Gulf Coast pygmy sunfish
Encyclopedia
The Gulf Coast pygmy sunfish is known by the taxonomic name Elassoma gilberti. Elassoma gilberti is closely related to Elassoma okefenokee. Elassoma gilberti in general has four preopercular canal pores while Elassoma okefenokee on average has three. The average number of anal fin rays is seven in Elassoma gilberti and eight in Elassoma okefenokee. The female Elassoma gilberti often expresses a blue patch of color behind her eye, while the Elassoma okefenokee does not.
It takes approximately three to four days for the eggs to hatch. At this point the male stops protecting the spawn site and becomes receptive to spawning again. Elassoma gilberti will spawn year round if well fed. It is popular to feed the fry microworms, which can survive for one to two days underwater and thus can be added to the tank daily to provide a constant food supply for the young. Male fry can color up at one half inch of size, which occurs at approximately four to five months if the fry were well fed. Fry and juvenile Elassoma appreciate a ground cover plant such as Hemianthus callitrichoides in which to hide. A ground cover plant allows them to leave the dense tall plants in which they hatch and to safely venture forth and explore the rest of the aquarium.
The most common problem with introducing a new species of fish into a pygmy sunfish species-only tank is that the pygmy sunfish will stop spawning. Because these fish have a 1-3 year life span and look quite drab when not spawning, it is desirable to keep them spawning continually. For this reason, pygmy sunfish are often kept in species-only tanks. Tetras and barbs scare Elassoma gilberti with their rapid motion, and will force even a well fed, healthy population of gulf coast pygmy sunfish to spend the majority of their time hiding in the plants. Large, colorful guppies and bettas will also scare Elassoma gilberti into the plants, but small clear and white guppies have less of an effect. Keep in mind when choosing tank mates that the color blue is a marker for dominance in Elassoma gilberti, and that gilberti will interpret a blue betta or platy as being the dominant male. They will hide whenever that blue fish is nearby.
Size comparison of female with Lymnaea snail http://gallery.nanfa.org/v/members/EricaWieser/lymnaea+size+comparison.jpg.html Photo copyright Erica Wieser and used with permission.
Fry (baby fish) iridescent in the sunlight http://gallery.nanfa.org/v/members/EricaWieser/iridescent+fry+1.jpg.html Photo copyright Erica Wieser and used with permission.
Male's normal coloration when not breeding at the moment http://gallery.nanfa.org/v/members/EricaWieser/040gallery+photo.jpg.html Photo copyright Erica Wieser and used with permission.
A male blanched out (they are normally grey or black with blue stripes) http://gallery.nanfa.org/v/members/EricaWieser/003resize_002.jpg.html Photo copyright Erica Wieser and used with permission.
Example of an aquarium that maintains a breeding population of Elassoma gilberti http://gallery.nanfa.org/v/members/EricaWieser/Elassoma+gilberti+aquarium.jpg.html Photo copyright Erica Wieser and used with permission.
Male defending his territoryhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BTjgRWdxgnE
Courtship dance http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pMaxzV76MVs
Female Elassoma gilberti playing in the current http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tzgL3CELJfI
Male chasing female out of his territory after spawning to guard the eggs http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wkJIUYIsDrQ
Baby (AKA fry) searching for food among the blackworms, which are food for the adults http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZRLPq9o_rEY
Male wooing a female into his territory to spawnhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QS15coehSfM
Breeding and captive care discussion topic hosted by the North American Native Fishes Association: http://forum.nanfa.org/index.php/topic/10536-elassoma-gilberti/
Range
E. gilberti occurs in northwestern Florida and southwestern Georgia in the lower Suwanee River drainage and other Gulf of Mexico drainages from the Waccasassa River west to Choctawhatchee Bay, whereas E. okefenokee occurs in central and northeastern Florida and southeastern Georgia in the upper Suwanee River drainage and other drainages east of the Waccasassa River and Suwanee River. Both species are usually found among dense aquatic vegetation and leaf litter, where they feed mainly on tiny insects, crustaceans and worms.Diet
Feeding at a regular time every day trains pygmy sunfish to become less shy. They learn to associate a human face with receiving food. Elassoma gilberti will not willingly ingest fish flakes or pellets, but prefer foods such as live grindal worms and blackworms, thawed frozen bloodworms, daphnia, microworms, and newly hatched aquatic snails. The two most commonly used foods for keeping the pygmy sunfish active and breeding are live grindal worms and frozen bloodworms. These foods are most popular because populations of grindal worms are easy to maintain in plastic culturing containers, and frozen bloodworms are often available in blocks of thirty at local pet stores. Freeze dried food in general does not work because pygmy sunfish hunt for food on the bottom of the tank, and freeze dried food floats.Spawning
