Crappie, Rock Bass, or Other?

[archman]

They will eat flakes but they probably won't thrive on them. Throw in night crawlers, grubs, grasshoppers, mealworms, bloodworms, crayfish, guppies and other small fish if the rock bass is large enough and they will do fine. I would refrain from seining minnows for food just because they are such filthy little buggers and the tank will always need cleaning if you use them. Rock Bass are dirty enough by themselves.

Typically we keep the "sunfish" in the same tank as our mosquitofish, shiners and other little minnow-sized things. When the bigger fish get too big, we release them. If we got a rock bass, it would initially be a dinky thing 1-4 inches long caught in a diver's hand net. Unfortunately, we wouldn't know which species we'd caught until it got bigger! In the past, I've had some trouble getting texas cichlids and little sunfish to eat fish flakes. They stay near the bottom and don't have much appetite, even when offered brine shrimp, tubifex, sinking pellets, or thawed out shrimp or squid. They don't starve to death, but they don't grow very fast either.

I find this irritating, 'cuz if I have similar-sized pinfish, damsels, or virtually any functionally equivalent saltwater fish, they'll eat voraciously.

 

[WVDiver]

Typically we keep the "sunfish" in the same tank as our mosquitofish, shiners and other little minnow-sized things. When the bigger fish get too big, we release them. If we got a rock bass, it would initially be a dinky thing 1-4 inches long caught in a diver's hand net. Unfortunately, we wouldn't know which species we'd caught until it got bigger! In the past, I've had some trouble getting texas cichlids and little sunfish to eat fish flakes. They stay near the bottom and don't have much appetite, even when offered brine shrimp, tubifex, sinking pellets, or thawed out shrimp or squid. They don't starve to death, but they don't grow very fast either.

I find this irritating, 'cuz if I have similar-sized pinfish, damsels, or virtually any functionally equivalent saltwater fish, they'll eat voraciously.

Well I don't have much experience with keeping "game fish" in tanks so I don't have a quick fix for your appetite problem.

If it is a logistics thing and you are trying to get your fish to grow faster I would try keeping the tank at different water temps. (slightly cooler temps may help their appetites) and try to get a good current flowing through the whole tank (put your filter system on one end instead of the side), maybe introduce some vegetation and other natural structure like wood or pebbles instead of tank gravel.

Make sure the tank gets plenty of natural light or if you are using artificial light exclusively then put the light on a timer and try to mimic natural light patterns and maybe even try putting a curtain or backgorund picture around all sides of the tank so they are not bothered by everyday human activites and don't over crowd the tank.

Slightly cooler temps (1 or 2 degress) air stones and a good current will increase your D.O. levels and make your freshwater fish more active and maybe get them to eat better.

These are just suggestions, like I said, I have no real experience with growing fish fast. Keep in mind these guys are primarily insectivores/carnivores don't try to make vegetarians out of them. Keep trying new foods until you find what they like best. I bet nightcrawlers will be a big hit.

good luck and keep me posted.

 

[WVDiver]

Nah, all of the comments here were from post #19, in this case, what you and I are calling the bluegill. Although I'm glad to have someone with better experience support that ID. Bluegill suck.

They are Pomoxis not Lepomis. :06: Crappie not Bluegill. Lepomis are in the background of the lower pic in post #19. Just wasn't sure if this was what you were saying.

 

[archman]

They are Pomoxis not Lepomis. :06: Crappie not Bluegill. Lepomis are in the background of the lower pic in post #19. Just wasn't sure if this was what you were saying.

Bottom pic crappie; near classic profile. Always reminds me of soapfish.

Upper pic sunfish. There's only three anal spines on the upper pic fish. I also count 9-10 dorsal spines. Just looking at the photo, I'm far more inclined to call it a sunfish than a crappie. The spine counts support this. It shouldn't be a white crappie, anyway, which has far fewer dorsal's. I'm open to it being a different sort of Lepomis than L. macrochirus, but not a Pomoxis. I see little "generic" sunfish like this all the time in a spring I dive regularly... I don't know what they are. They are always quite small, so I assume they're juveniles of something more distinctive. The opercular flap is nothing to write home about on these things, and they may/may not have body bars. Just like Yoda's fishie.

 

[WVDiver]

Upper pic sunfish. There's only three anal spines on the upper pic fish. I also count 9-10 dorsal spines.

Taking a second glance you I would agree.

 

[archman]

Taking a second glance you I would agree.

If not a bluegill, what's your best guess? The fish I see that look like this tend to be about 6 inches long or less.

 

[WVDiver]

If not a bluegill, what's your best guess? The fish I see that look like this tend to be about 6 inches long or less.

I wouldn't rule out L. macrochirus but I hate trying to id with pics.

 

[SeaYoda]

I'm glad I brought this subject up - I thought it would be easier to ID these fish than it is. Thanks for letting an old biology major have fun "listening" to the ebb and flow.

 

[WVDiver]

I'm glad I brought this subject up - I thought it would be easier to ID these fish than it is. Thanks for letting an old biology major have fun "listening" to the ebb and flow.

Well, it is certainly a lot easier to id when you have the fish in your hand or at least can see it first hand. Lepomis can be hard to id, especially when they are small, even in the lab. I see a good percentage of hybrids in this genus, so I am always suspicious of them. But the more I look at this guy the more I want to call it L. macrochirus. Anyway, safe to say you will notice a lot more details of the fish you see in the future ......eh?

 

[SeaYoda]

Or I might try get them to pose better for the picture .