King of The Stream

MTRX

Small Fish
Jan 19, 2013
35
0
0
Austin Texas
facebook.com
#3
I've always loved watching the mollies play this. Sometimes they get a little rowdy though, and i gotta go in there, and break it up. It's one of the reasons i mount my filters on the side for high current mode. The fish act differently when there's current to play in, and my gravel stays cleaner. 8D
 

exhumed07

Superstar Fish
Apr 30, 2006
1,774
0
36
Illinois
#4
I've seen my cichlids fight for half an hour or longer for territory disputes. i have 2 "kings" of the tank and they get into it alot. never really noticed that with tropicals. usually it's pretty quick. chase eachother for 15 seconds and they are done lol.
 

MTRX

Small Fish
Jan 19, 2013
35
0
0
Austin Texas
facebook.com
#5
you still got that blue gill in the pic?? how long do they live?? that one is pretty as hell. I got a few sunfish myself. striped blue gill, long eared sunfish, some muts, and a warmouth sunfish, who's turning a beautiful gold. They fight a lot though. they're all kinda small, but they're starting to outgrow that 30GALLON TALL. 8(
 

exhumed07

Superstar Fish
Apr 30, 2006
1,774
0
36
Illinois
#6
I have a green sunfish in my 30 gallon tank. that one in the pic i picked up on my fly rod in a local lake. it's a pumpkinseed sunfish in it's full spawning colors. I've thought about getting rid of my greenie and putting a few of the pumpkinseeds in the 30. i might use my greenie as flathead bait later this summer lol. he is still a bit small for bait but he may still get me a decent fish.
 

MTRX

Small Fish
Jan 19, 2013
35
0
0
Austin Texas
facebook.com
#7
LOL!!!! I'd be to attached to use a fish for bait. I got all those types, but I gotta go release a few. gonna release a couple of stripers, and a couple of muts. I wish I could get one of those pumpkinseeds that's an amazing fish. you got picks of the green?? If you know how to ship fish let me know if you wanna sell me a couple of pumpkin seeds. I can't catch em down here in South Texas. 8P But my stripes are still gorgeous, they actually have a purple sheen to them, it's crazy. What do you feed yours?? I've been feeding mine nothing but tropical grainuals. They're getting big, but not to big, a little smaller than that pumpkinseed in your picture. They were tiny tiny when I got them, and now i can't tell them apart from some of the newer ones, waiting for their colors to kick in, so i can tell them apart from the muts. Sometimes they get purple, and get very pronounced vertical stripes. They're pretty territorial. I got about 8 in a 30TALL, and I know that's to much, I gotta move out some of these big boys before the rest get to big for the 2GALLONS per inch rule. 8(
I really dig these fish, they're very smart compared to others, and act like little dogs. They watch me a lot, and react to me very often. They recognize the food container already, so when they see the big jug, they get all excited. If they get into big fights, I'll break it up with a drum stick, or a chop stick, they've learned to recognize the fish b good stick, and don't get into bad fights anymore where they get injured, cuz they see the drumstick, and quit beating on the other fish, and go back to staring at me, or go to their corners. Probably plotting on me. I know the only thing that keeps them from eating me is my size. >8P
I'd like to see more posts of your sunfish sometime, if you got pics. ;)
 

exhumed07

Superstar Fish
Apr 30, 2006
1,774
0
36
Illinois
#8
I don't ship fish. i do have a pic of my green sunfish on my phone i'll upload later. he is about as big as my hand now and is by himself in a 30 gallon. and I feed him large koi formula floating pellets.
 

exhumed07

Superstar Fish
Apr 30, 2006
1,774
0
36
Illinois
#11
OC is right, but check with the local DNR agents to make sure. i've been told i am allowed to use my tropicals as bait so long as they cannot survive the winters here and the cold water fish i have to give a mortal wound or use them as dead bait. like the goldfish if i'm fishing for flatheads i run the hook through the eyes, 1 it's harder to get off the hook, 2 it's prevents the fish from being able to see if it does get off the hook and prevents it from surviving. if i'm fishing for channel cats i usually cut open the belly. and as for things like sunfish and legal size bass or walleyes i can release them. that was told to me in person by the local DNR when i had them over at my house for a cook out. so i would say check with them first before trying to release something into the wild.
 

MTRX

Small Fish
Jan 19, 2013
35
0
0
Austin Texas
facebook.com
#12
Release them back into the water from which they came. You can't buy sunfish from the petstores around here, so you if you own one, it's only cuz you caught it. Or you managed to talk someone into shipping you some pumpkinseeds. >;)
So far my creek has become home to all varieties of sunfish, large mouth bass, shad, gambusias, some kinda striped bass(possibly a mut), and crawdads plus red ear sliders. I've been fishing in this creek for over 30YEARS. no joke, sometimes I think I'm the only who knows about it, but every now and then I'll see a kid out there, and ask them if they caught anything, no new species have been introduced into my creek as far as i know. Generally what ever I release into my creek came from my creek. except for stuff that gets in the fish water when I take stuff back like duckweed or little pieces of hornwort which never survive for some reason. I think there's to much algae on the bottom to let any other plant survive. Any how, thanks for policing, but no all my sunfish came from the same creek i plan to put them back into.

