Could this Work?

[SilverArowanaBoi]

Hey y'all! So, I have an out-of-the-box idea for my main tank...I don't believe I've mentioned this yet, but my 10-gallon is currently empty (The fish that were in there died sadly), and here is where my idea comes in:

Near our house is a little nature center with a sizeable pond. There are a bunch of bream/sunfish in there (you can see them hanging out in the shallows). Most hangouts are around the 3-7 inch range. I was thinking about catching one (with a cast net or a method that doesn't harm the fish like hooks) and putting it in my 10-gallon for quarantine. After a few weeks of quarantine and "transition" to aquarium life, I want to introduce it into my main tank as the last fish for the tank.

Is this a feasible idea, or is my brain nuts? I know this may not be successful, and the caught fish may not survive, but I'm very tempted to try it. Would a bream or sunfish be too large for my tank, and/or would the risk be too great? I would appreciate any advice on the matter. Thank you in advance!

P.S. I have checked state laws, and as long as it's not a gamefish, I should be fine.

 

[dmyersWv]

Sounds like the fish will be to large for a ten gallon.

 

[rayoddballfish]

How big is this main tank and what's in it? I wouldn't advise introducing wild fish with existing captive breed fish as there are tons of microbes and parasites that are prob in the pond and you don't wanna get your existing fish sick. Plus sunfish can get quite big and are quite aggressive so I personally would only do it if you plan on having a native only tank.

 

[Matth05]

I personally wouldn’t do any of the commonly caught Lepomis in a 4ft tank. I think your main tank is the 55 right? Could be wrong on that lol.

6ft tank seems more optimal for something like a bluegill, green sunfish, etc. These fish have serious chonker potential

What I would consider for a 4ft tank and would love to keep myself one day is a Dollar sunfish. Much more reasonable max size (4-5 inches). That’s not taking into consideration the current stocking in that 55 though.

 

[SilverArowanaBoi]

Tank specs:

Size: 55 Gallon

Filtration/Equipment: Two Fluval HOBs, UV filter, and two Fluval heaters

Stock: 2 Discus, 2 Striped Raph Catfish, 1 Blue Phantom Pleco, 1 YoYo Loach, 1 Moonlight Gourami, and 2 Dwarf Amaras. In total, 9 fish.

 

[SilverArowanaBoi]

Sounds like the fish will be to large for a ten gallon.

It would be a quarantine tank, it would eventually go into the main tank after careful observation and appropriate treatment (If needed).

 

[jjohnwm]

Discus and Sunfish together? Awesome idea. Virtually identical requirements for water conditions and temperature; very similar behaviour, feeding, aggression levels. Dunno why I didn't think of it myself. Plus the relatively small tank size would ensure that the two species would be forced into very close proximity at all times, which would highlight how perfect they are as tankmates. It's a match made in Heaven.

Go for it!

 

[SilverArowanaBoi]

Discus and Sunfish together? Awesome idea. Virtually identical requirements for water conditions and temperature; very similar behaviour, feeding, aggression levels. Dunno why I didn't think of it myself. Plus the relatively small tank size would ensure that the two species would be forced into very close proximity at all times, which would highlight how perfect they are as tankmates. It's a match made in Heaven.

Go for it!

I was just asking about it, doesn’t mean I will do it. If the general consensus is no (which it seems to be) I will just get fish from the LFS as normal.

 

[Matth05]

Tank specs:

Size: 55 Gallon

Filtration/Equipment: Two Fluval HOBs, UV filter, and two Fluval heaters

Stock: 2 Discus, 2 Striped Raph Catfish, 1 Blue Phantom Pleco, 1 YoYo Loach, 1 Moonlight Gourami, and 2 Dwarf Amaras. In total, 9 fish.

Yea that doesn’t seem like it’d be a good fit. If you’ve seen a sunfish guard its bed, you can get a pretty good sense of how territorial they can be. And although I haven’t kept one (yet), from what I hear aggression is on par with the average CA cichlid.

 

[jjohnwm]

I was just asking about it, doesn’t mean I will do it. If the general consensus is no (which it seems to be) I will just get fish from the LFS as normal.

SilverArowanaBoi , here's the thing: we have watched that tank develop and morph through umpteen "final" configurations, in terms of both stocking and decor. I get that lots of folks just can't leave a tank alone and need to tweak and re-do and "improve", but you've gotta keep in mind that the closer you get to perfection, the more you have to lose by doing poorly-thought-out changes.

If your tank were a week old...with brand new fish...well, there's still a certain risk associated with new additions but you haven't got that much time and money and effort invested in the thing so the risk is easier to accept. But when the tank has been set up for months or years, every single little change must be carefully considered; you simply have too much to lose by doing something silly.

I'll be honest: when you got those discus I was expecting to read a tale of woe shortly afterwards. Sensitive fish...new tank...new-ish aquarist...not a promising combination. But that didn't happen, and the tank seemed to be running pretty smoothly and looking great.

So...you aren't at the point where you have years into the tank, but you already have a lot to lose if you screw up now. A sunfish...i.e. a temperate-zone fish that lives in relatively cool water...does not belong in a tank with discus. Full stop. The fact that it will likely be very aggressive adds another layer of wrong to this idea...as does the possibility of any number of pathogens and parasites and assorted nasties that usually accompany any wild-caught fish.

Don't follow the example of folks who blithely throw new fish, whether wild-caught or store-bought, into their established tanks without proper quarantine and treatment. Those people fall into one of two groups: those who suffer disastrous results when they do that...and those who haven't experienced the disaster yet. But...it will happen if that course of action becomes regular.

Notice that I said "proper" quarantine. You mentioned a few weeks of quarantine; that's better than nothing...but still nowhere near long enough to reveal all of the creepy-crawlies that are likely living in/on that sunfish. You also said that they ranged from 3 to 7 inches; even the smallest will be cramped in a 10-gallon quarantine tank for any length of time. Is the quarantine tank newly set up? Is it cycled? If yes...well, you already know there's something wrong with it if all the fish died in it. If not...why would you think that putting even a 3-inch fish into a raw new tank would work? Quarantine tanks are supposed to make fish healthier than they already are, not to make them sicker.

You have a nice-looking, healthy tank right now. You've put a lot of work into it. Maybe just sit back and enjoy it for a bit rather than getting caught up in more, more, more....?