Pumpkinseed Sunfish?

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user_name

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May 23, 2010
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Cam
I recently rescued a pumpkinseed sunfish from my friend, who was planning on using him as live bait but told me I could have him as it was the last survivor of his live bait. Anyways, he looks extremely malnourished and he's acting aggressive. (He went after my Otos when I put him in the 10 gallon with them). I have a couple questions....

1. What should I be feeding him?
2. Will he eat plants?
3. Will he be fine with a school of x-ray tetras in a planted 37?
4. What is the ideal temp for him?
5. Anything else I need to know?

I would release him, but he appears to be VERY weak, and I don't want to risk introducing disease into my local ponds. Any help would be greatly appreciated,

Cam
 

SubRosa

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Jul 3, 2009
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i say treat them like cichlids to me it seems that they are pretty much the same
So should it be treated like a Checkerboard Cichlid or a Dovii? As far as Sunfish go Pumpkinseeds are one of the more aggressive species, and I wouldn't want to be one of those X-Ray Tetras! They're normally fine with plants, but if it's male and decides to build a nest all bets are off on that regard. As far as feeding he will probably learn to eat whatever hits the water in short order, but may require live food at first. You don't say how big it is, but since you put it in a 10 gal tank and ime aren't an idiot I'll figure it's not too big to accept live brine or blackworms. After you have it eating live try some frozen. Remember that you can catch them on a bit of bread balled up or a kernel of corn, so they're obviously not too picky about food! It should be on flakes or pellets in short order once it settles in. Room temp is fine, as long as it's under 90F and over 32F.
 

user_name

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May 23, 2010
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Thanks Subrosa! He's about an inch or so now, I plan on moving him to the 37 and seeing how he (Not sure on the gender, just calling it a he) does with the plants. He does accept frozen brine shrimp, but has ignored most of my pellets.

How do you think he'd do with a juvie JD in a 55? The pumpkinseed is bigger than the JD, and the tank has decent cover. Currently the JD is the only fish in the tank.
 

SubRosa

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Jul 3, 2009
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At an inch he'll probably be fine with anything he can't swallow, so the XRays would be safe for a while. I think he'd be fine growing up with the JD in that tank. Also ime it's easier to get Sunfish to take flakes as opposed to pellets as the first prepared food.
 

user_name

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May 23, 2010
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Alright, I'm going to try moving some stuff around the 55 and I'll put him in tommorow. (I don't want to take chances with the plants in the 37) He's taking omega 1 cichlid flakes, is it fine for him to get NLS pellets/Omega 1 flakes once daily?
 

SubRosa

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Jul 3, 2009
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Now that he eats flakes you have it knocked! Once a day with the flakes/ pellets is fine but make sure he gets a few meatier meals each week as well.
 

excuzzzeme

Stroke Survivor '05
They are a coldwater fish so no heater is needed. You can treat them as you would a goldfish. The cooler the water, the better for them. I would not keep with tropicals since the tropicals like higher temps. You can feed them pretty much anything as they are omnivores. I too use them for a baitfish when I can get them small enough. They will eat anything they can get in their mouths. Flake food may not work as well as a pellet type food. Worms, crickets and small insects should be readily taken by them. Larve and meal worms also make a decent food. If you have an outdoor pond you can toss it in there but if the other fish are too large they will eat it.
 

user_name

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May 23, 2010
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Thanks for the advice guys, the 55 is at 78 degrees, is this fine? He's been in 76-78 since I've got him, I just want to make sure it's good in the long run.
 
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