Pond Boss Forums INTRO Questions & Observations Pumpkinseed Quiz

Today I transferred my PS's from my 100gal. indoor RAS to my 1400gal. back yard mini pond. They didn't put on much length over the winter but they sure are fat.
I took a photo of each one as I brought them outside,they range in size from 7 to 8 1/2 inches, and I think split between male & female.
Hopefully they will spawn in the pond and I'll keep some of the offspring in a separate tank.
I would appreciate all opinions on how many male and females I have, here are the photo's.
1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

I believe the males are numbers 3,4,5,9&10.

Hey AP,

Do you think those are the males because of the colors? The ones you picked all seem a lot more colorful than the others. I have no idea I was thinking though if your going off of color then I would have to agree with you but, don't know if there is any other way to tell is there?

Yeah RC, I was going on the color intensity, but also they showed more aggression when they saw their reflection in the aquarium tank. I put in some spawning tubs in the mini pond so we'll see if it works.

I believe 2 is a male also.

Are the suspect females getting a bulge in the area of the ovaries? My female bluegills are really popping out in that area.

Once they are in peek spawning condition you should be able to squeeze some milt out of the males. If you really want to be sure a capillary tube inserted a certain way and capped off on one end with your finger will produce some eggs when pulled out.

Thanks Cecil, I hope I have atleast 3 females, all the PS's are fat and they should be ready to spawn soon, the temp in the RAS was only 67F, but with this hot weather the mini pond was 76F by 2PM which was 2 hours after I finished getting the fish in.

Have you put your small BG outside yet?

No. I think I may keep them inside to see how many inches I can put on them.

Nice pics of some PS. Pics show some good variation. Both fish No 2 and 7 are questionable to me. Watch these two more closely as possible male/female. Fish No 8 is missing red on the operculum flap which I assume is damage and the flap on other side has more red. I base my opinion of male vs female PS on amount of red on operculum, although amount of red on PS just as amount of black on operculum of BG can be variable. Close observation and tube probing as Cecil mentions are important factors for acurately sexing PS and RES.

Awesome pics AP - PS are certainly beautiful fish. Nice work!

AP, do you think these pumpkinseeds have developed a bad attitude towards you for making them stay in the aquarium with that neon multi-colored pebbling?

Really nice looking fish. Pumpkinseeds and Longears are my two favorites for coloration.

After spending the winter in a black tank I felt they needed a little color for a few minutes before they hit the mini pond.

Thanks everyone for your input and comments.