adult sunfish
are the heaviest bony fish in the world, measuring up to 10 feet (3 meters) long and weighing more than 4,400 lbs. (2,000 kilograms) They are also bizarrely shaped; adults resemble enormous, flattened pancakes topped by a massive dorsal fin like a shark’s.
How long does it take a sunfish to grow to full size?
Sunfish require at least 2 years to reach this size.
How big is the biggest sunfish?
The heaviest specimen on record is a bump-head sunfish (Mola alexandrini) caught off Kamogawa, Chiba, Japan, in 1996; it weighed 2,300 kilograms (5,070 pounds) and measured 2.72 metres (8 feet 11 inches) long.
How old do sunfish get?
The lifespan of
ocean sunfish
is currently unknown, particularly the length of time they spend in the juvenile stage. Current best estimates for
mola mola
and Masturus lanceolatus are approximately 20 to 25 years to attain their full size.
What is the difference between bluegill and sunfish?
However, a bluegill (Lepomis macrochirus) is actually a type of sunfish (Centrarchidae family). Sunfish are a genus of
freshwater fish
, and one variety within the Lepomis genus is the bluegill — the “difference” is that all bluegills are sunfish but not all sunfish are bluegills.
How big do freshwater sunfish get?
The average length is 4 inches, ranging usually from 2 to 8 inches and reaching a maximum of 12 inches , which is very rare. Most green sunfish weigh less than half a pound. The all-tackle world record is a 2-pound 2-ounce fish taken in Missouri in 1971.
How old is a 10 inch bluegill?
At 2 years of age: Bluegill will likely fall between 6.5 and 8 inches. At 3 years of age: Bluegill will likely fall between 8 and 8.9 inches. At 4 years of age: Bluegill will likely fall between 8.7 and 9.4 inches. At 5 years of age : Bluegill will likely fall between 9.5 and 10 inches.
Do sunfish grow fast?
Even though its diet, which consists mostly of jellyfish, is nutritionally poor, the ocean sunfish grows at an unusually fast rate of almost one kilogram per day – other fishes grow at 0.02 to 0.5 kilogram per day.
How old is a 4000 pound sun fish?
According to Thys, the sunfish discovered in Ceuta was likely more than 20 years old and most likely is a female, since no large males greater than two meters have been found so far.
Which species of sunfish is the largest?
The enormous ocean sunfish known as the Mola mola can grow to be 5,000 pounds and 14 feet long, making it the world’s largest bony fish.
Why is the sunfish useless?
They included: the sunfish’s “useless” heavy body which can weigh up to 2,250kg (5,000 pounds), their lack of swim bladders (which fish generally need to control their buoyancy so that they don’t rise to the ocean’s surface), and the fact that they’re not even considered food by predators, which instead choose to chew.
How often should you feed a sunfish?
with planted O-spot and shiner tank, I feed
small amounts
2-3 times a day , no one feeds them fri-sun (i usually do a w/c on fri after noon or sat morning, i will generally feed a small amount just before.).
How long do Lake sunfish live?
Life History – Spring and summer; eggs hatch in 2 days; nest made in shallow water by male and consists of many small depressions on fine gravel or sand near cover; guarded by male for 5 – 7 days, become reproductive in 3 years. Life Span – Life span of the green sunfish is about 4 – 6 years.
How long do freshwater sunfish live?
They have a lifespan of about three years, but if conditions are favorable, they can live up to eight years They tend to grow between 4-12 inches long and rarely exceed 1 pound in weight. The pumpkinseed sunfish has been thought of for many years to be one species, known as Lepomis gibbosus.
What do sunfish taste like?
Sunfish have a unique flavor that some people compare to bass and others compare to lobster They are a scaly fish with a heavy taste. In Asian countries, they are sometimes used to flavor soups or sauces. They can have an odor that turns some people off.
Are sunfish slow swimmers?
Slow movers The mola is a slower swimmer than most other large pelagic fish An adult mola lacks a gas-filled swim bladder, the organ that gives most bony fish exquisite control over buoyancy. Scientists, impressed by its slow-motion swimming at first, guessed that the mola must drift wherever ocean currents takes it.
How big of a pond do you need for bluegill?
Bluegill are suitable for bass/bluegill ponds larger than 1 acre Population management becomes difficult in ponds less than 1 acre where stunted populations can develop. Bluegill should be stocked at a 1o:1 ratio with largemouth bass.
What is the biggest bluegill ever caught?
The Biggest Bluegill in the World The world record bluegill recorded by IGFA or the International Gamefish Association was caught in 1950 at Ketona Lake, Alabama. What is this? This bluegill weighed in at a whopping 4 pounds 12 ounces and came in at 15 inches long with an astounding girth of 18-¼ inches.
How big do bluegills get?
