# Predator for a 29 gallon?



## mrbelvedere (Nov 15, 2005)

I have the perfect fish in mind. And it's free. An eastern sunfish (bluegill, I believe they are called) works perfectly. They stay around 7 inches long and they will devour a guppy. They are not a threat to plants, can tolerate any water parameters and temperature (except over 75, rivers and ponds rarely get that warm). The only thing you have to worry about is keeping more than one in a tank. They are the American version of cichlids and are vicious. I saw them fight before my 37 got planted and it was a sight to behold. Unless you have delicate plants that will break and bend if the fish swims through them, you are in the clear.


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## isuchopper (Nov 30, 2004)

*Try the green sunfish*

My suggestion: the green sunfish.

I've caught these little buggers for years in my grandparent's pond, and else where, and they are hands down my favorite sunfish. If you would like a bass but don't have the space, get one of these. They are, when in full color, one of the better looking sunfish and are the most aggressive sunfish species I've come across. They actually outcompete the other sunfish species in ponds and lakes.

One note, though, is that you'll need a much heavier filtration system than for a cichlid of this kind.

If you don't want to have to hunt one of these down, you can actually by them online. The scientific name is Lepomis Cyanellus. I don't know anything about this merchant, but here's a link:

http://jonahsaquarium.com/piclepcyan1.htm

One last bit. As I noted, these fish tend to outcompete other species, and their sale is restricted in some areas. Check out your local laws and be sure not to release it into local waters unless they are native there.


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## eds (Feb 12, 2003)

On the smaller side, Angelicus or Pictus cats?


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## turbosaurus (Nov 19, 2005)

OOPS- 
pictus cats are predatory? 
Just dropped 5 in the new 90 ... with some angels (of course)


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## Clone (Feb 29, 2004)

The LFS around here always have Leaf Fish in stock. I have always wanted to give them a try. They get 3-4" with 3" being typical.


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## ringram (Jan 19, 2005)

a 7" fish in a 29g tank? Sounds a little cramped to me. I'd get a 55g or larger tank for a fish that size.


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## eds (Feb 12, 2003)

turbosaurus said:


> OOPS-
> pictus cats are predatory?


No more so than the angels! 
Just saying you wouldn't need to worry about any neons dying of old age!
I'm sure they would gladly eat guppies, endlers, etc.
Anything bigger than their mouth is fine.


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## GreenerSideofLIfe (Dec 24, 2005)

I agree with the previous poster. 

Go with a blue gill  

I used to have a Warmouth. AMAZING fish. He was SO much fun!!

And GORGIOUS too. The photo doesnt do a bit of justice. He was really a kind of rainbow metalic.


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## turbosaurus (Nov 19, 2005)

I remember catching bluegills with my Grandpa who would put the worm on my hook for me. I always felt guilty for hooking these peaceful fish- I never knew they were predatory! I remember I liked catching sunfish more than bass because they were so pretty- that's a girl for you. Why would they require more filtration than a chiclid of the same size? 

Do they eat plants? I know they will get pretty big - even in a well stocked reservoir competing with all the other wildlife and fish. I bet they'd outgrow a 
20 in a heartbeat with a good diet?

Sorry Cheesybacon- I'm not an aggressive fish keeper- but pretty much any adult fish will eat a little feeder guppy if it can fit it in its mouth. Honestly I wouldn't worry about it outgrowing its tank- when it (whatever "it" turns out to be) gets big you can bring it back or find a 2nd hand 55 and add it to your collection. So much can go wrong in the year it will take a small fish to outgrow its 20 gallon tank. 

Thanks Eds for the pictus info- cute lively little buggers- but the never sit still- not for a minute- I think they have to go- they're making me dizzy.


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## eds (Feb 12, 2003)

Pictus have to be among the most active aqaria fish around.
I love when they go into a feeding frenzy over brine or bloodworms, and then stuff themselves until their bellies are all swollen!


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## Cheeseybacon (Feb 13, 2005)

Thanks for the input everyone!

The pictus cats do sound tempting as they are quite common and easy to obtain, but I've never of heard of them being really aggressive. Yes, I have heard of them eating small neons and such, but not exactly in the fashion that I'm looking for. My buddies just complained that one day they noticed a neon was dead. It's not like the pictus viciously attacked the neon as soon as it hit the water. That's what I'm after.

I want something really feisty and mean and the sunfish sounds perfect, but as ringram said, 7 inches seems a little bit much for a 29-gallon tank. I'm limited for space at the moment, infact the 30-gallon and 29-gallon together will really be pushing things so there's no possibility of a bigger tank anytime in the foreseeable future.

Again, thanks for the suggestions folks, and keep them coming!


