A little over two weeks ago, I brought some bluegill and redear sunfish indoors. In my best dreams, I would get some growth, but my minimum goal was to ensure some survival of redear sunfish, because they are hard to acquire in good shape around here during the spring.
So far I have 100% survival! My water has remained clear, and my pH strips have indicated consistantly good water quality and stability.
I've been replacing about 50 gallons of water each week. I do not have a true "biofilter" yet, but the four tube socks that the water flows through appear to be doing the job of keeping the water clean. The "sniff test" of the socks when I'm rinsing them indicates nitrifying bacterial colonies within the socks. They smell just like every biofilter I've ever been around. I'm also using chemicals I buy at the pet store to make certain that the incoming water is conducive to good slime layer, and not high in iron and other metals and chemicals.
I am wildly excited about the fact that my fish are going ballistic over the frozen krill and bloodworm cubes I'm dropping in daily. I'm getting them on sale at PetSmart, and they are only costing me 10 cents per cube. Using four cubes a day, and even if I eventually get up to ten, I'm at $1/day which I'd be very pleased with over the next 3-4 months. Here are some pictures...
Holding a redear sunfish is like running with scissors.
