. However, I'm gonna have to do some moving soon, as the smaller bluegill is a female, and the larger a male. If they ever get into the spawning mood, life will get hard.
If you want to keep bluegills for their life, you will probably want to get a 90 at the minimum. They are very impressive when they are large, with earflaps the size of a quarter.
If you want to keep bluegills for their life, you will probably want to get a 90 at the minimum. They are very impressive when they are large, with earflaps the size of a quarter.