Elassoma gilberti will breed in a wide range of water conditions, and spawning has been confirmed in both 0 DH and 20 DH water. Males require a region of dense living or artificial rooted aquatic plants to claim as territory to woo females into to spawn. Each spawning male claims approximately a cubic foot of volume as his territory. The males spend their time patrolling around their territory and dancing to catch the females' attention. When dancing, they wiggle their dorsal, anal, and caudal fins to show off their bright blue iridescence. Then, suddenly, they do a full stop, holding completely still for a few seconds with no visible motion. After the pause they continue dancing again, often moving up and down in their eagerness to woo the female into their respective clumps of dense plants. Females swim in and out of the males' territory to spawn. The male then guards the spawn site until the eggs hatch, chasing females and other males away.It takes approximately three to four days for the eggs to hatch. At this point the male stops protecting the spawn site and becomes receptive to spawning again. Elassoma gilberti will spawn year round if well fed. It is popular to feed the fry microworms, which can survive for one to two days underwater and thus can be added to the tank daily to provide a constant food supply for the young. Male fry can color up at one half inch of size, which occurs at approximately four to five months if the fry were well fed. Fry and juvenile Elassoma appreciate a ground cover plant such as Hemianthus callitrichoides in which to hide. A ground cover plant allows them to leave the dense tall plants in which they hatch and to safely venture forth and explore the rest of the aquarium.
Tank Mates
Because their maximum size is only one inch long, bigger fish do not make good tank mates with Elassoma gilberti. The fry and juveniles remain at less than a half inch long for three or four months. Here is a scaled photo of a fully grown Elassoma gilberti male (picture taken by Erica Wieser and used with permission): http://gallery.nanfa.org/v/members/EricaWieser/scaled+photo+number+2.jpg.html The scale reference is one inch.The most common problem with introducing a new species of fish into a pygmy sunfish species-only tank is that the pygmy sunfish will stop spawning. Because these fish have a 1-3 year life span and look quite drab when not spawning, it is desirable to keep them spawning continually. For this reason, pygmy sunfish are often kept in species-only tanks. Tetras and barbs scare Elassoma gilberti with their rapid motion, and will force even a well fed, healthy population of gulf coast pygmy sunfish to spend the majority of their time hiding in the plants. Large, colorful guppies and bettas will also scare Elassoma gilberti into the plants, but small clear and white guppies have less of an effect. Keep in mind when choosing tank mates that the color blue is a marker for dominance in Elassoma gilberti, and that gilberti will interpret a blue betta or platy as being the dominant male. They will hide whenever that blue fish is nearby.
Photos
Male in breeding colors http://gallery.nanfa.org/v/members/EricaWieser/029resize.jpg.html Photo copyright Erica Wieser and used with permission.
Size comparison of female with Lymnaea snail http://gallery.nanfa.org/v/members/EricaWieser/lymnaea+size+comparison.jpg.html Photo copyright Erica Wieser and used with permission.
Fry (baby fish) iridescent in the sunlight http://gallery.nanfa.org/v/members/EricaWieser/iridescent+fry+1.jpg.html Photo copyright Erica Wieser and used with permission.
Male's normal coloration when not breeding at the moment http://gallery.nanfa.org/v/members/EricaWieser/040gallery+photo.jpg.html Photo copyright Erica Wieser and used with permission.
A male blanched out (they are normally grey or black with blue stripes) http://gallery.nanfa.org/v/members/EricaWieser/003resize_002.jpg.html Photo copyright Erica Wieser and used with permission.
Example of an aquarium that maintains a breeding population of Elassoma gilberti http://gallery.nanfa.org/v/members/EricaWieser/Elassoma+gilberti+aquarium.jpg.html Photo copyright Erica Wieser and used with permission.
Videos
Little male chased away by big male as he was wooing a female http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5QNXjZNS5SYMale defending his territoryhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BTjgRWdxgnE
Courtship dance http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pMaxzV76MVs
Female Elassoma gilberti playing in the current http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tzgL3CELJfI
Male chasing female out of his territory after spawning to guard the eggs http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wkJIUYIsDrQ
Baby (AKA fry) searching for food among the blackworms, which are food for the adults http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZRLPq9o_rEY
Male wooing a female into his territory to spawnhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QS15coehSfM
Sources
Elassoma gilberti, A new species of pygmy sunfish (Elassomatidae) from Florida and Geordia, Franklin F. Snelson, Jr., Trevor J. Krabbenhoft, and Joseph M. Quattro, 2009.Breeding and captive care discussion topic hosted by the North American Native Fishes Association: http://forum.nanfa.org/index.php/topic/10536-elassoma-gilberti/