# 29g Native Tank!



## iheartfish:) (Jan 19, 2011)

I am so excited!!! On saturday, my mom gave me a surprise... A 29 gallon tank!! It's so amazing! 

So, for a very long time (years) we have been talking about how cool it would be to have a native tank with sunfish, and she wanted a ten gallon. "No!" I told her, "Definitely not in a ten!"

So she got me this 29 gallon! On one condition, of course; it is too be designated a native tank. 

Absolutely NO PROBLEM with that!!! 

So perhaps I can make this thread a sort of journal..? ;-)



Okay, here we go... 

I got it Sunday (Because we couldn't find a good one Saturday) from our LFS. On Saturday, we had looked at the chain pet stores but they charged so much! We found one at our LFS with a solid black wood stand and hood for 120. Is that good? I hope soooo 

She had gone on an ice-fishing trip to Door County WI on friday, and had brought back a sculpin. I was unaware of this.

So I set up the tank after rinsing it well, wiping down the stand and everything. I put the gravel in (natural color pea pebbles) and water (from the tap, so it was ice cold, with conditioner). She goes to our neighbor's and comes back with a sculpin!!! It was living in the fridge  

Since it lived in Lake Michigan (cold, iced over), then in the fridge (cold), I put it straight in the tank (cold!) so it could adjust to the temp. as the tank warmed up. There will be no heater on it, as it will be native. Same temp inside as outside!

Within five minutes he was cozy as clam! Wow! I will leave him in there alone to cycle the tank. Oh, did I mention I have an Aqueon Quiet-Flow 55-75 on there? Oh, yeah! 400 gallons an hour!    That should be enough for those lake fish...

Lol, so now he is living buried in the gravel with his head sticking up. He is sooo cute!

I am planning on doing a tiny bluegill (coming from a stunted lake... maybe a little more humane if it's already stunted?...) and MAYBE a tiny pumpkinseed...

Plus a few top-minnows or something. Oh! And a wild apple snail! I think it's an apple snail... I definitely need to make sure before actually getting one... >.< Don't want tons of wild snail babies!

I know it is legal to collect everything I want. I made sure. I know that gobies are illegal as they are invasive. We will call my sculpin a sculpin! 

And, yes, I understand that sunfish in a 29 gallon... Not the best idea. If worst comes to worst, only one sunfish! TINY sunfish! Yes, they grow... 

And a rock formation on one side, clump of plants on the other! I cannot wait!


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## Kimberly (Jan 22, 2012)

Sounds like you have everything planned out!

Just wondering, do you live in Wisconsin, cuz I live in central Wisconsin.


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## iheartfish:) (Jan 19, 2011)

No, I'm in Illinois.


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## Fishpunk (Apr 18, 2011)

That tank seems rather small for sunfish.


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## iheartfish:) (Jan 19, 2011)

Yeah, I know. Two of them, max. I promise


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## funlad3 (Oct 9, 2010)

I did two bluegills in a 10 gallon when I was seven. Those things are MEAN!!! I've seen all sorts of cichlids fight, but the gills were relentless. I wouldn't even try more than one, because the other will get ripped up. Very cool idea though, we have some pretty cool fauna here!


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## Fuzz (Jan 27, 2012)

iheartfish:) said:


> No, I'm in Illinois.


Northern IL? I'm in the Rockford area


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## toddnbecka (Jun 30, 2006)

The only sunfish suitable for a 29 are the dwarf or pygmy species from down south. They need heavily planted tanks and live food, but will spawn and raise fry in the tank. Bluegills or pumpkinseeds will outgrow the tank in a matter of months. 
In any case, use some filter media from the 10 to seed the 29.


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## iheartfish:) (Jan 19, 2011)

Toddnbecka: I poured about a quart of water from the ten into it in hopes that it would work. Water carries the same bacteria, except less of them, right?
Fuzz: Chicago, but its pretty close to Rockford...
Funlad: I plan to have a heavily planted corner for (fingers crossed) any bullied fish to hide in. Also, a pile of rocks in the other corner. I agree, we really do have lots of cool fauna. The flora... Eh.  We also have lots of invasive species.


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## Fishpunk (Apr 18, 2011)

Pigmy sunfish is what I was thinking for you. they are cool little fish. Actually, I would love to have bluegills or other sunfish but they are restricted species in Arizona. You need a license to keep them and "pet" is not sufficient reason for Game and Fish to grant one.


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## toddnbecka (Jun 30, 2006)

iheartfish:) said:


> Toddnbecka: I poured about a quart of water from the ten into it in hopes that it would work. Water carries the same bacteria, except less of them, right?


Water doesn't carry the bacteria, at least not in any significant amount. It grow on just about every sufrace in the tank, but is most dense in the filter media.


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## iheartfish:) (Jan 19, 2011)

Oh. Hmm... I'm due for a filter change, then, and it really seems like a good idea in that case!

