Banded Pygmy Sunfish

[mnemenoi]

I just went collecting this afternoon and collected 5 Banded Pygmy Sunfish (Elassoma zonatum). They are all in the neighborhood of 1" and seem active and healthy. If anyone wants them just shoot me a PM or reply here and your welcome to pick them up. They were quite thick so I am sure more can be caught should I run out before everyone can get what they want.

I also have 2 female native sailfin mollies collected at the same time. Only about 3/4" long

[jwh0818]

Ill take the sunfish. Pm me your location

[mnemenoi]

I released them as I had to head offshore for a few weeks, but they are quite plentiful in my local waterways and can let you know when I get back into town again. I'm always up for collecting locally. I was able to collect all of those in the span of 10 minutes with a tiny aquarium net. I would honestly try your local waterways, any large ditch with thick bank vegatation should yield them. Just drag your net through it and you'll be amazed at how many you can find.

[jwh0818]

I released them as I had to head offshore for a few weeks, but they are quite plentiful in my local waterways and can let you know when I get back into town again. I'm always up for collecting locally. I was able to collect all of those in the span of 10 minutes with a tiny aquarium net. I would honestly try your local waterways, any large ditch with thick bank vegatation should yield them. Just drag your net through it and you'll be amazed at how many you can find.

Are you talking about the bayous in the back yard?

[mnemenoi]

I'm certain they are located there, they are found quite extensively throughout the area. There are a handful of local Killifish, pygmy perch, tadpole madtoms that would do quite well in a small nano native tank and with our local aquatic plants and invertabrates it can truly be representative of the local ecosystem.

[jwh0818]

Thats very true. Am I able.to go out there at dark and catch some

[ometh]

I'm certain they are located there, they are found quite extensively throughout the area. There are a handful of local Killifish, pygmy perch, tadpole madtoms that would do quite well in a small nano native tank and with our local aquatic plants and invertabrates it can truly be representative of the local ecosystem.

where are you collecting from? I might have a look for myself for the hell of it

[jwh0818]

where are you collecting from? I might have a look for myself for the hell of it

He said any bayou river stream etc. I might try tomorrow

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[ometh]

huh. I might have to check that out.

[jwh0818]

Its a great idea

[mnemenoi]

huh. I might have to check that out.

I have collected them from a drainage ditch that crosses Robinson Road in Oak Ridge and the most recent from a drainage ditch that crosses Rayford Road and runs behind Fox Run. They are truly plentiful and any waterway that stays full for nearly all the time and other fish can be seen in will likely have them. They hide in the dense vegetation along the bank and usually do not even scatter at your approach, prefering to rely on the natural coloration to hide them.

[jwh0818]

Do you think they will be in the Pasadena water ways. Some are complete cement and others are natural

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[mnemenoi]

I would suggest any natural, slow water, shallow drainage ditch or small creek that stays full most of the year. A good way to know is to watch for any other fish life, Gambusia, killifish, sailfin mollies, or perch. If you see any of those then you will likely find pygmy perch along the shoreline in weedy enbankments. I do occasionally come across the oddball pirate perch as well as a few more things that are uncommon in the area. Everything I have read suggests they would be found in the area, especially in any fresh water habitat. I would avoid any larger creeks that seem to be brackish (not sure exactly how close Pasadena is to marine enviroments) species to watch for are Sheepsheads, large numbers of Sailfin Mollies, and any crab species as all of these would suggest a brackish water condition.

[jwh0818]

I would suggest any natural, slow water, shallow drainage ditch or small creek that stays full most of the year. A good way to know is to watch for any other fish life, Gambusia, killifish, sailfin mollies, or perch. If you see any of those then you will likely find pygmy perch along the shoreline in weedy enbankments. I do occasionally come across the oddball pirate perch as well as a few more things that are uncommon in the area. Everything I have read suggests they would be found in the area, especially in any fresh water habitat. I would avoid any larger creeks that seem to be brackish (not sure exactly how close Pasadena is to marine enviroments) species to watch for are Sheepsheads, large numbers of Sailfin Mollies, and any crab species as all of these would suggest a brackish water condition.

Dang. You must study the area alot? Why would the large number of sailfin mollies suggest brackish?

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[mnemenoi]

I grew up here and have been collecting local fish since I was 8 and had my first aquarium. I've caught most of the species here, but there are always oddballs that show up that throw me for a loop. Especially identifying some of the shiner and darter subspecies can be a tedious undertaking in the least. Dan has a great website of pictures from local houston collections that is fabulous, there is a link at the top of the Native forum.

As to the Sailfin question, there is quite some debate even amongst hobbyists on the water preference for our local Sailfin Molly. They can survive everything from full fresh to full marine and nearly anything in between. In some areas they prefer one to another, while other areas suggest quite the opposite. From my experiance, I have found them to be far more common in brackish water areas and less common in full fresh. They can be found, but Gumbusia far outweigh them in overall density, where as the opposite is true in brackish water areas. I have also found sleeper gobies only in brackish areas, but they both seem to do well enough in a hard water aquarium so it suggests to me that they can be found in full fresh occasionally.

There are a few things to remember when trying to be successful with Banded Pygmy sunfish. They prefer a well planted tank and are notoriously finicky about anything but live food. They devour scuds or gammarus with zeal and it must be their primary diet in the wild. Gammarus are easy enough to collect and should breed rapidly in a well planted tank if introduced in suffecient numbers. Once inside the tank, the sunfish dissappear and are only occasionally seen, though you will get to know them better as they acclimate to their new enviroment. I have found that using some type of dither fish (an outgoing fish in the upper tank area to calm the sunfish) Mollies, Gambusia, or a native killifish will help immensely. Read over the thread about pygmy sunfish in our native fish forum as it gives some opinions of local keepers as well.