The Everglades Pygmy Sunfish
Elassoma evergladei
by Joseph S.
of California
Aquarticles.com
The Everglades pygmy sunfish (Elassoma evergladei) is an interesting fish for
a small single species tank.They seldom get over an inch long (largest would be 1.25).
This and their need for small live foods makes them a poor choice for community aquariums
as it will be hard providing food, and they may be eaten or harassed by other fish.
However, in a small tank with a constant supply of blackworms, daphnia, and/or brine
shrimp nauplii, they do quite well and are very intriguing fish.
They are shy but after some time can be observed, providing one makes sure to be still
without sudden movement. They spend most of the time near the bottom, or otherwise in the
plants maneuvering at odd angles. The females, juveniles, and non-breeding males are an
unnoticeable yellowish color with light brown mottling...they can easily be mistaken for
dead leaves or sticks as they sit motionless. This is perfect for blending in on the
bottom and they are easily overlooked. Breeding males, on the other hand, darken down to a
deep blacks. They also develop turquoise or blue spotting on the side (sometimes arranged
in vertical bars - but in my specimens it is placed irregularly) and an iridescent spot
under the eye. When they are in their colors the males are quite active and patrol back
and forth flashing their fins and guarding their territories. It is best in small tanks to
have only one male as the others may be harassed to the point of sickness and death. A
tank to move females too may also prove beneficial.
Keep a healthy group with both genders in a well planted tank (as in stuffed to the
brim - they love thick cover and make little use of open spaces) with Java moss and other
low light plants - and you are almost certain sooner or later to get eggs. The male courts
the female with a very elaborate dance which includes flaring, a zig-zag wiggling dance,
and making a walking movement with the pelvic fins. The male tries to encourage the female
to come into the dense plants to spawn.
Fry will start to appear. At first they can only take very tiny microrganisms (I added
greenwater) but will graduate to microworms, and soon baby brine shrimp. The fry so far
seem remarkably hardy considering their size and are for the most part ignored by the
adults. Keep the adults well fed just in case. If you want to be sure no predation happens
you cold either siphon out the fry or move the adults to a seperate tank. The fry grow
rather slowly, but they grow. Overall a great fish if you can give them the special care
they need.
My experience with this fish was interesting:
I had known for several years (about the length I've been seriously keeping aquariums)
about pygmy sunfish and they sounded like fun fish. However, the price and availability
(or lack thereof), and stories of how they didn't do well for some people made me hesitant
- also the fact that they required live foods. However, several years down the line
someone online was offering them for sale on a forum. We managed to work out a trade and I
sent him a bunch of plants in exchange for a few fish. Among them were five Elassoma
evergladei. They were very small and dashed desperately around the bag when it was
removed from the box. After acclimation I introduced them to a 2 gallon critter keeper
which had bunches of Java moss and Najas. This critter keeper was pretty low tech. Sand
substrate, lit by window light, and no filtration, though I have been considering adding
in a corner filter. The tank was basically kept clean by water changes and also the
removal of duckweed which acted to export nutrients.
They settled themselves in. However, things soon began to happen. The smaller fish grew
some kind of white fluffy growths on them and disappeared (you'd be hard pressed to find
the bodies of these fish!). Before long I was left with two males and a female. One of the
males was much larger and he enjoyed bullying the other. One day I noticed the male had
taken on breeding colors and was performing the mating dance described above. I then found
a sliver of a fish in the bucket during a water change. Things seemed to be going great
for another two weeks, but then both the smaller male and the female came down with the
same disease the other fish had gotten. The smaller male gave up but the female held on. I
removed her to a separate critter keeper and added some Melafix. Her condition stayed the
same for a few weeks until she finally passed on.
Before the female was separated from the male she undoubtedly laid eggs numerous times.
During a water change I spotted a very tiny clear sliver in the bucket. It didn't even
appear to have eyes but it was clear it was a baby! I put it and two others I found into a
sweater box container and added greenwater. They disappeared. I had a greenwater culture
going in another tank so I decided to dose the critter keeper (which at this time only
contained the male and any of the females eggs/fry) with greenwater. I removed about 50%
of the original water and replaced it all with greenwater. I continued adding in pipettes
of greenwater daily as well as keeping the male well fed. He grew into a beautiful, though
lonely fish.
The fry grew quickly though I did not see much of them. I continued feeding the
imaginary fry greenwater and microworms. Occasionally I would see a few in one of the well
lit corners of this tank. They were eventually big enough to take baby brine shrimp.
Things were easier from then on. I simply added baby brines to the tank as often as
possible. In three months the males began showing their colors and at the time of writing
I have four pairs of F1 fish distributed between two critter keepers. All of them are
already producing fry themselves and I am planning on sending a pair to a fellow aquarist
in hopes that he will have success with them.
Overall a great fish and also one that maintenance wise won't take too much out of your
bill.
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