The common length for bluegill is 7.5 inches (19.1 centimeters) with the maximum reported length being 16 inches (41 centimeters).
Do sunfish jump out of the water?
Sunfish have been observed leaping as high as 10 feet into the air in hopes that their splash landing may dislodge some of the unwelcome guests that burrowed into their skin. The lumpy cluster below this mola mola’s mouth pictured below are skin parasites that birds might feast on when it basks at the surface.
Why is it called a sunfish?
The ocean sunfish is a very large, oddly shaped fish that gets its name from his habit of floating on its side, at the sea surface, warming itself in the sun.
How many eggs do sunfish lay?
Sunfish can lay up to 300,000,000 eggs at once , more than any vertebrate. They generally hang out at depths of 160 to 650 feet, but can go much deeper on occasion. During the 1600s and 1700s, Mola mola was used as payment for taxes by Japanese shoguns.
Is a crappie a sunfish?
Other common fish such as crappies and rock bass are also sunfish There is much more to the sunfish family than meets the eye.
Are bream and sunfish the same?
In the US, bream (pronounced brim) is a common name that encompasses several of the larger Lepomis sunfishes These usually include Bluegill and Redear Sunfish.
Is crappie a bluegill?
There are some differences in basic shape and size. To begin with, Crappie have much larger mouths than Bluegill Bluegill also have a more rounded shape, partly due to their small mouths and heads. Beyond all that, Crappie grow to be a lot larger and heavier than Bluegill.
Can sunfish bite you?
Superficially, they resemble a bluegill. However, if a sizable population of green sunfish becomes established in your pond, you can usually expect small fish size and very aggressive fish that bite swimmers.
Is a bluegill a sunfish?
In short, all Bluegills are Sunfish but not all Sunfish are Bluegills. A Bluegill (Lepomis macrochirus) is a species of the Sunfish Family (Centrarchidae of the order Perciformes). There are over 25 species comprising the Sunfish Family.
What is considered a trophy bluegill?
In this area, bluegills are generally considered trophies if they are at least 10 inches long Actually, bluegills that hit eight inches are big bruisers, and finding impoundments with sunfish this size makes it worthwhile to break out the ultralight gear.
What size bluegill should you keep?
Given all that information, the best advice is to keep fish greater than 6 or so inches but less than 8 Or in more general terms, keep the mid to large size bluegill but throw back the largest ones you catch. This is best for several reasons.
Why are my bluegills small?
Stunting in bluegills has two probable causes: either large predators are unavailable because of overfishing , or the bluegills are able to hide from the large predators in dense stands of weeds Both allow large numbers of bluegills young to survive that would normally be eaten by predators.
How long does it take a bluegill to get 8 inches?
Bluegills have a high reproductive rate. Let this be a guide for your success. If you are doing things correctly, expect fingerling bluegill (1″-3″), post stocking, to be: 1yr=4.5″-6″; 2yr=6.5″-8″; 3yr 8″-8.9″ ; 4yr=8.7-9.4″; 5 yr.
Can you keep bluegill in a fish tank?
Setup. Buy an aquarium that’s large enough for the amount of bluegills you will have, keeping in mind they can grow to 10 inches long each. Using the common one-inch-per-gallon rule, house two bluegills in a 25-gallon tank.
How long does a bluegill live?
The older the female gets the more eggs she will produce. A four year old female produces about 20,000 eggs. How long do they live? Bluegill usually live from 4 to 6 years of age but can reach up to 8 to 11 years of age in captivity.
How long does it take a bluegill to mature?
Bluegill grow relatively fast. In just one year, they can reach a weight of one pound and a length of up to 12 inches. It takes two years for them to reach breeding size if they are properly looked after and fed.
Are bluegill good for a pond?
“They’re a great kids’ fish.” “They’re easy to catch.” “ They’re a good management option for a pond too small to manage for trophy bass” If you’re a serious bluegill angler, chances are you’ve heard someone denigrate your favorite fish.
What is the biggest green sunfish ever caught?
The world record weighed 2 pound, 2 ounces and was caught in Stockton Lake near Springfield, Missouri in June 1971. “This was a one in a thousand, maybe even one in 10,000 fish,” Hahn said about the frequency of a fish this size in the Wyoming green sunfish population.
Has anyone caught an ocean sunfish?
Fishers recently hauled up a surprising catch off the coast of North Africa : a colossal ocean sunfish weighing an incredible 4,400 pounds (2,000 kilograms).
What is the biggest fish in Africa?
The largest species is the African freshwater fish, the giant tigerfish (Hydrocynus goliath).
Citations
https://www.aquarium.co.za/blog/entry/everything-you-need-to-know-about-ocean-sunfish
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ocean_sunfish
https://www.livescience.com/tiny-sunfish-larva.html
https://www.newsweek.com/ocean-sunfish-mola-mola-california-laguna-beach-video-1656799