10 replies to this topic

[Drew]

Here is a document by Gerald Pottern on collecting fish in North Carolina, not specific to the upcoming Convention :

 Native_Fish_Keeping_101_Handouts.doc   204KB   215 downloads

[fisgokie]

Here is a document by Gerald Pottern on collecting fish in North Carolina, not specific to the upcoming Convention :

 Native_Fish_Keeping_101_Handouts.doc   204KB   215 downloads

it said blue fin killie? will there be any there?

[Drew]

it said blue fin killie? will there be any there?

It says they are of special concern, so probably no collecting of them even if found.

[Gambusia]

Here in NC bluefin killies are only found around Wilmington.

However I find them occasionally in the fish stores around Asheville and have some in a tank.

These are not collected from the wild and not covered by collection restrictions.

I also find the occasional sunfish or swamp darter at the fish store.

[viridari]

Hmmmm that's an MS Word doc format... can someone attach it in plain text or rtf or pdf so others can open it please?

Thanks!

[Brooklamprey]

PDF:

Attached Files

•  Native_Fish_Keeping_101_Handouts.pdf   239.01KB   98 downloads

[viridari]

PDF:

AWESOME... me & my Linux machine thank you!

[viridari]

Gerald, I'm reading your handout and have a suggestion for improving one bit of it.

American Eel - The escape risk is indeed very high, but I've had quite a number of different eel species and found that they can be pretty readily contained by affixing artifical turf to the lip of the aquarium with the rough side out. When the eel is probing for an escape route, it will feel the rough turf and withdraw back into the tank rather than run its whole body along the rough surface.

This same trick works for cephalopods if you ever try those.

[viridari]

American Eel - The escape risk is indeed very high, but I've had quite a number of different eel species and found that they can be pretty readily contained by affixing artifical turf to the lip of the aquarium with the rough side out. When the eel is probing for an escape route, it will feel the rough turf and withdraw back into the tank rather than run its whole body along the rough surface.

Hey folks, I just got the latest American Currents in the mail and see that this was reprinted with credit to me. Thanks so much, I wish I could take credit, but the idea is not my innovation as the article alludes to. I found that the Baltimore Aquarium was using this method to keep cephalopods in open-topped tanks and on a hunch tried it out on my own eels with great success. I wish I could tell you who came up with that idea but I noticed it on a behind-the-scenes tour about 20 years ago and don't have any names to provide. I don't even know if they were the first to come up with it. But that's where I got it from.

[gerald]

it makes sense that would work for octopus, since their suckers wouldnt grab well on astroturf, but why on earth does this deter american eels, which routinely slither over wet grass to climb around waterfalls ??

[viridari]

it makes sense that would work for octopus, since their suckers wouldnt grab well on astroturf, but why on earth does this deter american eels, which routinely slither over wet grass to climb around waterfalls ??

Wet grass is a completely different tactile sensation from turf. It's that same tactile sensation that deters cephalopods from proceeding. Not much can stop a determined octopus, and it's certainly not a matter of stopping his suckers from working.

Try brushing the soft surface of your inner arm across some artificial turf sometime and see how it feels.