what to add to my natives?

[Polypterus]

75-90G is not a "large" tank.

You really don't want to put sunfish in with your pickerel, especially aggressive species such as bluegill, green sunfish, and pumpkinseeds. Longears are iffy, some are aggressive and others aren't.

There aren't too many compatible fish when you're dealing with pickerel. It is best probably to keep them in a species only tank until they are full-size and eating non-live food.

If you have to go with a sunfish, look at warmouth or bantam's. Warmouth are non-aggressive to anything but another warmouth, except small shiners.

Same with Spot gars.....

 

[Pshmock]

I like the coloration of the largemouth bass. and it gets pretty big if kept porperly. they arent really aggressive, its just that they will eat anything that fits into its mouth. but thats no problem for your sterlet.

 

[new2natives]

75-90G is not a "large" tank.

You really don't want to put sunfish in with your pickerel, especially aggressive species such as bluegill, green sunfish, and pumpkinseeds. Longears are iffy, some are aggressive and others aren't.

There aren't too many compatible fish when you're dealing with pickerel. It is best probably to keep them in a species only tank until they are full-size and eating non-live food.

If you have to go with a sunfish, look at warmouth or bantam's. Warmouth are non-aggressive to anything but another warmouth, except small shiners.

yeah i realize that 90 is small, but it is only a short term tank, until i move them into either a 265 or a pond ... and i am not set on panfish, i just didn't have any better ideas, and i know they can be pretty colorful if you pick the right ones. maybe i will go with some small bass, walleye and perch ?? if i wait a few months to get them then they will be too small to eat my other stuff, and i don't have to worry about them outgrowing the tank anytime soon

Same with Spot gars.....

so is that a yes or a no for the gars ?? i think they would be pretty cool, but all i have found near me is "florida gars" and i want to make sure they are the same as "spotted gars" and can handle the colder water, and be ok with the pickerel

 

[le patron]

pumpkinseed and green sunfish are my favorite pan fish because theyre the most colorful IMO.

 

[andyjs]

so is that a yes or a no for the gars ?? i think they would be pretty cool, but all i have found near me is "florida gars" and i want to make sure they are the same as "spotted gars" and can handle the colder water, and be ok with the pickerel

Florida gar and spotted are two separate species, but they're very similar and hard to even tell apart, so the care for them is the same

 

[MicropterusSalmoides]

bowfin?

 

[new2natives]

so i really like the idea of gar, but i havent seen many for sale lately, so i will probably start looking

i dont know much (honestly, nothing) about the bowfin, but i guess i am a little curious ...

can anyone give me details? growth rate? aggressiveness? do they pretty much hang out at the bottom, or are they active?
and pics of different kinds would be great ...

 

[Death Pony]

The most colorful freshwater NA fish are;

pumpkinseed
longear sunfish
redfin pickerel
bowfin (not that colorful, but interesting. Very aggressive though)
fat sleeper
sauger
threespine stickleback
gilt darter
redfin darter
gulf darter
most other darters