Centrarchid info

I've seen quite a few posts on centrarchids (sunfishes), so I thought that I would put up some info on some of them. This is by no means a complete, end all care sheet, but you should be sucessful with the info.

Lepomis Machrochirus (bluegill, sunny, bream)
Common size is about 5-7" although they have the potential to grow to a very large size, I've personally handled an 16" specimen. At the onset of sexual maturation, growth slows, but still continues throughout the life of the fish.
Foods- Bluegills are not picky at all. I've used feeder guppies, pellets, flake, frozen bloodworms, frozen brine shrimp, algae pellets, earthworms, crickets, and whatever other creepy crawler thing you can find. They seem to need earthworms in their diet, they are usually more active and colorful after a full belly of worms.
Temperament- Kindof nippy, like to chase other fish. They can be territorial when in the breeding mood.
Breeding- the male is differentiated by his colorful throat. it is variable in color, sometimes orangish, sometimes red. The female shows the typical thickening and plumpness. Note that bluegills will breed fairly constantly, as long as the water temperature is high enough, theyll keep going. The male digs a pit, and guards the eggs, female chased of after breeding.
Bluegills like to hover in the open around cover, so a planted tank with a central viewing area would be appropriate. However, bluegills will pick fine leaved plants apart. I've had success with java fern, amazon swords, cryptocorn, valissneria and anubias.


Most of the other "sunfish" use about the same care, although sizes can be different.
Lepomis Megolotus-Longear sunfish, cherry bream-10" max-5" average
Lepomis Cyanellus- green sunfish- 12" max, usually 6-8", more agressive in my experrience
Lepomis auritus- redbreast sunfish- 12" max, usually smaller.
lepomis Gibossus- Pumkinseed-16"- usually 6-8" Not quite as agressive as others, but still a little pugnacious. Very pretty and hardy
Lepomis Gulosus-12" reported, I have handled specimens larger. Very large mouth, resembles the crappie somewhat. Highly piscivorous, but will eat a number of foods.
Lepomis Humilus- Orangespotted sunfish-6" But may occur larger. Purportedly the least aggresive of all sunfish. Likes crustaceans.
Lepomis marginatus- Dollar sunfish-5"- Fairly shy and retiring. For best results, maintain in heavily planted aquaria.
Lepomis Microlophus- redear sunfish-18" max, most normally 12". Largest of the commonly kept centrarchid sunfishes.
Lepomis miniatus- redspot sunfish- 8", may eventually get larger.
Lepomis Punctatus-spotted sunfish-12", usually half of that.
Lepomis symetricus-Bantam sunfish-4" Smallest kept usually.

I think that does it for the sunfish family, PM me if I missed anything or you have anything to add.

Micropterus salmoids- Largemouth bass.
Temperament, aggressive when breeding, but not usually as agressive otherwise. Will eat anything that can fit into their rather large mouths.
Max size- over 3' has been reported, most commonly up to about 24" but can change based on temperature, nutrition and tank/pond size. This is the largest in terms of bulk of all the commonly kept natives. Readily available to fisherman.
In the tank, they will eat feeder fish, pellets, dog food, crayfish, unwanted fish from breeding tanks, cheese, pieces of lunchmeat, and whatever else you can think of. A good idea is to gut load any feeders with vegetable matter, to get the proper nutrition to the fish.
They like cover, but will also sit out in the open. Breeding is a male digging a pit, female lay's eggs, male watches eggs. Males usually smaller.

I don't have any eperience with the other basses, so if someone could pitch in that would be helpful.

Acantharcus Pomotis-Mud sunfish. 9", max, usually about half that. A very shy and retiring, very primitive sunfish. The only member of the genus. easy to care for, although captive breeding is not very well established, as far as I know. Most prepared foods are accepted, although I have heard of specimens that will only eat frozen and live foods, but that may be due to their owners, and not the specimens. One of the smaller, less colorful specimens commonly kept.

