This fish DESERVES an OMG!!!
- Thread starter Rays of Sunshine
- Start date
You should. People would be amazed at the beauty that many native fish have. Now, you are amazed that people are willing to pay for them.
Overseas, there would be a market for Native North American fish, especially the sunnies. They are banned.
Overseas, there would be a market for Native North American fish, especially the sunnies. They are banned.
There used to be a market in Europe for Pumpkinseed sunnies and Bullheads......unfortunately many of the Pumpkinseeds got loose and they have become very successfull in reproducing in the rivers and lakes in Western Europe; so much so that they have banned all sunfish as invasive species.Rays of Sunshine;4757157;4757157 said:
There isnt any.....most people just want "exotic fish" and dont even know how beautifull some of our natives are. Zimmermans is a excellent native LFS .....there are also two others that I would recommend, Sachs Aquaculture and Jonahs Aquarium; at different times they will have different fish in stock, so just to be sure I would check all three.GolemGolem;4746980;4746980 said:
Here is the information from Brian Zimmerman himself and the same exact fish posted on his website(Missouri Longear) in Brian's display tank. Here is the photo Brian Zimmerman is giving me permission to post on this site for proof:
Fish on the website:
Exact Same Fish in Brian's display tank:
Also here is the email from Brian Zimmerman to me regarding the coloration:
"Sunfish do keep their colors just fine when not actively breeding for most species. Age has a lot more to do with coloration than whether they are breeding or not. They do loose color if kept in cold winter like conditions but most home aquariums are kept at what would be summer time temperatures for sunfish. So basically if they are older males and kept at temps from the upper 60's to low 80's they are going to show color. Unfortunately I am not able to offer larger sexed fish simply because this is a very small out of my home operation so people just have to be patient to see the colors on the males. However, as long as the fish are kept in the right temp range, fed well, and well cared for they will get the colors shown on my website. Sunfish are much easier to get colored up in tanks than darters. So many North American fish guys love their darters but the problem with darters is they don't hold color in tanks. This is because their breeding conditions are significantly cooler temps and they have a very short month or less breeding season in those cool 40-60 degree temps which are not easy temperatures to maintain in home aquariums. On top of that they spawn once a year and they need a several month cold wintering period between spawning events. Sunfish on the other hand spawn in the mid to upper 70's and will spawn continuously if well taken care of and mid 70's are normal room temp conditions in many peoples aquariums making these fish very easy for people to keep them in color. I guess the best way to prove this is to tell you the male MO longear I have on the website and I also have a recent photo of the same fish in my big display tank I can attach, has never spawned or been wintered over or used outdoors in my breeding ponds and looks like this all the time, does not change coloration. Feel free to post this message if you want and the photo (this photo is from the other side of the room testing out a telephoto lens so it's a little grainy and in low light so not the best but it makes the point) I took last week of this fish."
Still looks colorful enough for me!!!
Fish on the website:
Exact Same Fish in Brian's display tank:
Also here is the email from Brian Zimmerman to me regarding the coloration:
"Sunfish do keep their colors just fine when not actively breeding for most species. Age has a lot more to do with coloration than whether they are breeding or not. They do loose color if kept in cold winter like conditions but most home aquariums are kept at what would be summer time temperatures for sunfish. So basically if they are older males and kept at temps from the upper 60's to low 80's they are going to show color. Unfortunately I am not able to offer larger sexed fish simply because this is a very small out of my home operation so people just have to be patient to see the colors on the males. However, as long as the fish are kept in the right temp range, fed well, and well cared for they will get the colors shown on my website. Sunfish are much easier to get colored up in tanks than darters. So many North American fish guys love their darters but the problem with darters is they don't hold color in tanks. This is because their breeding conditions are significantly cooler temps and they have a very short month or less breeding season in those cool 40-60 degree temps which are not easy temperatures to maintain in home aquariums. On top of that they spawn once a year and they need a several month cold wintering period between spawning events. Sunfish on the other hand spawn in the mid to upper 70's and will spawn continuously if well taken care of and mid 70's are normal room temp conditions in many peoples aquariums making these fish very easy for people to keep them in color. I guess the best way to prove this is to tell you the male MO longear I have on the website and I also have a recent photo of the same fish in my big display tank I can attach, has never spawned or been wintered over or used outdoors in my breeding ponds and looks like this all the time, does not change coloration. Feel free to post this message if you want and the photo (this photo is from the other side of the room testing out a telephoto lens so it's a little grainy and in low light so not the best but it makes the point) I took last week of this fish."
Still looks colorful enough for me!!!
Dang, I'm researching how much of a legal headache it would be to collect a few long ears in my local waters and order a pair of the northerns (I like em'), if it is going to be a big headache then I will be using Mr Zimmerman's service an awful lot (thanks warmouth for the connect on the other two outfits) once I get my next tank. This thread has hijacked my plan for a pair of JDs, thanks guys.
