saminator0107

Yeah just did some research on columnaria, and i dont think thats it either. No other fish have any symptoms. I have an extra 30 gallon i can set up for the time being, which is probably what ill end up doing. Worse case scenario i can get a big plastic tote to use. Im going to go to my LFS tommrow when they open up to grab some meds. I think he may have gotten sick from a feeder fish. Thats the only thing that has really "changed" as far as anything goes really. Im considering stopping giving them feeder fish. They dont need the feeders i just give it to them as a treat every now and then. And its also cool watching them hunt as you domt get to see that when these fish are in ponds, lakes, etc.

I currently have my 75 set up as a native fish tank, with some different species of sunfish. They are a LOT like keeping cichlids behavior wise. Just dont get too many because they are very territorial. They also have some AWESOME looking colors depending on which species you get. I have 4 Warmouth sunfish in mine, which almost look like mini largemouth bass, and have the biggest mouths out of all the freshwater sunfish. They are dirty fish, similar to goldfish, so have a good filtration system. Also the hardest part is getting ahold of whatever species of sunfish you want, that is if it isnt native to you. I can put you in contact with a guy i know that breeds warmouth. I ended up catching mine in a local lake, but its up to you. Another hard thing, especially if wild caught, is getting them to eat. Mine started eating after about 3 days of adjusting to the "aquarium life". Feeder fish work well, as that is a natural forage. Rosy reds or comet goldfish work well. Night crawlers are also good, but you might have to cut them up if the fish cant eat one whole. I ended up getting warmouth due to the fact they have bigger mouths so the option for food was a bit more broad. Bluegill have smaller mouths so options are a little more limited, might have to cut the worms up for bluegill. Also another option is frozen crawfish. Thats what i use. They sell it at my local walmart in the frozen seafood section. Its 7 bucks for a "frozen slab" of it. I have a mini fridge in the "fish room" that i keep it in. If you need to defrost it faster you can keep it in a plastic container and nuke it in the microwave for about a minute. It lasts a good while, but i usually get 4 or 5 packs of it to stock up for a while. My warmouth go INSANE for the frozen crawfish, its like crack for them. Only bad thing is that it can dirty the water up a bit, so water changes are essential, but they are dirty fish so you should be keeping on top of it regardless. I have two HOB filters each rated for 90 gallon tanks, which is overkill but it works very well. Also a lot of people dont mention this about sunfish, but they have very cool personalities! Mine beg for food, i say they are "freshwater dogs" because thats exactly what they act like. After they get used to you, they WILL beg you for food. I can always tell when mine are hungry. They are always happy to see me as well. I actually have them next to a tv in the room. If you sit in the room and watch tv, they also watch tv with you!! Its like they understand whats going on. They are also very smart fish, and are VERY aware of their surroundings. They notice me when i just pass by the room while walking in the hall. EDIT: Forgot to mention. If you go the sunfish route, make sure have caution when adding any live plants if the fish are at adult size. They will sometimes eat plants as a snack. You CAN add live plants, but make sure the plant is big enough to where if they do take a bite or two the plant can still be fine. If you decide to put some plants, id only put in a few and see if they fish mess with them. If the fish havent messed with them after about a month or so, then you should be okay. I had plants in my 75, until i didnt. The plant got pretty big and one day the fish decided it was in their way so they tore it up and ate 80% of it. I ended up giving up on plants and just added plenty of hardscape. Frogbit worked well for me, but they still do snack on it. It replicates so fast that they dont really make a dent in it though. These fish are ambush predators, they will appreciate some hidey holes.

Okay, as i have never done that before im assuming i should do it in a bucket or something? Ill look into getting some tommrow from my LFS. Also im not too familiar with columnaris, if it does turn out to be that is it deadly and can it spread to the other fish?

Hello, this is one of my warmouth sunfish. He is in a native aquarium with some other similar native fish as him. He has had some weird coloration on his tail these past 3 weeks or so. I first noticed it was on his tail but now has very slowly spread to part of his body. It doesnt seem to effect his swimming, attitude, or appetite, he seems normal behavior wise. All other fish are perfectly normal with no "white" on them. Aggression is minimal, no fighting or anything like that. Obviously there is a tad every now and then as these fish are very similar to keeping cichlids, just terrortorial based. No fin nipping, biting, etc, just the occasional "get out of my area" chase. Water parameters are what they always have been. No ammonia, nitrates are minimal, ph is generally around 7, etc. Nothing abnormal. This fish has been in the tank for nearly 8 months, along with his other friends. I will sometimes feed live minnows, but not too often, maybe once a month or two. It looks like he may have "shed" his scales. Not sure why. I have waited to see if it will go away on its own and so far nothing yet, although it does look a bit better than a few days ago. I tried to get better pictures than this, but his tank mates love to photo bomb 🙂

Thanks for the help. I havent noticed any bad aggression, just their typical "african cichlid" behavior, after all, sunfish are called "The north american cichlid" for a reason. I will keep an eye on it and if it gets worse i have another tank some of them can go in if need be.

Hello all! I have a 75G native planted tank. I see 2 of my native sunfish have something on their fins. They dont seem to be bothered by it, and are acting, eating and swimming as usual. I have kept an eye on it for the past few days and it hasnt spread to other fish or caused them any issues. It looks like its possibly a fin fracture to me, according to my research. Water parameters are totally normal and "within spec". Nothing out of wack and are always what it has been. Im thinking they might have ran into a rock or a piece of wood in the tank. After all, these guys behave a LOT like african cichlids, and sometimes will "assert dominance" over one another. I have NEVER observed them fight or pick on one another severely. They will sometimes "run off" another fish if they get into their "territory" but no fighting or fin nipping etc. PS: Sorry for the crappy pics, they ALL want to be up front and center, they all want attention 24/7 like little puppies 😝

I have not removed the heater, and no there is not tingle from the water. Ottos have been eating fine, nothing out of the ordinary. Only reason i have the heater is for the shrimp and the ottos, because the room stays at about 68 F. Ive heard its better for the shrimp to have it around 75.

Not a tank thermometer, but i used one of the food thermometers that you use for meat, and it read 75. Unfortunately i woke up to another dead otto today. Not sure whats going on

Yeah it has a light when it comes on. Just never noticed it glow before, but then again you can only see that when the lights are off, and obviously i dont really look at it when the lights are off.

Hey all! So, long story short i saw my heater glowing red in my 15 gal. Earlier today my gf found 2 dead fish in the tank. Water parameters are fine, 0 Nitrate/Nitrite, PH 7.4, Ammonia is 0. Temp is set at 75. I HAD 6 medaka, 3 ottos and 5 ghost shrimp. 1 medaka died and an otto died. We also cannot find another medaka, i believe the shrimp got to it. We put the ottos in last week to help with algae. The tank has been going for nearly 3 months, so its been cycled. Im thinking the heater had something to do with it. Or maybe one of the ottos were sick and somehow it got the other fish sick? Its a 15G bowfront, so its not overstocked. Ive never run into this situation before. Im concered i will wake up tommrow with more dead fish. The other fish seem to be acting as they always have, nothing weird. I got the ottos from my trusted LFS where i get almost all my fish. We put the ottos in 6 days ago.

Looks amazing

Yes. free is awesome especially for a big tank. Also ive never bred shrimp but seems eaiser to keep the population under control.

Both are beautiful tanks guys, well done!! Makes my 75 look like a turd! LOL!

Sweet, ill keep that in mind. Didnt even think about using a powerhead until now.

Nice method you got there, and thanks for the info. Only thing id need is a basement, lol. Thats similar to the setup i was thinking of doing.