Any experience with Sunfish?

[jamesstill84]

Does anyone have any experience with sunfish? I got a juvenile Green Sunfish (Lepomis cyanellus). He's about 2" right now. He's eating dwarf shrimp at the moment. He's currently in a 20 gallon long (temporarily). I've read that they rarely get larger than 5", even in the wild.

Anything that I should watch out for?

 

[eveliens]

My green sunfish hit about 6-7". I never tried to keep any other fish with him because he was fairly big and aggressive. Mine ate everything under the sun and switched to dry food very easily. They are very cichlid-like IME.

 

[jamesstill84]

Yes, my wife keeps talking about how it looks like a Cichlid. I've read that they're not very desirable for fisherman because of their relatively small size. Their eyes are HUGE, lol. I read that they're sometimes called "Goggle-eyes"....hahaha.

 

[Blitzkrieger]

These things are very aggressive. They will eat anything that fits in its mouth.

 

[jamesstill84]

Yeah, that's what I've been hearing. Guess it'll be by it's lonesome. I read that they eat mostly bugs and inverts.

 

[jpappy789]

Most fish will get larger in aquariums than what they reach in the wild. I would not plan on it maxing out at 5"...

 

[jamesstill84]

Yeah, after eveliens replied, i realized it was going to get bigger than I thought. I'll have to find a bigger tank.

 

[jpappy789]

Well, I shouldn't say "most fish"...but a lot of the native fish tend to get larger in aquariums than the average catch.

 

[jm1212]

personally, i wouldnt rule out 6-8 inches, which calls for a bigger tank. this is besides the fact that coldwater native fish such as sunfish need a bigger tank for their size than the comparable tropical fish.

 

[aquanooby]

lol three hots and a cot lol and nothing chasing us we all get bigger