It would be nice to have a few of those in the living room. Just sit on the couch with your pole and catch fish all day!!!! But could you imagine 2 or 3 of those in a 55?
Bluegill
- Thread starter cbster
- Start date
as far as size goes....
A couple buddies and myself went fishing last year to a little pond we have had our eye on now for some time the farmer who owns it told us it was ok any time we wanted to go he said the pond was stocked about 15 years ago and no one but him and his waife have ever fished in it. Well I have done a couple welding jobs for him and he said I and a couple friends could fish it. Well we cought a couple bass and a couple shovel head and even a very respectable grass carp 4 feet long wich we released of course but we were most impressed with the size and visciousness of the blue gill it like fishing for pirana lol. We cought a number of 12 inch blue gill and even one 15 incher wich he wanted to keep for breeding stock. We were all very happy with the bluegill and released the others. All of the bluegill we caught were in the pound were about 1 pound to almost 2 pounds and as big around almost as frisbee's. we took home a total of 20 fish between the three of us and I kept one extra because I was the one who found it ...
~Quad~
A couple buddies and myself went fishing last year to a little pond we have had our eye on now for some time the farmer who owns it told us it was ok any time we wanted to go he said the pond was stocked about 15 years ago and no one but him and his waife have ever fished in it. Well I have done a couple welding jobs for him and he said I and a couple friends could fish it. Well we cought a couple bass and a couple shovel head and even a very respectable grass carp 4 feet long wich we released of course but we were most impressed with the size and visciousness of the blue gill it like fishing for pirana lol. We cought a number of 12 inch blue gill and even one 15 incher wich he wanted to keep for breeding stock. We were all very happy with the bluegill and released the others. All of the bluegill we caught were in the pound were about 1 pound to almost 2 pounds and as big around almost as frisbee's. we took home a total of 20 fish between the three of us and I kept one extra because I was the one who found it ...
~Quad~
Corax said:
I'm going to agree here, where I live there is a power plant, and a few business that dump warm / hot water in to a small lake. I have cought many a bluegill outa there when the water temp is hovering at 90 degrees or warmer. This generly happens when the weather is hot and dry.
Temp does not affect bluegills. The lower it gets the less active they are (there is a point where they go dormant, or more like hibernation) the higher the more active they get (and messy). And you don't want to keep to males together in a small space. That is asking for trouble, they will eventually start to fight. And without anywhere to go one will get killed by the other. One male and one female can be kept comfortably in a 55g tank. Anything smaller will cause buildup of waste as the fish grow. And the fish will grow; the comment on the mature fish being at 4 inches is false. You either mistaken a green sunfish for a bluegill or it was just a juvenile. Bluegill will grow to their average size of 6 to 7 inches in about 4 years (less if you feed it more). How healthy the fish is when it gets there depends on how much you feed it. They will eat just about anything, from fish flakes (not recommended) to dog food to worms and bugs.
Fish flakes generally should not be used on a bluegill that is bigger than 3 inches. Unless you feed it a lot, it won’t get enough to eat (and feeding to much can fowl water quickly). Things like pellet foods will do better, or just go outside and through in crickets and grasshoppers (fun to watch them eat). Do not mistake young bluegill for green sunfish. They are smaller and generally do not grow longer than 4 inches (although some have been found that were 10 inches long).
Fish flakes generally should not be used on a bluegill that is bigger than 3 inches. Unless you feed it a lot, it won’t get enough to eat (and feeding to much can fowl water quickly). Things like pellet foods will do better, or just go outside and through in crickets and grasshoppers (fun to watch them eat). Do not mistake young bluegill for green sunfish. They are smaller and generally do not grow longer than 4 inches (although some have been found that were 10 inches long).
Hey, new here, but definitely not new to fish...what I am new to, however, is keeping bluegills indoors. And I'm interested in learning how. See, I currently have a gorgeous little fish pond--8 ft wide, 12 ft long, and 3 ft deep, complete with pond plants and waterfall--that is stocked with 6 goldfish: 2 large Sarasa comets that I bought as tiny feeder fish (now 8+ inches long), a large Calico fantail (about 4" long), a massive scarlet fantail as big as the comets, and two quite small white fantails. Here's a picture of the pond:
What I also have in the pond (besides frogs and whatnot) is a large bluegill (around 7 inches long) that I caught and brought in early this spring to help keep the goldfish fry and insect larvae populations in check. The bluegill--Jessie--does her job well, too. She's also very intelligent, and has become about as much a pet to me already as any cat or dog. The problem is that, in previous years, I have never been able to successfully overwinter a bluegill in the pond the way I do with my goldfish. Apparently the pump I keep flowing to maintain a hole in the ice and keep the pond aerated isn't enough. But I desperately want to keep my Jessie alive, so I've been considering overwintering her indoors. Here's my setup:
It's a cycled 55 gallon (long) aquarium with fluorescent, full-spectrum lighting, powerful filtration, and sand substrate. There are currently tropical fish in residence, but they can be moved. Would this setup be okay? What should I feed Jessie? Does she have other requirements I should know about? Any other suggestions?
Thanks!!!
What I also have in the pond (besides frogs and whatnot) is a large bluegill (around 7 inches long) that I caught and brought in early this spring to help keep the goldfish fry and insect larvae populations in check. The bluegill--Jessie--does her job well, too. She's also very intelligent, and has become about as much a pet to me already as any cat or dog. The problem is that, in previous years, I have never been able to successfully overwinter a bluegill in the pond the way I do with my goldfish. Apparently the pump I keep flowing to maintain a hole in the ice and keep the pond aerated isn't enough. But I desperately want to keep my Jessie alive, so I've been considering overwintering her indoors. Here's my setup:
It's a cycled 55 gallon (long) aquarium with fluorescent, full-spectrum lighting, powerful filtration, and sand substrate. There are currently tropical fish in residence, but they can be moved. Would this setup be okay? What should I feed Jessie? Does she have other requirements I should know about? Any other suggestions?
Thanks!!!
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A buddy of mine raised 2 Lg Mouth Bass! in a 55 from 5 inches up to 14in long, he also had a 6 inch crappie in there, even then he had to get rid of them, they didn't die, this was over the course of 2 1/2 years, so one or two blugill in a 55 would work, unless like others said 2 males is not a good idea.
I think Jessie would be fine in there for the winter, just not as happy as in your cool pond, that thing looks great!!
I think Jessie would be fine in there for the winter, just not as happy as in your cool pond, that thing looks great!!
I have had a 4" bluegill and a 6" Green sunfish hybrid in a 75gallon for a couple of months. The Green will jump out of the tank and grab pellets out of my hand.
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