Sunfish

[Gail]

The oddest thing happened this spring when we opened our koi pond. While using the net to clean out the leaves and muck from the bottom of the pond I netted a Sunfish! My husband said that a bird may have dropped it into the pond after snatching it from a nearby stream. What I'm wondering is should I leave it in my pond with my 8 Koi or should I put it back into the stream? Thanks.

 

[AnthonyRibis]

I am sure your Koi are big enough to not be bothered with it but any koi fry will be gobbled up.

 

[bettasngoldfish]

Well since it's already in your pond I think it was meant to be

Of course my comment is not based on any knowledge of sunfish, Just the first thought that came to mind.

 

[Gail]

After reading some of the similar threads, I think that if I can catch the bluegill I will put him back into the stream where he/she belongs. I read that they are very aggressive to other fish and they lay thousands of eggs. YIKES! Thanks for the replies.

 

[HARO]

They may lay thousands of eggs, but unless there is a mate to that one, nothing will come of it! Besides, koi eat fish eggs too.
John

 

[Gail]

They may lay thousands of eggs, but unless there is a mate to that one, nothing will come of it! Besides, koi eat fish eggs too.
John

True. I'll leave it in there for awhile and see what happens. Thanks.

 

[crsublette]

They're good population controllers... Although they are aggressive if they can't find a place to call "home" to claim as their own territory... Try placing a pot on its side at the bottom and see if the sunfish will claim the area around it as his own...

Since the sunfish was kept in the wild, then the sunfish likely will not eat typical processed fish food. Likely will primarily eat the algae, fish fry, and insects... Will be interesting if you notice the wild sunfish eating any of the processed fish food.

My concern would be potential health concerns when any wild fish are introduced... There is always a chance something else took a taxi on the sunfish itself as well that maybe foreign to your fish... Nothing to be alarmed about, but, something to make a note of if your other fish start acting odd, which not saying this would be the cause of the oddness either... just saying, something to take note of...

 

[Lisak1]

We found a dead fish in our pond last year. Well, in our stream actually, uphill from the pond. And not one of ours. We figured someone dropped his dinner. Nature is full of surprises!

 

[Gail]

They're good population controllers... Although they are aggressive if they can't find a place to call "home" to claim as their own territory... Try placing a pot on its side at the bottom and see if the sunfish will claim the area around it as his own...

Since the sunfish was kept in the wild, then the sunfish likely will not eat typical processed fish food. Likely will primarily eat the algae, fish fry, and insects... Will be interesting if you notice the wild sunfish eating any of the processed fish food.

My concern would be potential health concerns when any wild fish are introduced... There is always a chance something else took a taxi on the sunfish itself as well that maybe foreign to your fish... Nothing to be alarmed about, but, something to make a note of if your other fish start acting odd, which not saying this would be the cause of the oddness either... just saying, something to take note of...

Thank you for your comments. Do you know what kind of pot is ok to put in a pond? A few years ago I purchased a clay pot with holes on the sides and was going to put it in my pond for the Koi to swim through. My Koi are way to big for that now. But I heard that there was something about clay pots that would harm the fish.

 

[crsublette]

Thank you for your comments. Do you know what kind of pot is ok to put in a pond? A few years ago I purchased a clay pot with holes on the sides and was going to put it in my pond for the Koi to swim through. My Koi are way to big for that now. But I heard that there was something about clay pots that would harm the fish.

Always seems to be something that could hurt fish. I imagine the possibility could be there if it leaches something into the water... don't know of such issues myself.

https://www.gardenpondforum.com/threads/clay-pots.12173/

You could try one of those aquatic plant plastic pots and then put some pebbles around the top or three good size river rocks to anchor and hide it.

 

[HARO]

I've used terracotta pots in aquaria for 55 years, and never had a problem. As for the risk of introducing something into the pond along with the fish, that horse has already left the barn. It's not like you've taken the fish from the wild, it's already IN the pond.
John

 

[rodsboys]

The sunfish should eat prepared foods rather quickly. I have kept them in the past when I was younger and lived in areas where they were native. They are quite hardy and smart.

 

[Skydog]

The same thing happened to me this spring, X 2! Currently, they're consuming any mosquito larvae in my rain barrels.