Wish I had a spare tank setup...

  • We are currently upgrading MFK. thanks! -neo
T

Thalan

Fire Eel
MFK Member
Sep 30, 2008
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jacksonville
I went fishing in a pond near my house today and one of my catches was one of the best looking panfish I've seen. It's dorsal and tail fin were a vibrant blood red as weel as a large blotch in its eyes of the same color. The rest was the usual brown/green and he was only 4" or so. If I had a quarantine tank up right now he'd already be in it.
Anyone know from my vague description what species it was? Or had similar experiences when you're kicking yourself for not having a spare tank?
 
Not much to go on, but my best guess is blackspotted sunfish, AKA stumpknocker. They have small black spots all along the flanks and extending onto the gill cover and face. Redbreasts get some red in the fins too, but it's usually just along the edges, and they're usually in streams or big lakes rather than ponds.
 
No the entire tail fin was red while the dorsal fin had more of a red trim. I just have to try and catch it again when I have a camera. Tried this morning and caught the ugliest turtle Ive ever seen.
 
In all honesty, it sounds like a really pretty green sunfish, but that's hard to discern from your description (although pretty good considering!).

There have been a few times I've come across something that I didn't necessarily have room for, but I have a stack of big rubbermaid tubs in the garage for that specific reason. It might not hurt to think about starting a collection of rubbermaids...haha. Also, any time I'm out doing any kind of prospecting (fishing is also considered prospecting IMHO) I always bring a large bucket and a XXL aquarium net. You never know when you'll stumble upon a pond or drainage with something interesting in it.
 
Noto's suggestion of a redbreast seems more likely. Male redbreasts have red margins on the rear of the soft dorsal, and typically only have red upper and lowers of the dorsal, but the tail can be entirely red if he's fired up. The redbreasts here (GA) are still fired up in some spring-fed streams.

Here's a pic from Wikipedia
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/ed/RedbreastedsunfishtallapoosaRiver.jpghttp://images.google.com/imgres?img...sa=N&start=100&um=1&ei=ZhCnSq2jIYSCnQf5v_G9CA
 
not it. Thats the right color red but when I say the whole fin is red I mean the WHOLE fin. I have a crappy pic of it on my cell but dont have a way to get it off, its old.
Also it didnt have the elongated gill cover.
 
That looks a lot closer. The dorsal fin is pretty much spot on. The body color is quite different but that may be an age thing. I was really into the contrast created by the dark green of the body and the striking red on the fins. If I catch another one I'll be sure to run it back to the house or something to make I get a pic.
 
Sunnies in general are good color changers, so body coloration is a tricky character. I've never caught blackspots, but most pictures I've seen look darker than that; I just linked that one because it showed the red fins and black spots well.

Like I said, I've got the very similar red-spotted sunfish. I think they're a very nice, if overlooked, sunfish. They are less aggressive than most of the other mid-sized sunfish and are relatively small-mouthed, so they make good community fish. They're not as flashy as dollars or longears but still rather attractive even when not in breeding color. I hope you can free up some tank space to keep a few and tell us how they work out for you.
 
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