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## mrbelvedere (Nov 15, 2005)

Here's my thing with the sunfish: They are in practically every waterway in the U.S. Atleast every one I've been to. It's nothing to put one back when it gets too big and simply catch another one of a smaller size. A dedicated fisherman with an endless supply of waxworms can catch a hundred of these per day. I'm sure I'm going to catch a lot of flack for suggesting that "introducing new diseases" to American waterways is okay, but frankly, I don't buy into that rubbish.


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## isuchopper (Nov 30, 2004)

*I concur...*

I'm with mrbelvedere138 on this one. Chop a hole in the ice (I'm assuming PA is as frozen as Chicago), drop in a line and catch a pet. When he gets too big, bring him back. We do this with the sunfish in our watergarden every year. As long as you grab them locally, they aren't an invasive species.

Personally, I'd still go with the green sunfish, if you can snag it (not sure if they are in your local waters). They have yellow and white on their pelvic and anal fins and a HUGE mouth.

Happy hunting.


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## bpm2000 (Feb 16, 2005)

Are there any sunfish that stay small enough for a tank of this size? (20~30g)


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## Ryzilla (Oct 29, 2005)

i dont know about you guys but where I live bluegills grow to 1.5lbs+. This would outgrow a 29g very fast. Sunfish will also grow up to 1.5lbs depending on which one it is. A warmouth is a hybrid of a stipped bass and a bluegill and will grow larger then an average bluegill. All of these fish are predatorial. As being an avid pan fisherman I know these fish well. If you know where to get a black crappie from, IMHO these are better looking fish and rarer to have in a tank. They also will get above 1lb but are less active then anything related to sunfish


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## triple red (May 27, 2005)

how bout a longnose gar 
ya want something predetory , something that will charge the glass.....pound for pound the most agressive fish ive seen has been convicts...


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## mrbelvedere (Nov 15, 2005)

bpm2000 said:


> Are there any sunfish that stay small enough for a tank of this size? (20~30g)



Actually yes, the Everglades dwarf sunfish. Nice looking fish but good luck finding it for sale.


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## daFrimpster (Mar 7, 2005)

Ryzilla said:


> A warmouth is a hybrid of a stipped bass and a bluegill and will grow larger then an average bluegill.


Are you sure about the, being a hybrid? All I found was there scietific name "Lepomis gulosus" and that they hybridize with bluegills and green sunfish.


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## TheOtherGeoff (Feb 11, 2003)

warmmouth is a hybrid but not of the stripped bass and blue gill. generally they are a luegill and green siunfish mix. sometimes alittle bass gets thrown itot hre mix since the greens, bluegill and large mouth will often share the same spawing beds. 

there are a couple species of sunfish that will do nicely in a 29 gallon tank. the orange spot sunfish was a joy to have and they color is just amazing on them. they can be alittle tricky to find and ctch but i had a few of them backin the day. 

The pgymy banded sunfish is also another good fish. i have seen them on aquabid a time or two before and would love to have them. they sty very small, under 2 inches which is perfect.

those are GENERALLY your two smaller commen sunfish you will find. most oif the others, such as your bass, bluegill, greens longears etc etc will get fairly large. however you could keep a pair of them in the 29 gal for a while. 

if you plan on keeping them in a planted tank then i suggest using very low tech plants and ones that have very large leaves. anubius, crypts and some of the swords were usually left alone by my sunfishes, but anything else that was small or fluffy, like cabomba, was destroyed and tossed around the tank like a toy. they were very rough on the plants. if you need an info about natives lemme know, i have kept probably 12+ different species of them over the course of many years.


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## nick h (Dec 17, 2005)

ahh, go with a fw puffer. specifically the south american puffer. _colomesus allesus_ i think. these are really cool and you could easily keep a singleton in a 29gal. they are very predatory and fun. maybe a bit difficult to keep if your new to pufferfish.
just my 2.
nick h


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## Adrian (Aug 17, 2005)

Hands Down an African Pike Characin. These things are highly-predatory, sharp toothed, fearsome and nasty . Will stock a small fish and kill with a quick strike and will even attack larger tankmates. 

Grows to aroung 14cm and is undemanding.


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## ShortFin (Dec 27, 2005)

Another option would be HalfBeak. They only grow to about 3 inches. It went for the feeder goldfish right away after hitting the water. The feeder was half it's size.


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## Cheeseybacon (Feb 13, 2005)

What about an African Butterfly? They only grow to about 4-5" if what I'm reading is correct, and they are indeed carnivorus


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## ShortFin (Dec 27, 2005)

You could ask Wasserpest about the Butterfly. I think he has one in his tank right now.


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