E. alabamae

Over the years, I have kept and bred all the pygmies except alabamae. Has anyone had experience with these? I was lucky enough to see their habitat once and it is not all that different from other pygmies, except the water was spring fed, very clear and rather cold. I have read some experiences of a very few and it seems that these are very different beasts as far as temperment goes, when compared to the other species.

I am just curious as to whether there is any more info I can glean on these guys.

Someone gave me a pair about 10 yrs ago & i kept them for 2 generations. Pretty much the same methods and behaviors as okefenokee (my favorite), but more aggressive and territorial. Even the females can get pretty nasty. Attitude like a green sunfish, in a 1" body. Incidentally, pygmies from acid water adapt just fine to neutral water and seem to live & grow better (for me anyway) if the tank is NOT too acid. --gerald

Dsmith, I have been doing research on the genetics and conservation of E. alabamae over the past year and a half (thanks NANFA!). The springs are somewhat basic, as they flow from a karst limestone aquifer. Downstream, however, the water is tannic and quite acidic, approaching blackwater conditions near the mouth. I agree with Gerald, in that these fish are much more aggressive in captivity. Even gravid females are harrassed to death by dominant males, which makes me doubt that it has to do with competition for mates. I'm not sure, but I suspect this is due to limited (portioned) food resources in an aquarium environment. They are accustomed to high prey density in a stable environment, which probably is the only reason they are still hanging on to their last patch of habitat. During the course of my study (extreme drought of 2007), I watched helplessly as springs were pumped dry, in order to sustain nearby cotton fields. Three (out of seven) subpopulations were extirpated in a matter of 30-60 days. Needless to say, this species is in real trouble. I plan to give a talk about this situation at the 2008 convention.
Mike

Dustin,
Just might want to check on their status. I know when we were looking to get them at Riverbanks there was a permiting issue that Melissa was looking into. That was almost 4 years ago so it might have changed.
Clark

Last month there was a conference on future directions for Alabama pygmy management, organized by Daniel Drennen of the FWS in Jackson, MS. I wasn't able to make it, unfortunately, but I think they produced some form of notes for future directions. The species still doesn't have formal federal protection, but is under close scrutiny. You would need an Alabama permit to collect and keep the species as far as I know. Michael Sandel would know more, I'm sure.

Last month there was a conference on future directions for Alabama pygmy management, organized by Daniel Drennen of the FWS in Jackson, MS. I wasn't able to make it, unfortunately, but I think they produced some form of notes for future directions. The species still doesn't have formal federal protection, but is under close scrutiny. You would need an Alabama permit to collect and keep the species as far as I know. Michael Sandel would know more, I'm sure.

Guys, I have no plans to attempt to keep these guys. I started this topic some time ago just to get some info and bolster the snippets I had heard over time. Thanks for all the great insight.

http://www.nanfa.org.../elassoma.shtml

Kee-Ripes, man!
I would have figured that the state protections would have kept three springs from being pumped dry just to save some lousy cotton.

Smegmamorpha. I missed that in '98. Who says ichthylogists don't have a sense of humor?