Fishpunk: Why in the world are BLUEGILLS not allowed??  WOW. 
The whole point (according to my mom) of our native tank is that they are NATIVE native, not just native-ish. What she means is fish that we can catch on hook and line five miles from home  That's what I'm restricted.

Update on the sculpin:
I love him.
I love him.
I love him!
I LOVE HIM

Is it weird? Just a little..

He is just CUTE, if a fish can be cute... 

So, he finally ate a little on Monday. I cut off a piece of earthworm about half an inch long and threw it in, the next morning it was gone.

Tuesday, he ate three full inch pieces out of my hand! Well, it was off a stick to which my hand was attached... still...

Yesterday, I just gave him another inch of earthworm because he looked hungry. 

So, how much am I supposed to feed him? I don't think they get all that much to eat in the wild, but what do you guys think?

I also threw in a little guppy to see if he'll eat it... He follows it around and gets really excited when it starts swimming towards the bottom. He's FUNNY. 

Have I mentioned that he is an amazing character? He follows me around. Honestly. Yesterday I proved it. I sat on one side, and within thirty seconds he swam over to stare at me  Then I moved to the other, he followed me again. We did this five times. Every time, he would press his face against the glass.

I. Love. Him.

And its a little funny how I'm talking about a fish >.<


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## iheartfish:) (Jan 19, 2011)

Okay, more updates 

So, I don't know about the bluegill... I will see if I can somehow get away without one. My mom really wants it, though. I want to have just one sunfish in there: a longear. They are beautiful, they look almost like discus when they are colored up for breeding! 

Yesterday she brought back a few creek chubs >.< OMG.

"NO!" I said. 
"Why not?"
"Too big. It's cycling. The fish is too big and makes too much waste. It will die from the tank conditions, shock, etc. Plus, TOO MANY FISH! If you want sunfish!"
"Well, just put one in, then"
"Fine. It will be dead tomorrow."
I put it in, poor thing is gasping for breath within seconds and running into every wall. 

This morning it was miraculously still alive, but barely. I took it out and spared it at least a few minutes of suffering. It was big, like eight inches!

Sculpin, yes. Chubs, no. Sculpins are small and hardy, chubs, not so much. On either account. 

On the other side of the pond, Gobby the sculpin 

He eats cichlid pellets, dry shrimp, everything. Flakes, anything. Not at all finicky. A great fish. He digs, too! He has three depressions in the gravel so far. 

I can't wait for spring and fishing! I love the feel of the air and everything budding and getting ready to grow. And now, I can look forward to catching that perfect sunfish!


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## ZebraDanio12 (Jun 17, 2011)

picture please!!??


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## iheartfish:) (Jan 19, 2011)

Yeah, good idea... 
I'll get on it. I have a few "before" pictures, I'm waiting so I can have some "after" pics, too. It's pretty bland for now.


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## iheartfish:) (Jan 19, 2011)

*Pictures!*

Well, here are the long awaited pictures!

First off, though, I promised myself that I'd be honest on this thread. This means that I have to admit something... I have a perch in there. Two, actually. Gosh, I want to hit myself in the head! However, rest assured, they will go back to the lake!!! At least one of them... 

The story:
We went to Marrinette, WI to fish, and we caught a baby perch. A really cute, small, juvenile perch; he is about four inches. Well, of course then we caught another larger perch, so we took that one too. Honestly, I wasn't sure they would survive the trip, but they did. I've had them for five days, now. They are okay, but this will definitely be temporary. 

Feel free to tell me what a horrible idea this is! 

And now for the pictures:

Gobby:








First day, right after set up:








Second day:








Gobby again :








A few days ago, with the perch:









I'll try to keep it updated with pictures, and hopefully the resizing worked!
Lol, I can't keep the camera straight! They're all slanted


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## iheartfish:) (Jan 19, 2011)

So, as I suspected, the perch aren't faring well. However, from different reasons than I thought, which is interesting. This is why I wanted this thread in the first place! 

The smaller one (my favorite ) died two days ago. Being the curious scientific (or sadistic) type, I dissected it to find the cause, as it looked either bloated or fat. It hadn't eaten since I had gotten it, so I doubted it was from being fat. I found lots and lots and LOTS of eggs, an egg sac positively bursting with eggs! 

The best conclusion that makes sense would be that both are females that reacted to the change in temperature in the lake from the spring warming and unusually warm winter combined with being placed into a room temp aquarium and became ready to spawn. Having nowhere to spawn, they are suffering and finally dying. I think that fish do die if they are ready to spawn but don't, right?

The second one is also very round and I think I even see an egg peeking out. I am positive she will die soon, too. She is exhibiting the same signs as the other one days before she died. She has trouble keeping herself held even and her nose is usually in the gravel. She also has trouble staying in one spot and kind of gets carried around. Be prepared for a death announcement.


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## timmo2009 (Jun 10, 2009)

Is ur one perch still alive? Ive never heard of a fish dieing due to not spawning. But if u feel the pressure of eggs is causing the problem, take the fish out and run ur finger along the bottom of the belly to the anus. This will force eggs out wgich would relieve the pressure.


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