Pumpkinseed
Lepomis gibbosus
Also known asCommon sunfish · Pond perch · Sunny · Kivver
Water parameters
Minimum tank: 300 L per individual at harvest size.
Feed and growth
- Feed protein
- 35% target
- Daily feed (warm)
- 2.50% of body weight
- Daily feed (cool)
- 0.70% of body weight
- Max density
- 25 g per litre
A 300 g adult eats about 7.5 g of feed per day at optimum. 10 fish at adult size: ~75 g daily.
Legality
Rules vary by jurisdiction and change over time. Verify with your local fisheries or wildlife authority before stocking.
| Jurisdiction | Status | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| eu-general | restricted | Listed as invasive alien species in several EU member states; not on the EU-wide IAS list but individual countries restrict import and sale verified 2026-05-14 |
Unlisted jurisdictions default to "check local regulations".
Origin and habitat
Native to eastern North America, from New Brunswick south to the Savannah River in Georgia, and west through the Great Lakes, Hudson Bay and upper Mississippi drainages to Manitoba, North Dakota, Missouri and Kentucky. It is a small, deep-bodied sunfish of the family Centrarchidae, easy to recognise from the wavy blue and orange lines on its cheek and the red spot on the gill flap. Most adults run about 10–20 cm and a few hundred grams, though the fish can reach roughly 40 cm and 630 g at the extreme. Pumpkinseed live in shallow, weedy lakes, ponds and slow streams over sand or gravel, feeding on insects and their larvae, snails and other molluscs, crustaceans, leeches, fish eggs and small fish. The white flesh is mild and good eating, much like bluegill. Introduced widely for sport and ornament since the late nineteenth century, the species is now established in at least 28 European countries and ranks among the more damaging non-native fishes there.
Climate and outdoor ponds
- Climate
- temperate (handles seasonal swings)
- USDA zones
- 3–9 (winter low around -40°C or warmer)
- Heating needed
- no
- Cooling needed
- no
Care notes
A small panfish for temperate aquaponics, much like bluegill but slower-growing and smaller at maturity. It does best in the low to mid 20s Celsius and shrugs off a wide span of conditions, tolerating water from near freezing to about 30°C, pH from roughly 6 to 8.5, and low dissolved oxygen. Growth is modest, on the order of 100–200 g in 12 to 18 months on sunfish pellet of about 32 to 36 percent protein, with feed conversion around 2 to 3, poorer than bluegill or hybrid sunfish. Stocking is light, roughly {density:10}-{density:15}. The species' main draw is availability and toughness: across the northeastern US, eastern Canada and much of Europe it turns up readily from hatcheries, bait suppliers and local waters, and it resists disease well. Its vivid cheek markings also make it attractive in display tanks. Because most fish stay under about 200 g, it suits family-scale, personal-consumption systems rather than commercial production; growers who want larger fillets should look at bluegill or hybrid sunfish. Fingerlings come from state hatcheries and bait shops across the eastern US and Canada, and keeping it is legal within its native range in most states without special permits. Several European countries restrict it as an invasive species.