35g tank native new jersey fish

[drewish]

http://jonahsaquarium.com/
http://www.aquaculturestore.com/fwverts.html

There are a few sellers without websites around and sometimes sell on http://aquabid.com

Collecting is far cheaper than buying, but buying is far easier than collecting in some cases. Stick to the smaller species and you'll be fine.

If you decide to purchase, check out Florida Flagfish, Golden topminnows, Least Killifish, and Bluefin Killifish. Many others depending on what your goal is. I haven't even mentioned a lot of cyprinids and darter species.

 

[MHcblues119]

what about 2-3 rock bass then like 2-3 bluegill would that be okay

 

[Danyal]

no way in hell, you'll end up w/ aggression problems once they reach any respectable size. pick one main fish for the tank, like a bluespotted sunfish and then get a school of "dither" fish that will look nice and are very small(like some minnows) but you won't mind loosing as an occasional snack to the sunfish. if you can figure out a way to make sure that you absolutly cannot pass any forgien pathogens to the wild population then you might get away w/ keeping a very small specimien(like a baby bass) until it outgrows your tank, then releasing it and catching another one.

 

[drewish]

negative.... don't ever plan on releasing a fish.

a bluespotted sunfish won't eat any other fish besides fry and maybe small heterandria formosa. I currently have 8 enneacanthus species with a couple of florida flagfish (temp assignment) in a 29G and it is plenty of room. I have bundles of java moss for when they want to hide and a few grass-like plants.

like skipjack said, steer away from all game fish, and you will be fine.

 

[MHcblues119]

okay so maybe ill just go catch 5-7 small bluegills then ill try to get some minnows or maybe ill catch a small bass and use the tank as an outgrow then i will release him into my pond which is going to come in the summer

 

[teleost]

okay so maybe ill just go catch 5-7 small bluegills then ill try to get some minnows or maybe ill catch a small bass and use the tank as an outgrow then i will release him into my pond which is going to come in the summer

Please don't release the fish even if into a private pond. You never really know what the fish "picked up" inside your tanks and might spread into the natural waters of your area. Why not just do as suggested above and find SMALL sunfish (not bluegill or bass) and keep them for life?

The environmental impact of release is the most serious threat we face these days. Have you heard of viral hemorrhagic septicemia (VHS)? This was a viral release probably from a commercial vessel but all the same a release. The threat of this spreading has now changed everything associated with Native fish. Please don't ruin our hobby by releasing aquarium kept fish in any water.

You have many options for fish that will live for life in your tank. I'm begging you to consider them.

 

[sandtiger]

I agree with teleost. There is no need to get a fish that will outgrow your tank when there are plenty that won't.

 

[MHcblues119]

well i actually am going to catch 4-5 small sunfish and keep them and then get a dozen or so fathead minnows

 

[teleost]

well i actually am going to catch 4-5 small sunfish and keep them and then get a dozen or so fathead minnows

I'm sorry I should have said "fish that remain small as adults". I just said small which means something different. You have Enneacanthus in your area (check the state law before you just start taking fish from the wild) but I do know you can buy them online. Some people might have excess fish to send off your way if you ask.

I fear if you just start getting small sunfish from the wild, you'll wind up with fish that get mean or large and mean as adults.

 

[sandtiger]

There are so many smaller sunfish that would work great in a...what was it? 35g tank? Most of them are very attractive and behave just like their larger counterparts. I suggest you look into them rather then just toss a few bluegill into your aquarium. Just look at these photos of some of the smaller sunfish...

Longear

Photo from www.gwsphotos.org

Bluespotted

Photo from www.umes.edu

Blackbanded

Photo from www.flmnh.ufl.edu

Dollar Sunfish

Photo from www.gwsphotos.com/

And that's only some of the many smaller centrarchids. There are also bantams, spotted sunfish, banded etc. If you cannot find them locally there are places online that have them in stock.