well, i've got a 180g tank in my back yard that i've been thinking of bringing in for the last 3 years and i've never stocked it permanently but it's up and running now so i'm thinking of just keeping it outside. filtration is provided by a 15g sump with a QU2200 return(approx. 600gph) and if i can get it running again, a little giant on a closed loop(approx. 1200gph) for more current. for decorations i'm thinking a ton of anachris and driftwood and during the summer some hyacinth and duckweed. for stocking so far i'm thinking (3) comet goldfish, (15)white clouds, (3)pepper loaches, (12) zebra danios since the LFS has them 6/$2, (2) green sunfish (5) giant danios and possibly a couple madtoms would be cool. when the sunfish start trying to eat the minnow(if they do) then i'll rehome them.
180g stocking
- Thread starter Danyal
- Start date
The sunfish will try to eat the minnows immediately. They can and will eat surprisingly large fish; my 4" sunfish eats 1-2" comets with gusto.
Where do you live that you can keep a tank outside year round?
Where do you live that you can keep a tank outside year round?
i've got (10) green sunfish right now(9 in a QT and 1 in my 20L coldwater community) and an having no issues with the one in my community tank but they're all under 2 1/2" and the one in my community tank is about 1 1/2" i pull them out of the feeder tanks at work(deathco) sometimes around 1"
i'm in northern california in the sac area, i set up the tank last summer and moved my 29g mostly danio tank out into it and after the fish started disappearing(firgured they jumped or got eaten) i thought that all the fish were gone then about a week ago i spotted a massive female white cloud and after watching more closely i found the other 3 that i had put in so they not only survived a winter with the water being about in the high 50s low 60s(when i was checking) but they thrived and doubled in size. during the summer in 108* weather i was able to keep the tank under 84* with just a 5" deskfan over the sump during the day. i'm pretty sure that with another fan and the floating i could easily keep it under 80*
i'm in northern california in the sac area, i set up the tank last summer and moved my 29g mostly danio tank out into it and after the fish started disappearing(firgured they jumped or got eaten) i thought that all the fish were gone then about a week ago i spotted a massive female white cloud and after watching more closely i found the other 3 that i had put in so they not only survived a winter with the water being about in the high 50s low 60s(when i was checking) but they thrived and doubled in size. during the summer in 108* weather i was able to keep the tank under 84* with just a 5" deskfan over the sump during the day. i'm pretty sure that with another fan and the floating i could easily keep it under 80*
Sounds like it could be a very nice setup, but I think you'll have to decide if it's going to be a sunfish tank or a minnow tank (or use a divider). Once the greens grow large enough to fit the minnows in their mouths, that will be the end of harmony between the species. I wouldn't think danios could take low temperatures, but I could be wrong. The comets should be fine in either setting, so long as they're not small enough for the greens to eat.
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the comets are going to be bigger, i figure that once i see aggression from the sunfish i'll pull out a fishing rod and get them out of the tank and ship them off to a guy, right now he's getting the 9 sunfish i've got in QT and possibly my one in the community tank. i'm not sure if the zebra danios and giants will handle water as cold as 60*, that's part of the reason why i posted this thread was because i'm going to work in a little bit and wanted to find out if a) anybody had danios this cold and b) if anybody had idea for some more fish, i'll do some more looking today and tommorow about danio temps, i've always know them to be a bit more cooler water than most fish but i think the giant might prefer a bit warmer than the tank might be, then again i do always have the option of throwing in a 500w heater during the winter. *edit* just looked on fishbase, looks like the giants are going to be out, while the zebras are a likely candidate
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If they can't eat the comets, they'll ignore them. Other large sunfish like bluegill, redear, and longear can live well with greens, as can madtoms (small North American catfish) and larger minnows such as golden shiners, creek chub, or Sacramento blackfish; most of these species can be bought from private hatcheries. European species like ruffe or orfe should also do well outdoors.
i've thought of a native tank but i haven't found very many smaller schooling fish that are appealing, i like the looks of catfish but don't want something that's going to eat all the smaller fish and madtoms seem to fit the bill nicely. i've looked at other sunfish(love the bluespotted and pygmy sunfish) but i'm only considering the greens for this tank because i've found them to be pretty intertaining and watchfull of whats going on outside the tank(every time i walk into my room they all put their noses against the glass and stare at me) and i can get them cheap and easily(10 cents or free because they come in with the feeders)
If you like wcmm's, you might look at red-bellied dace. Topminnows are nice upper-water schooling fish; many of them will do well with your minnows, and the larger species (like studfish, Seminole killifish, or mummichogs) should work well with sunfish, provided they're already larger than bite-size when introduced to the tank. Seminole and bluefin killis are common stowaways in feeder shrimp tanks, so keep an eye out for them as well as the green sunnies.
Lupin
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