Banded pigmy sunfish (Elassoma Zonatum) journal

[Mississippi fish guy]

I’m starting this journal earlier than I had planned since I caught a pigmy sunfish unexpectedly. Currently I have it in what I think is a 2.5 gallon cube but I will be moving it to a 5 gallon if there is no cherry barb fry on Saturday. Once the guppy fry in my 10 gallon are large enough to get rid of I will begin to set that tank up for more pigmy sunfish. Also I’m pretty sure that it is a male since it is a very dark brown and I think the males are darker than the females but I will have to do more research on that when I begin to stock the 10 gallon. 

[Guppysnail]

Time for you to get busy and catch that stunning hunk a girlfriend! 

[Mississippi fish guy]

After some research I found that the pigmy sunfish I caught is actually a female since the fins are clear and the males have dark fins.

also I added some plants from a pond on Saturday and added the sunfish to my 5 gallon breeding tank on Sunday. This is where I will keep any other pigmy sunfish I catch until the 10 gallon is set up,

also if anyone knows what kind of plant this is please tell me.

[Mississippi fish guy]

So I have ran into a problem with collecting pigmy sunfish, I can’t legally use a net to catch them. I’m currently looking for hooks that are small enough but I’m not confident that I will find any.

[ArthurLK11]

On 9/13/2024 at 2:02 PM, Mississippi fish guy said:

So I have ran into a problem with collecting pigmy sunfish, I can’t legally use a net to catch them. I’m currently looking for hooks that are small enough but I’m not confident that I will find any.

These are the smallest hooks in the world. You should have no problem hooking some pygmy sunfish on them. That is assuming you can find them and get them to bite. It's easier to catch them in a net than on hook and line. 

[Mississippi fish guy]

On 9/16/2024 at 6:42 AM, ArthurLK11 said:

These are the smallest hooks in the world

Thanks, I will be looking into those.