Ambloplites- rock bass, ozark bass, Roanoke bass and shadow bass, different species but all with the same general care. Very predatory, mostly piscivorous, although will eat worms, larger insects, crayfish, tadpoles and the like. Just large meaty live foods. Can be trained to accept non living prepared or frozen foods. Males show parental care, guards eggs and fry. Fry are planktonivores, artemia naupli, cylcops and the like have been used, although aquarium spawnings of these fish are fairly rare, as they are pretty large.
A. Ariommus, the shadow bass likes to have plants or other cover, and plenty of it. Comes from pools of streams, so needs to have well oxygenated water. Some areas of the range are cool water drainages, so a chiller may be necessary depending on where you get your specimens from.
A. Cavifrons-Roanoke bass-14" roanoke bass-Likes clear cool water, may need a chiller. Likes to have some rockwork or driftwood. I've heard that they can be tough on plants, but don't have any specific experience with them due to their limited range.
A. Constellatus-ozark Bass, 11" The smallest of the rock basses, and the most fragile, definately needs a chiller.
A. Rupestris- Rock bass, 17" Largest and most common. Wil eat just about anything, may need a chiller based on your location, they can tolerate warmer water, but may not do well if you get them from a northern location.

Next will be Enneacathus!

Enneacanthus-4" very popular dwarf sunfishes, including E. chaetodon the blackbanded sunfish, E. Gloriosus the blue spotted sunfish, and E.opesus the banded sunfish. By far the most popular is the bluespotted sunfish, as it has some very stunning coloration, followed by the blackbanded and the fairly plain banded sunfish. Unlike the lepomis sunfishes, the enneacanthus group is fairly fragile. They require lots of vegetation, and shadows. They are a fairly retiring species, prefering to stay in the gloom, with little time spent out in the open. The lepomis group, however, likes to stay out in the open.
Feeding these little guys should start with live foods, such as worms, crickets and other bugs, brine shrimp, or baby guppies. They can be aclimated to froxen and prepared foods after they aclimate to captivity. They like moderately soft water, with a neutral to slightly acid pH.
Breeding is fairly typical for centrarchids, the male digs a nest, the female deposits eggs, and the male guards them.

centrarchus macropterus- the Flier, 12" Somewhat resembles a crappy, but stay's a little smaller. It is a fairly fragile sunfish, liking neutral, soft water. It's coloration and pattern are highly variable. It seems to be an insectivore primarily, but will also eat small fish and can be trained to take nonliving food. Likes vegetation, and limited current. Breeding is about the same, the male makes a nest and then guards the eggs. It needs to be kept with other small uncompetitive fish, such the members of the genus enneacanthus.

Anybody finding this info usefull? If not, I'll not continue, it's alot of typing. I plan on adding more to each species as appropriate, and to continue into all the other centrarchids. But, if nobody needs it, I won't do it. Maybe a nice write up on american eels.......

Ok, will continue then. I'll get to the crappie soon. Any other requests?

Family Pomoxis
P. Nigromaculatus- the black crappie. Max reported size is 20", although most specimens are considerably smaller, about 10" or so. They are a fairly deep bodied fish, and can take up alot of room in a tank. I have caught a few 18" crappie, and they were pretty massive.
This is a species that does like to school, although it does not require a school. Young fish tend to eat insects, crustaceans, and plankton, although as they get larger they do start to eat fish. Cannot be trusted with smaller fish, they have a huge mouth. I caught one once that had the tail of a Lepomis species sticking out of it's gullet. For aquarium fare, they can be trained to take nonliving foods, although crickets, worms or feeder fish are taken with great relish.
A tank for crappie should be pretty deep, and have some plants or driftwood for cover. This species is notorious for stacking up around cover, so an aquarium specimen will feel most at home if it's available. They are not an overly active fish, more of an ambush predator.
Given the size of this fish, I'm not sure if anybody would try to breed them in a home aquarium. If you wanna have a go, feed em well, chill em down, and then bring up the temperature slowly. This should simulate spring, and should trigger spawning. They will eat their own fry.

P. Annularis, 22" max size, most considerably smaller. All the above applies to this fish as well, the only real difference is their coloring.