Newbie Taking on a Doozy

[finnafish]

Hey guys! Newbie from Orlando, Fl here. Glad to be here and I'm ecstatic for this project. I have yearned for a fish tank my whole life and have a real passion for fish and wildlife. Today I would like to call for your help in assembling an amazing aquarium. I plan on creating a wild gathered, planted, native Florida tank. Before you tell me I shouldn't start with such a risky tank, I have made my mind up. Do not fret though because I will be very meticulous in setting it up.

What finally kicked this off was my recent up taking of micro-fishing and the discovery of the gorgeous native dollar sunfish. I then found a few more similar species I was interested in and plants that might stand a chance with these guys. So far I have put hours of research into the location of these species and I have found a lot of good information.

I started by getting this 55 gallon glass tank off of the app Offer Up for 25$

I have it sitting full in my bathroom to make sure there aren't any slow leaks. Anyhow I think I got a great deal but that all I have so far.

(Didnt mean to post this but I cannot figure out how to delete it so I will continue in comments)

 

[finnafish]

Here some info on the fish I'm after

Dollar Sunfish

+swamps.
Known spots; julington creek plantation, new river (south of hosford,)

Blackbanded sunfish

Banded sunfish
View attachment 292175

Bluespotted sunfish
View attachment 292176

As for plants, I am thinking of jungle val, hornwort, anacris, and a little duckweed. Not sure if those are all natives or not. I really want a nice big floating plant but I haven't found a good candidate. I have heard bleach water (1/20,) saltwater and peroxide were all viable methods of cleaning plants, I plan on using any/all of them. I also want to get some cypress root wood from the river. I would like to gather my own pebble substrate.

I will be building my own stand, gathering my fish, wood, plants, and gravel and hopefully making a custom cfl light fixture. Basically I will be taking you guys step by step on my journey asking questions along the way. Tell me what you think for now, my next post will probably be a list of questions about collecting/maintenance.

 

[finnafish]

How much plant life can I have while remaining low maintenance?
Where can I get a good, large, flat edge dipnet for collecting minnows?
How many of these small species of sunfish could a 55 gallon hold?
How do you spot parasites and other illnesses in wild fish?

Sorry this is a bit long but I have a lot to ask and I'd like to keep it all in this thread.

 

[bullyboy]

Wow im stoked to see this develop.

Ok so heres my take...

As far as spotting illness, id talk to the local fish and wild life and see if theres any native ailments spoted in these guys.
Also getting a little 10gal quarenteen tank qould likely save you some headache. Cycle the tank and no substrate or plants etc in the QT tank as you want access to see everything thats going on with em before adding them to yer main tank.

As far a s peramiters id get an API Freshwater Master test kit (yer gonna need it anyway for good aqua keeping) and test both the waters that you plan to take fish from as well as yer tap water so you have baselines to mimic in yer tank.

Nets and many if the smaller meticulous paraphanelia can be gotten via local sale sites/apps or from china via ebay for cheap.

As for plants, especially native harvested that QT tank is gonna be a thing yer gonna want. I use a bleach dip method for new plants which takes care of microorganisms and then go over them with a toothbrush and eyes to make sure theres no hitchhiking bugs or eggs etc.

Always boil wild harvested deadwoods and stones after cleaning. I usually let my dead woods dry out and give em a good once over with some sand paper before boiling the tannins out.

Plant life and remaining low maintenance is really hand in hand with what TYPE of plants you use.
That comes to a question of lighting and use or not for Co2 and fertilizer additives as well as substrate set up.

Id start with setting up a QT tank and getting that cycled as well as making yer stand and doing the research on the plants and water conditions needed.

Also think about what time of year is best for wild harvesting said plants and fish?
It looks like yer in for the long con but it will be totally worth it by spring time

 

[finnafish]

Thanks for the info! And yes, this one shall take a while! When you say good time of year to harvest plants and fish are you referring to their availability? Because I found anacaris and duckweed right behind my house in a cypress farm.

More questions coming soon

 

[finnafish]

Do I need to upsize the filter because sunfish tend to be messy?
Do I need a heater?
Anyone in Florida know anything about hunting these fellas down?

 

[nirbhao]

The thing that comes to mind first for me are protected and invasive species. Definitely check with your local DNR about appropriate times to collect, if any permits are required, and how to avoid contamination.