That's a very nice sunfish btw, he looks like my bluegills with the stripes, and purple sheen, but mine are not green at all. They're mostly silver, and lack the dot on the anal fin. Yours also has some turquoise lines on his face that kinda reminds me of my long eared sunfish. I found it pretty interesting that the sunfish can interbreed so well like the livebearers, you eventually come out with some really nice mixes, and they appear to be unique according to region. very neat fish.
 

exhumed07

Superstar Fish
Apr 30, 2006
1,774
0
36
Illinois
#14
it's not so much the invasive species we see. it's the parasites and othe problem causing microbes that can be introduced into the system. the aquarium trade is full of different illnesses that are not native to the usa. thats one of the other concerns included with the traditional invasive species.

and as for the fish looking similar and regions affecting color, none is more true then the walleye. we catch them here in the midwest and they are really green. catch them in lake erie and they are realy golden, catch them in some lakes in canada and they are blue. and i'm big into flathead fishing and i've caught them from nearly black to brown to nearly a neon green color from the same wingdam.
 

MTRX

Small Fish
Jan 19, 2013
35
0
0
Austin Texas
facebook.com
#15
whatever. it's a 40FOOT watering hole that will soon be gone. both my brother and had been doing this kind if catching for decades. not years decades. i know handful of other people who do it too, but nobody releases foriegn species in the water. the area is actually well policed too. they always come by to make sure nobody fell in or there sin't kids out there smoking pot. ive bern going there this year and catologuing all the species in the area, because they're tearing it down. it was originally created or should i say unmolested as a drainage ditch for the city. nobody cares about the ditch, and nobody even knows it supports life except for the few fishers who go there to catch and release. The city or town rather dumps chemicals, sewage, and tons of garbage in there. They're tearing it all down to build a veterans park and housing. What nobody knows is that the area was home to 2 endangered species 20 YEARS ago: The Texas tortoise, and horny toad. nobody knows the hole supported life because of the toxicicity of the sewage pipes that drain into it. As far as illegal goes, some will start giving a crappie before the polution long before the fish. If I can find atleast one endangered fish, reptile, mammal, or avian who calls this dump home, I can put in the motion to have the land preserved, and cleaned up, because in a few years according to schedule there will be no creek left. It is being removed and converted from a city dump into housing. If there were any laws pertinant to that land they haven't been acknowledged by the city since it was founded. Maybe one day I'll find what I'm looking for, and then we can instill some laws on it. Untill I don't really care and niether does the county. As far as they're concerned it's an isolated region only worth it's potential as commercial ground. As for me I'm the only ine nurturing it. This year almost the entire gambusia population disappeared, which guess what?? It's a foreign species, and the city dumped em in there to take care if the mosquito population. pretty hypocritical huh?? I captured a few specimens, bread them like crazy, and helped keep the population going, becayse theyre amazing durable little fish, and provide a service. You can preach to me about water laws all day, but just know it's A) an unregulated city dump, and as of right now B) I'm The only one trying to keep it alive. C) The only way this land will survive a few more years is if I find a species worth preserving. D) It's still labled as private property with tresspassing signs, but the owner removed them when he found out people were using it to have fun. If anyone tried to go in there, and tell him what to do with his own land, especially the city he could terminate the city lease for dumping rights, close it off to the public, and grab his shotgun, and tell everyone to get off. -And as far I know there are no laws that prohibit us from catching and releasing in your own back yard, because nobody can tell you what you can and can't put in your own water. Hence the only way I'll have a fighting chance at saving this forest is to prove something endangered lives there. You're right about only one thing it's Texas. -And here it's still legal to murder somebody for pissing on your lawn. I'm not gonna tell him what to do, and niether will anyone else. I'm just glad he knows I been fishing there for 30YEARS, and let's the public enjoy it. If I find a species worth saving we can buy the land, and turn it into a preserve. Until then, no fishing laws apply there.
 

Feb 27, 2009
4,395
0
36
#16
-And as far I know there are no laws that prohibit us from catching and releasing in your own back yard, because nobody can tell you what you can and can't put in your own water.
Incorrect. You should learn the laws if you are going to post things like this on a forum.

MTRX - no one can prevent you from doing whatever illegal acts you plan to do. As this is a forum that those new to fishkeeping come to, it is a disservice to explain what illegal acts you will do or have done without some disclaimer.
Done.
 

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