Sunfish in a koi pond

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My pond is stocked with goldfish and koi, along with a zillion mosquito fish. Some of the small sunfish species have wonderful color, and some of them are voracious predators. I'm thinking of putting a pair of them into my pond both for their color and to help control the mosquito fish population. My concern is that they will be too agressive toward the koi and gold fish. Has anyone had experience with putting sunfish in a koi pond?
 

addy1

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It sounds like you need to know the kind of sunfish, there are a variety of larger to smaller ones. The smaller ones, might, maybe, most likely, would not bother fish bigger than it. But would eat fry and most likely the smaller mosquito fish.

But also, unless you have both of the same sex beware!

Sunfish are extremely productive, with each female producing an average of 80,000 eggs per year from several successive spawns.

Many are carnivorous and prey upon small fishes, while others that live in the shelter of weed beds consume mostly aquatic insects and larvae.
Most of the sunfishes are quite aggressive in their behavior toward other fishes and, in many instances, toward their own kind. They are opportunistic foragers, always on the alert for a drifting, helpless fish or insects to devour. Most sunfishes are very alert to terrestrial insects or other food items falling on the water surface and will instantly rush to the scene with the first arrival engulfing the food.
 
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I am considering either Lepomis megalotis (longeared sunfish) about 5 inches; or Lepomis marginatus (dollar sunfish) about 4 inches. Both are very colorful, especially the males, and are small enough that, I think, they would not bother anything except the mosquito fish, which is a part of the whole plan--to thin their numbers.
 

addy1

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In looking at their habits either would work. But you may end up with a ton of sunfish instead of a ton of mosquito fish, unless you only get one sex of fish.
 

digginponds

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One of my older ponds I had blue gills ,they were very,very aggressive towards any goldfish or koi that came near there breeding bed,and would attack them.that's my story .......
 

addy1

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Yep it does say they protect their eggs with great aggression.
 

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