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Ok heres the thing. In our ponds here we have Goldfish, bullheads, and bluegills breeding a lot this year. I happend to catch a small Bluegill fry thats probably about a half an inch in size. The only tank I can provide for him is a 10 gallon tank. Obviously not big enough for his entire life, considering they can reach 12-14". My question is how long could I keep him in the 10 gallon before he started to get too big and gets stunted? I'd like to keep him over the winter if possible. He would be the only fish in the tank with a Tetra Whisper 10 (90gph). Hes in there now actually. I have tried feeding him crushed up flake food and he was able to eat it as long as it was small enough. What do you guys think?

I would seriously consider getting a larger tank to house him during the winter. Bluegills grow large and quick. Remember, in the wild, if you do not grow quick, you become lunch for someone else.

I would get a 55GAL at least (nothing fancy) to house him if you plan to "winter" him. In a 10GAL, he'll eventually get cramped, sick then die.

Since Bluegills require coldwater, you can get away with no heater, and a basic setup.

If you wish to go biotope, do some research.

Gary

Bad idea IMO. A 10 gallon is just too small and I would only house him in it for a month, tops. If you want to keep him inside just get a big rubbermaid bin and keep him in that for the winter, then you won't have to worry about stunting. Either that or leave him in the pond and hope for the best.

Ok well ill just house him for a month then. I obviously cant afford to house him over the winter and especially not adulthood.