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Hello From central Iowa

Started by Guest_RESET_* , Oct 10 2010 07:29 PM

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12 replies to this topic

#1 Guest_RESET_*

Guests

Posted 10 October 2010 - 07:29 PM

Hello all,
My name is Sean and I currently live in Central Iowa, near Marengo. I have joined the site in hopes of meeting some people and learning about keeping North American natives in my home aquarium. I am also a member over at Monsterfishkeepers. I have read a couple posts over there sending people over here for info. I have emailed Brian at Zimmermanfish.com about purchasing a couple species from him for my new 75 gallon tank. I was originally going to go with South American dwarf cichlids but I am thinking some of the native species are more interesting.

I have several years experience with standard tropical fare. My last tank was a 40 breeder with an Asian flavor. I kept a large school of WCMM and various other Asian species. I liked the idea of cool water fish in the WCMM. My tanks are also usually pretty well planted. I like trying to get them close to self sufficient and will be looking around here and other places for ideas and inspiration on naturally planted aquaria and cool water fish.

I hope that I can contribute to the forum and I am considering becoming a NANFA member as well.

#2 Guest_Irate Mormon_*

Guests

Posted 10 October 2010 - 08:03 PM

By ALL means go native with your 75. You will also find that membership gives you full access to the forum, plus our quarterly publication.

#3 Guest_Mike_*

Guests

Posted 10 October 2010 - 09:36 PM

I'm glad you found this sight, I found it a couple of years ago and love it. There are a lot of good people on this sight, and becomming a member is well worth it.

I went on one fish sampling trip with Uland and some other members, it was alot of fun, my son came too and he was surprised how much fun he had ceatching small fish & trying to figure out what they were. We thought we knew a lot about fish, but never really looked at darters & minnows. Some very cool and colorfull fish.

The people on this sight are for the most part very friendly, and helpfull. I just can't say enough good things about this sight.

Now if I could only get to one of the conventions, I've been dieing to go but it looks like I'm going to miss my 4th one this year.

Mike

#4 Guest_RESET_*

Guests

Posted 10 October 2010 - 09:58 PM

thanks for the welcome. At $20 per year, I think membership should be easy. I just have to make sure that I am going to go native. It is probably worth it just for the news letter and access to the classified section.

I read up in the regulations section and I think that I need a fishing license to net fish for my aquarium. Are there any Iowa members that can confirm this? There are some small fish in the ditch next to my property and they will die in the next couple weeks when the first frost hits. I would love to save them but I have no idea what they are. I don't want to save something that I will have to end up killing because I can't keep it. They could be anything from sunfish to common carp.

#5 Guest_Uland_*

Guests

Posted 11 October 2010 - 08:36 AM

Welcome Sean, we're glad to have you here.
While I can't help you with the specifics of Iowa law, I can say it's important to clear all of the legal hurdles before you collect and keep fish.
The fish in your local ditch will not die at first frost and few will die when the sub-zero temps hit in February. They will find an undercut bank or pool to overwinter in so please don't feel it's necessary to "save" fish from a cruel winter.
Before you take fish, it's very important to be able to identify them since you might collect a protected fish. No sense in getting started on the wrong foot.
Thanks for joining and I'm sure you'll have a great time keeping native fish.

#6 Guest_EricaWieser_*

Guests

Posted 11 October 2010 - 04:27 PM

There are some small fish in the ditch next to my property...I have no idea what they are.

Can you take some photos of them and post it in the ID forum? We'd love to help.

#7 Guest_RESET_*

Guests

Posted 11 October 2010 - 06:09 PM

Welcome Sean, we're glad to have you here.
While I can't help you with the specifics of Iowa law, I can say it's important to clear all of the legal hurdles before you collect and keep fish.
The fish in your local ditch will not die at first frost and few will die when the sub-zero temps hit in February. They will find an undercut bank or pool to overwinter in so please don't feel it's necessary to "save" fish from a cruel winter.
Before you take fish, it's very important to be able to identify them since you might collect a protected fish. No sense in getting started on the wrong foot.
Thanks for joining and I'm sure you'll have a great time keeping native fish.

Sorry, I should have been more clear about the ditch. It is a drainage ditch and the water they are in is land locked and only about an inch or two deep. While they may not die in the first frost, they will not overwinter. The only reason there is any water in there is because we had a wet year and the water table is higher than normal.

I would love to identify them, both for the reason I stated and for the one you stated. Maybe I can get some pics like Erica suggested.

#8 Guest_EricaWieser_*

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Posted 11 October 2010 - 07:11 PM

The only reason there is any water in there is because we had a wet year and the water table is higher than normal.

It's possible they're killifish. Killies are short lived fish that pop up in temporary water pools because their eggs are able to survive short periods of drought. General killi info: http://fish.mongabay.com/killifish.htm

Or they could be fish that washed into the ditch from an existing water body. Here's a list of the native fish of Iowa: http://www.iowadnr.g...ish/iafish.html The species in your drainage ditch might be there. That webpage has some pictures.

Edited by EricaWieser, 11 October 2010 - 07:16 PM.

#9 Guest_Newt_*

Guests

Posted 11 October 2010 - 08:14 PM

Hello and welcome, Sean! We're glad to have you and hope you'll find the inofrmation you seek.

One note on submitting photos for ID: we do insist that you follow all applicable regulations while collecting fish, and that you take pictures in the field and then release the fish. Never take a fish home if you don't know what it is!

Erica- While there are various native killies around, and that is quite possibly what is living in Sean's ditch, our native killies do not have dessication-tolerant eggs. The "annual killifish" are primarily tropical and belong to the families Aplocheilidae, Nothobranchiidae, and Rivulidae, while our natives belong to the families Cyprinodontidae and Fundulidae and have life-cycles more like typical freshwater fish.

#10 Guest_RESET_*

Guests

Posted 11 October 2010 - 09:45 PM

I live about a mile from the Iowa river in a 6 month flood plain. We usually get at least two good floods a year, early spring and then late summer. They could have gotten in there anytime this year, the ditch was flooded several times. I have caught and released carp babies in my yard more than once. I believe they are some sort of sunfish but I have only seen them from about 10 feet away and from the top. I have no idea how I would get down into the ditch let alone catch a couple for ID. I will see what I can do this week, it is supposed to stay warm all week so they should stay active.

#11 Guest_Newt_*

Guests

Posted 12 October 2010 - 06:22 PM

A minnow trap would probably work well. You could attach it to a rope and stake the rope at the top of the bank so you don't have to slide down a steep slope. Just check the Iowa regulations first to be sure this is legal. You will probably need a fishing license.

#12 Guest_EricaWieser_*

Guests

Posted 12 October 2010 - 07:08 PM

You will probably need a fishing license.

You will definitely need a fishing license. They're not hard to buy. I live in Ohio, and I just paid $19 for mine at the local Rite Aid. (pharmacy store thingamabob). They make it easy to stay legal. ^_^