Most passive sunfish... and a strange future compatibility?

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TankDempsey

TankDempsey

Gambusia
MFK Member
Mar 28, 2012
824
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Third rock from the sun
I am looking into catching myself a (1) small (but not a dollar sunfish) that can live in higher temperatures (78ºF). It would have to be able to hold its ground, but not be too terribly aggressive either. It would also be introduced into a cichlid tank (hopefully) with an adult Female Jack Dempsey. She hasn't grown much in a while so I'm guessing that she is nearing her adult size. Additional detail would be that the tank is a 75. Inhabitants will only be the JD and proposed sunfish, with a large pictus cat.

Please keep in mind that this will only be a back-up plan for if my plans for an EBJD grow-out don't fall through :D.
ALL fish will be quarantined as i am familiar with my area's waters and there are always (and will be) parasites in the water. Also if the fish have problems and the sunfish needs to be moved, it will NEVER BE REINTRODUCED TO NATIVE WATERS. He will simply be put in another tank, or given to a new responsible owner.

Please share experiences with keeping natives and cichlids together if you have any.
 
While most sunfish can tolerate those temps, they don't thrive and long term effects can be seen. Temperate fish don't belong in tropical tanks.
 
i would say green sunfish, just because it will get about the size of the JD and will definitely be able to defend itself
 
78 degrees will be fine in most parts of Florida the ponds stay hot all year long if it was 80s I would be more worried but 78 should be fine it will just grow faster.
 
I agree completely with fisher, i wouldn't have temperate fish with cichlids. Not just because of the temperature but the ph that cichlids live in may be harmfull to the fish. There was a member who posted a picture of his green sunfish living with cichlids awhile ago and the green sunfish was turning black due to the water parameters.
 
^ that's because the sunfish was kept in 80's temperatures.....
 
I know from experience that ph makes no difference in most hardy fish's health. I've had several fish (rams) that are said to require soft ph's and have kept them in hard water. It makes no difference as long as the ph is stable. The temperature would not be in the 80ºF range at all, probably mid 70s where both fish can tolerate. Another detail is that my area's water is naturally hard, as is the water my cichlids live in, so that would make no difference.
 
The most passive sunfish would be the Black Banded sunfish but they are quite small and very passive and would not do well with the cichlids you mention, I live in the south and many freshwater fish here will do well at tropical temps and in fact prefer them only needing a slight cool down to bring on breeding behavior and sometimes not even that. The fish you are looking for may well be something that does not exist. Most sunfish are are quite aggressive, if I had to choose one i think Flier sunfish would be your best bet.

One thing to remember that temperate fish does not mean cold water fish and many fish do well in a variety of both temps and pH. Here water temps here are often well above 80, sometimes in the high 90's in the summer and above 70 for most of the year, only dipping down for a very short times in the winter and many fish become sluggish during this time. I have collected the same species of fish in cold hard alkaline water and in hot soft acid water and varying degrees of all combinations in different places.

On a general basis Sunfish do well at moderate temps in moderately hard neutral pH water, i can give you information on specific species but there is also the "where was it collected factor" a blue gill collected from a stream where the water is mostly cool all year long and hard and alkaline might react differently to the same species collected in a river where the water is more often hot soft and acidic. Fish tend to adapt to the water where they live with in reason and may display different color in different types of water.

There are fish that are pretty much dedicated to a particular type of water but those fish will be found only in that type of water in the wild but just because a fish can tolerate cold doesn't mean it has to be kept cold.

Trout are generally fish that are cold water fish and do not do well in warm water but some trout are more tolerant than others and this can usually be seen in their natural distributions.

Fish that require warm water are found only in warm water and this can be seen by their wild distribution as well.
 
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