Sunfish max size?

[kevbc03]

Just wondering how big the sunfish normally maxes out at, and what is the minimum tank size for a sunfish?

 

[MultispeciesTamer]

well first of we need to know what species of sunfish, as there are mainy kinds.

 

[MultispeciesTamer]

for most medium sized sunfish a 40 gal breeder tank will be fine. For bigger ones at least a 75.

 

[sbuse]

i think the largest sunny is the blue gill and i have cought 2 pounders. try a 75gal and you'd be good. depending on quantity they are agressive and mean in my expirence.

 

[kevbc03]

Sorry I should have specified, Blue Gill**** and its been answered a 75 gallon. How long do they normally get?

 

[sbuse]

the biggest i have seen was like a foot or so

 

[MultispeciesTamer]

up to 16 inchs

 

[Noto]

16" is a huge bluegill. 12" or a little more is as large as you are likely to come across.

 

[WahooWillie]

Agreed,
16 inches is extremely large for a bluegill. Perhaps you were thinking of redears - that get a bit larger than bluegills.

In regards to size, many things can be a factor. For instance if you keep the bluegill in ideal water conditions with plenty of room and feed large meals regularly, then you will have a larger bluegill in a relatively short amount of time (given you catch it at a failry young age).

And yes, for future refence, sunfish can mean anything from LMB and rockbass to dollar and bluespotted... so size tank is relative.

 

[andyjs]

I'd say a normal size for a captive bluegill is in the 10-12" range, but maybe a little bigger in a very large volume of water. They can be a bit aggressive with other sunfish, so if you do a 75, you could only keep probably 1 or 2. If you went bigger, there could be more options for tankmates