Okeefenokee Pygmy Sunfish (Elassoma. Okeefenokee)

[Dominus_XVIII]

Alright guys, I'll be getting in some Okeefenokee/Everglades pygmy sunfish in two weeks. Had these little stunning US native fish awhile back, but now got the chance to get some more. For those of you unfimilar with the species here's the specs on these little guys.

This was on the fishbase website, but for some reason the server is down. Here's what it says on AquariumWiki though, the majority of the info is the same on both sites.

Okefenokee Pygmy Sunfish (Elassoma.okefenokee)

Family: Elassomatidae

Difficulty: Moderate

Min. Tank Size: 94.6 Litres/25 US gallons (In the wild males will establish 1 cubic foot of territory. Pairs can be kept in a 5 gallon)

Size: 2.5-3.4 cm (1-1.3")
sg: Freshwater

pH: 6.0 - 8.0 (adaptable, but sensitive)

Temp: 4 -30 °C/ 39.2-86°F (Most prefer cooler water temps around 27 C)

Water Hardness: 6-20 °d

Stocking Ratio: 1:2 M:F

Availability: Rare (countries outside of the States)

Diet Carnivore: Live Foods (can be trained to feed off small pellets and crushed flakes)

Life Span: 3-8 years (longer in captivity)

Habitat: North America/ Florida, Everglade swamps and marshes, streams, Okefenokee Swamp

Here are some pics, these don't belong to me all credited to the photograpers listed in the pics.

Males of this species change colour during breeding or courtship, all though they will remain in their breeding colours if supplied with live food and females haha. Their base black with contrasting metallic/electric blue overlay and trim is what attracted me to these dwarf sunfish.

Female on the other hand are pretty drab in colouration, often a translucent tan with black speckles.

Male and female together, male in non-breeding colours.

 

[josh_g]

damn thats a nice looking fish

 

[Dominus_XVIII]

I'll be getting my 3 breeding pairs on the 13th. I'll post pics once I receive them.

 

[Dominus_XVIII]

So I received my order of 6 Everglades pygmy sunfish today and to my surprise I got an extra one for free. I'm currently cohabbing them with the pygmy gouramis I also received today.
Both species are getting along fine and even school and feed with eachother. The only concern I'm worried about is; when mating season comes around. The species will be extremely territorial, but the good thing is neither one of the species eats it's own fry. So successfully breeding these pygmy sunfish will be easy. I'll update with pics once they're fully adjust and their colours come back.

 

[Questions?]

great looking fish. i think i might have seen some of these around beofre, any idea where these live in the US, im in florida
 
EDIT: i just read it again and realizxed it does live in florida, my bad

 

[Dominus_XVIII]

great looking fish. i think i might have seen some of these around beofre, any idea where these live in the US, im in florida
 
EDIT: i just read it again and realizxed it does live in florida, my bad

LOL, I'm actually jealous of you. Okees, Evergladei and Gilberti are all avalible to you just like wild bettas are avalible to the inhabitants of Thailand. They're basically in your "backyard".
You can just go to a swamp, pond, drainage pipe or stream where you live and just scoop some up. For me to get them here in Canada, it's $90 for 6 plus shipping over the boarder. While you can breed endless supply of these little wonders, as they don't require much room. You can house 5 breeding pairs in a 20 gallon, with no problem.
The only small fish I can catch in the marsh by house are: minnows, sickle backs and if I'm lucky I can come across some colourful darters, but they still don't hold a candle to pygmy sunfish.

 

[Questions?]

lol, i would love to be able to catch betta fish too. but these fish are still so very stunning.

 

[<3Angels<3]

I love these guys! I am thinking about buying some of them!

 

[Questions?]

do they have to be fed live/frozen food though? i read they can eat blackworms, but not to feed those because of parasites. How would i grow microfauna into a successful colony.