Blackbanded sunfish

Care at a glance

Overview

A coldwater native at around 10 cm, it needs a planted tank of at least 75 litres and should not be kept warm long term. Provide soft, acidic water at pH 5.5 to 7.0 and a cool range of 4 to 24 C, ideally unheated with a winter chill. Keep it in a small group with peaceful, cool-water tankmates. It prefers live and frozen foods such as bloodworm, daphnia and small earthworms over flake.

In the wild

The blackbanded sunfish is a small, disc-shaped North American native crossed by bold black bars, with orange highlights in the front fin rays. It comes from soft, acidic, weedy coastal ponds. It is a true coldwater fish that suffers if kept warm.

Good to know

Enneacanthus chaetodon reaches about 10 cm and belongs to the sunfish family Centrarchidae. It naturally experiences water from near freezing in winter to the low twenties Celsius in summer. It is a nest-spawner, with the male guarding the eggs.

Did you know

Blackbanded sunfish need a genuine cold winter to thrive and breed, so a heated tropical tank slowly wears them down.

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