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The pumpkinseeds showed up last Friday and all were alive and looked healthy. They were a little smaller than I was expecting, so I decided to put them in a little tote with an aquarium filter rather than the actual system. This also allowed me to put a heater in there, so the water is in the low 70s right now. They are eating well, and they seem to prefer flake food over the crushed up pellets.

For max growth, what temperature should I have the water, and how many times a day should I be feeding? Do they look like they will be old enough to spawn this summer?




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Hey Derek,

Those look like 1 year old fish to me. I doubt they will spawn this year. As I'm sure you know, PS spawn in the spring when water temp rises above around 55 degrees or warmer. What I don't know is whether PS females require an extended time in "cold water" for egg development before spawning.

Good Luck!

Bill D.

Last edited by Bill D.; 02/09/16 04:49 PM. Reason: Typo

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Feed them at least 3 X per day up to 5 X per day. Let them tell you how much they want to feed.

They look skinny! You need to fatten them up!

Try to wean them over to pellet feed with the higher protein needed for their size.

If the flake feed is for tropical fish or koi it's probably not high enough in protein. Allied Aqua sells small quantiies of higher protein cichlid feed.

Last edited by Cecil Baird1; 02/09/16 04:46 PM.

If pigs could fly bacon would be harder to come by and there would be a lot of damaged trees.






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With warm water (70F-82F, optimum 77F), good water quality, and good feeding you might get pumpkinseeds to large enough sizes to spawn this summer at one yr old. Fast growing ones are reported to mature at age one in OH & IA. Males at 2.75" were found to be mature at one yr old. They often spawn 3 weeks earlier than BG. Nest diameters are 3.5 times the length of the male.


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My flakes are 39% protein, and my pellets are 30%, so I'll stick to the flakes. The problem with my pellets is that they are too big for the fish to eat, but if I crush them to a more manageable size, then they sink. So far I have noticed that the PS will eat off the surface or throught the water column, but as soon as something hits the bottom, they lose interest.
I'm planning to order an automatic feeder, because im not home enough to feed them more than once or twice a day. I found one on Amazon that will feed four times a day. I'll also turn the heater up to 77, I think the water was at 74 today.

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39 percent might be high enough for your size fish. I feed 50 percent protein to my really small bluegill.


If pigs could fly bacon would be harder to come by and there would be a lot of damaged trees.






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FWIW the flake food I feed is TetraMin Plus Tropical Flakes with shrimp

46% Protein
11% Fat

Has both fish meal and shrimp meal in it.


Last edited by Bill D.; 02/10/16 10:18 PM.

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Why do you feed on fish flake Bill? grin

You on a diet?

Last edited by Cecil Baird1; 02/10/16 11:06 PM.

If pigs could fly bacon would be harder to come by and there would be a lot of damaged trees.






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Originally Posted By: Cecil Baird1
Why do you feed on fish flake Bill? grin

You on a diet?


They are awesome sprinkled on scrambled eggs! grin

Actually though, that's what I'm feeding the RRs in my little aquarium setup.


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Ha ha. No need for one a day vitamins. LOL

Another note read somewhere the other day that eating fish once in a while may prevent alsheimers. It's the omega 3 fatty acids.

Ironically although salmon are touted as being high in omegas, largemouth bass are even higher!


If pigs could fly bacon would be harder to come by and there would be a lot of damaged trees.






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Derek,

Keep up the good work and keep us posted!


If pigs could fly bacon would be harder to come by and there would be a lot of damaged trees.






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Well I have experienced a nitrite spike over the course of the past couple weeks. I have been measuring nitrite levels in the 1-2 ppm range. I bought a 30 gal aquarium that I moved the PS into, which I think is helping my cause because it holds more water than the tote I was using. I am performing 40% water changes daily. I also have some Seachem Prime that I am adding every day to neutralize the toxicity of the nitrites. I have lost three of the fish so far, so I am hoping the filter cycle will stabilize soon so I can start feeding again and stop stressing the fish.

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Are you using salt? It doesn't take much to reduce nitrite toxiity and it's cheap! Furthermore centrarchids are more nitrite tolerant than other species.

Make sure it's pure salt with no additives like yellow sodium prussiate or Iodine. Regular noniodized table salt works fine.


If pigs could fly bacon would be harder to come by and there would be a lot of damaged trees.






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I haven't gotten a chance to get up to town to pick up some salt, so I ended up adding the PS to my big IBC system. I am afraid they are too small and will get sucked out of the tank and into the filters, so I built a small tote in connection that the water runs through.

Here is a picture of the tank I have them in now.

We have been having some warm weather here, so the water in the large system is holding in the mid 60s. They are being fed twice a day now. I decided not to get an automatic feeder, because I am afraid something might go wrong and fowl up the water.

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Looking good Derek. So are the PS in the small tote or the big tank?


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Derek,

You can make screens that slide over the ends of your PVC to keep the fish in or out.

I make several sizes depending on the size of my fish. If you don't have the material (plastic cage material) I'd be happy to send you a few if you tell me what size your PVC and fish are.


Last edited by Cecil Baird1; 03/01/16 12:34 AM.

If pigs could fly bacon would be harder to come by and there would be a lot of damaged trees.






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I have eight PS remaining after I lost a couple from the nitrite spikes. All eight are in the tote right now. As far a building a screen, my main issue with this is that my outflow exits out of the valve that is built into the IBC rather than through pvc in a uniseal. I did try to make a screen, but it was impossible to get the right size because the hole it will be covering is under water. At some point I will drain the IBC and build a screen before refilling, but I am not in too big of a hurry to get the PS moved. I actually prefer them in the tote, because they are easier to watch. Eight 2-3 inch fish in over 250 gallons of water might become hard to keep track of. Plus, right now in the IBC I have a 7 inch walleye that I have been feeding fatheads. I do not really have an purpose for this walleye other than for my enjoyment when I watch it feed.

My best case scenario is that the PS spawn this spring/summer and I raise the YOY in the IBC. If that doesn't work out, I might try raising some yellow perch in it.

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