Pond Boss Forums INTRO Questions & Observations green sunfish bad in sunfish pond???

ewest's first (eye) chart shows various pairs of Centrarchid species and the compatibility (viability) of these crosses and reciprocal (sexes reversed) crosses. IIRC these were all laboratory crosses using stripped milt and row; in the wild, factors such as geography, coloration, and behavioral differences preclude most of these crosses from ever occurring.

Note the high viability of such commonly used crosses as BGxGSF and Northern LMBxFlorida LMB. Most of the intra-genus crosses (e.g. LepomisxLepomis and MicrolophusxMicrolophus) exhibit high compatiblity.

The second "family tree" chart shows the relationship between the various Centrarchidae with the estimated divergence points (how long ago) between different species. In general, the longer two species have been separated, the less viable crosses between them are.

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If I were interested in keeping several different species of Lepomis in a pond, I would not have a problem with including GSF as long I was going to use a LMB (and/or other predator) heavy management approach.