Florida themed tank?

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powellmacaque

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Feb 16, 2005
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St. Petersburg, FL
I would really like to start a FL tank (specifically central florida) relatively soon. Could I use substrate from a surrounding lake? What about plants? Would it be wise to catch these fish, or should I visit a pond-stocking place? What size tank would I need for the following:

Bluegill/Bream
Blue-spotted Sunfish
Red Breasted Sunfish
Shiners
Mosquito/Molly group
Warmouth
Channel Cat (or another native cat)

Any other interesting fish? I want to keep this tank size relatively low (under 400 gallons?)
 
Channel Cat's get up to 50 lbs, with 20 lbs being quite normal. The bluegill and sunfish will eat the shiners and mosquitos/molly.

So forget about the channel cat. You can keep the bluegill, sunfish, and/or warmouth in a tank. These fish like to hang out in schools so the larger the tank you have the better. You could also go with shiners, killi's, or other small minnow species.

If you want to keep bluegill or sunfish get them from pond supplier. Wild caught ones often will not adapt to eating anything but live food. These fish like to hang out in group so go for a large tank for these (150+ gallons).

If you want to keep the smaller species a 20-55 gallon tank could work depending on quantity and species.
 
i was thinking pink flamingo's decorating scheme and was gonna ask where can i get some pink flamingo decorations for my aquarium LOL
 
powellmacaque said:
So if I did the larger fish, could I keep all three varieties?

How does 6 sunfish, 6 bluegill, 6 warmouth sound for 150 gallons?
Click to expand...

That's going to be cramped- all those fish can reach 12"+ and are territorial. I would pare it down to a total of 5-6 sunfish at maximum. All males would be best if you can manage it. You could also throw in one or two bullheads if you want a catfish; spotted bullies (Ameiurus serracanthus) are very handsome and more manageable in size than browns, yellows, or blacks.

Really though, if you want more Florida specialties, I suggest smaller fish. Those big sunnies live across much of the continent. A planted 150 stocked with native Florida killifish, shiners, darters, madtoms, shrimp, etc. would be a beautiful sight.

And of course be sure to check out http://forum.nanfa.org/- the best place for North American native fish info!
 
^ i agree, living in central florida iv had several florida tanks, and smaller is much more interesting. sailfin mollies (which live from full fresh to full salt), top minnows, and least killifish are my favorites
 
Now you guys have me thinking, haha.

I really like "panfish", and I think it'd be cool to see a tank with maybe a few warmouth or bluegill, but I do really like the idea of having the smaller fish.

I know I remember a guy who kept neons with an arrowana, no fatalities. Is there a way to keep the smaller Florida fish with a panfish?
 
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