Hello all. I've been a lurker for a while. I mostly collect crayfish but recently I've decided to start keeping some native fish species. Now I've noticed and approve of the attention paid to obeying state regulations regarding keeping native fish species. I'm an avid fisherman and a firm believer in catch and release. New Jersey waters for the most part are heavily over fished in my opinion so I try to do at least something to make sure some fish make it back to the water. I currently have 3 species of minnow and 4 baby Bluegill sunfish. I did check NJ regulations and after reading and re reading them it appears that there are no size restrictions on sunfish or minnows and there are no endangered minnow species in NJ. Nothing is said about keeping them in an aquarium either.If I'm wrong and someone can point out to me I'd appreciate it.

I currently have 2 tanks active.
10 gallon tank - 2 C.bartoni crayfish 4 minnows, killifish I think

75 gallon tank 4 baby Bluegill sunfish(yearlings by my estimate), 3 fathead minnows(I think), 3 Clown loaches, 1 common Pleco, 4 adult crayfish 3 native one australian species(Cherax zebra) and 2 large freshwater mussels.

That's pushing the limits of the tank but I have 2 filters running and the native fish are healthy greedy little things especially the sunnies who will nibble my fingers if I put them in the water. There may be a problem between the Bluegills and the crayfish as they get bigger but that's a couple of years in the future at least. I decided on Bluegills because I've always liked how big adult Bluegills look and after seeing a couple of them in a fish tank at a nature preserve this year I knew I had to raise some. I'm in the midst of putting together some pictures of my tank and when I do I'll be sure to post them so I can get some positive id on the minnows.

Wow this is the biggest introductory post I've ever made. Howdy again everyone.

We're glad you found us.

We're glad you found us.

so am I, between the crayfish forum I hang out at and now NANFA I can talk to even more like minded people.

Welome! Careful about mixing crayfish from different continents. There's a fungus (Aphanomyces) that many N.Amer crays carry (with no symptoms) that can kill Eurasian and Aussie crays.

Welome! Careful about mixing crayfish from different continents. There's a fungus (Aphanomyces) that many N.Amer crays carry (with no symptoms) that can kill Eurasian and Aussie crays.

Thanks. I've been lucky so far this is my second Aussie cray and so far no mysterious deaths.