Just realizing I have not posted any updates over the last week so where do I start?
I got impatient with the female RES activity so decided to try to catch a few smaller "dither" fish to try to make the larger ones more comfortable. In the process I ended up catching two more mature RES that I believe are female. So I have the male BG breeder, 3 potential female RES breeders, and 3 small bluegill in the 2-4" range. My thought process is that I can observe the 3 females to increase odds of finding one that is more content with tank life as I have still not witnessed the original female RES eating anything. The small fish were eating bits of worm and fish food 2 hours after stocking.
The water temp has been marginal for activity up until the last few days. Over the past weekend we had another round of freezing overnight temps which had the water temp down to 48-50. I added a 300 watt aquarium heater to try to moderate the temperature swings. Its way undersized for an uninsulated 275 gallon tank but seemed to keep temps above 50 the second night of freezing air temps.
During thetemp drop, activity of all fish dropped significantly. Even the male BG was just hanging out on the bottom not taking red worms. I left Monday for a two day trip to Cherokee NC. During that time, I intentionally stopped feeding and at the same time we had daytime temps approaching 80. I was hoping to trigger a feeding g frenzy when I returned and it worked. The male BG ate at least 4 whole red worms and 2 meal worms. At one point he came within 6" of the surface to grab one, so I think he will eventually take floating pellets. After he and the small fish were filled up, a worm made it to the bottom and the smallest of the 3 res breeders darted over and inhaled it! A few minutes later it ate another. I still did not witness the two larger RES eating, but they are showing signs of being more comfortable by swimming around more freely and being slightly territorial. They do this neat thing where they flare out their gills as they peck at the invader. One thing I have noticed is the smallest of the 3(the one that ate)seems to have a bolder body coloration. The gill flap colors are quite dull, but it makes me concerned that it may be a male. Water temps are now in the upper 60's. None of the fish looked terribly egg laden when I stocked them but I have to remind myself the warm spell is way early.
Lastly, my seive arrived. It's supposed to be 80 mesh(.18 mm). I got 2 of them for $16 on Amazon. I have not tested them yet but the mesh looks super fine.
80 Mesh Seive