Research how much damage certain treatments will cause plants. Some plants can handle full on bleach, but some can't even take salt.

This sounds like an amazing project and I look forward to reading more about it.

 

[bullyboy]

By harvest i mean that theres an OPTIMAL time of year to do it.
Id say summer for plants just because they are likely stronger and have more energy to aid in the rehoming process.
For fish id look at their breeding season and age to find out when and how to procure them in a way that they will be strong enough to handle the transfer to domestic life. All this in consideration so as not damage their natuve populations if they are endangered or invasive.

Thinking about HOW a thing is done is as important as doing it with anything but more especially when dealing with living things.

As far as filter and heat go thats a matter of habit research. Its never a bad idea to over filter in my opinion. Usually i shoot for a gallon per hour of at least 8-10 x the tank volume.
So a 55 gal tank would be at least 500 gal per hour especially if they are messy fish like gold fish would be.
Another thing to think about is environment, are they a lake fish who would prefer still waters or a stream fish who may require a slight current?

 

[bullyboy]

Check out this link...

http://www.petfish.net/kb/entry/54/

 

[finnafish]

The thing that comes to mind first for me are protected and invasive species. Definitely check with your local DNR about appropriate times to collect, if any permits are required, and how to avoid contamination.

Research how much damage certain treatments will cause plants. Some plants can handle full on bleach, but some can't even take salt.

This sounds like an amazing project and I look forward to reading more about it.

Thanks for the info and I cant wait for it to come together and to share it with you all!

 

[finnafish]

Thinking about HOW a thing is done is as important as doing it with anything but more especially when dealing with living things.

As far as filter and heat go thats a matter of habit research. Its never a bad idea to over filter in my opinion. Usually i shoot for a gallon per hour of at least 8-10 x the tank volume.
So a 55 gal tank would be at least 500 gal per hour especially if they are messy fish like gold fish would be.
Another thing to think about is environment, are they a lake fish who would prefer still waters or a stream fish who may require a slight current?

I definitely agree. That's precisely why I have taken to this forum. I need to get my plan right and I need help from you guys.

For the filter I was going to do a clip on the back filter. I looked up gph filters and they seem like pump systems, do I have to mess with all of that? Can I get away with larger clip on the back filter and water changes?

Here's some info about their habitats, they seem to all like very slow water.

Dollar sunfish



Banded sunfish



Blackbanded sunfish



Bluespotted sunfish

 

[finnafish]

Reposting broken images

Banded sunfish


Bluespottedsunfish

 

[bullyboy]

Apparently they are part of the aquarium hobbie to some degree, it may be worth doing a search for a forum about em or group/lfs in yer area that may know others who keep them

 

[finnafish]

Apparently they are part of the aquarium hobbie to some degree, it may be worth doing a search for a forum about em or group/lfs in yer area that may know others who keep them

https://youtu.be/OLxxoew-kGU
https://youtu.be/uMWMpKMgpZ8
I have found these guys called imperial tropicals. I don't think they sell them (doesn't matter) but I think they're good folks to ask. I emailed them a question hopefully I'll be able to make some contacts.

Apparently they are part of the aquarium hobbie to some degree, it may be worth doing a search for a forum about em or group/lfs in yer area that may know others who keep them

 

[mbkemp]

Reposting broken images



Banded sunfish

View attachment 292205



Bluespottedsunfish

View attachment 292206

Check out the NANFA forum. Lots of info specifically geared towards these guys

 

[finnafish]

Check out the NANFA forum. Lots of info specifically geared towards these guys

Thank you ?

 

[finnafish]

https://youtu.be/kW8rDjnHGLY

Located the dollar sunfish! Video above

More coming soon. I've been busy with the holidays.

 

[finnafish]

Stand is done! I used this layout https://youtu.be/jN4Y9AYuwcQ

 

[finnafish]

I decided to go with some clamp ons with clfs for the beginning. Not sure how much plant life these two could support. Maybe a third will come. I bought the aqueon 75 for up to 90 gallons at ~800gph. I fugred I covered the bare minimum. I now have to to collect the substrate and aquascape, a trip to Wekiva river coming soon!

 

[Alan26]

I've planned on doing something similar to this one day for a long time...very interested in how it goes, especially with different plants. I've been considering more of the minnows than sunfish for mine.


Keep us updated and good luck.