Dear NANFA Friends,
I am currently leading a group of students in an effort to spawn a group of Notemigonus as a model and "practice run" for spawning some rare Notropis for the MA Divisionof Fisheries and Wildlife. To date our golden shiners have been:
1. Cooled to 40 degrees F with a 7 hours photoperiod.
2. Warmed back up to 80-84 degrees F with a 14 hour photoperiod.
3. They have been provided with a horizontal and vertical spawnign mat and a (DIY) spawning mop.
4. They are eating flakes and pellets like it is going out of style.
Several fish SEEM to be swelling a bit, but no eggs yet.
Questions:
1. Are goldens big egg eaters?
2. Long long must a cold treatment last?
3. How long after warm-up before one should find eggs?
Any other insight into spawning this species would be greatly appreciated.
Sincerely,
Brian
bbastarache@bcahs.com
Spawning Golden Shiners
Started by
Guest_BBastarache_*
, Mar 06 2012 04:07 PM
6 replies to this topic
#2
Guest_VicC_*
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Posted 07 March 2012 - 09:15 AM
I would select a different practice fish. There are plenty of Notropis species. Maybe get a Notropis species from down south so you don't have to worry about escapees becoming established in local streams. Golden Shiners are too big to use as practice.
The warm-up should mimic spring, but you can accelerate the timing. Step up the temperature and hours of daylight gradually. When the fish start gobbling down the food, pause the temperature increase to let the fish fatten up. 72F seems to be the magic temperature for Notropis spawning. Maybe 77F after the fry become free-swimming to get the fry to grow.
Assume the adults will gobble any eggs.
Play with the amount and direction of current in the spawning tank.
The warm-up should mimic spring, but you can accelerate the timing. Step up the temperature and hours of daylight gradually. When the fish start gobbling down the food, pause the temperature increase to let the fish fatten up. 72F seems to be the magic temperature for Notropis spawning. Maybe 77F after the fry become free-swimming to get the fry to grow.
Assume the adults will gobble any eggs.
Play with the amount and direction of current in the spawning tank.
Edited by VicC, 07 March 2012 - 09:16 AM.
#3
Guest_smbass_*
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Posted 18 March 2012 - 10:46 AM
Golden shiners may spawn at warmer temps than a lot of notropis species. They spawn rather continuously durring warm summers in my rubber lined ponds.
Also to VicC, I would be careful recomending using southern species to take away concernes of escaping. Many southern species are southern due to historic factors not temperature. Many of them have no problem surviving much more northern climates so don't think just because they are a more southerly distributed Notropis that they couldn't survive just fine much further north.
Also to VicC, I would be careful recomending using southern species to take away concernes of escaping. Many southern species are southern due to historic factors not temperature. Many of them have no problem surviving much more northern climates so don't think just because they are a more southerly distributed Notropis that they couldn't survive just fine much further north.
#4
Guest_VicC_*
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Posted 19 March 2012 - 12:00 PM
Also to VicC, I would be careful recomending using southern species to take away concernes of escaping. Many southern species are southern due to historic factors not temperature. Many of them have no problem surviving much more northern climates so don't think just because they are a more southerly distributed Notropis that they couldn't survive just fine much further north.
You are technically correct.
Back to the post. What would be best for BBastarache to do?
You tell me, is it better to practice with Goldens
or to select one of the safer southern Notropis?
#5
Michael Wolfe
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Posted 19 March 2012 - 05:45 PM
You tell me, is it better to practice with Goldens
or to select one of the safer southern Notropis?
Not sure that those are the only two options... Notropis are a pretty diverse group... I mean a bunch of the Hydrophlox spawn mostly over Nocomis chub nests... so if the "southern Notropis" that you pick is yellowfins shiners, it might not tell you anything about how something like silverjaw minnows spawn (just to pick a couple of crazy examples). So the best answer is pick something that spawns in the same way so that you can learn something that easily translates.
Now since we were never told what the "other" minnow was, I am not sure that we can really help Brian that much other than to say (as you already did, and I agree wth you) that Golden shiners are not realy a good example of any Notropis.
Either write something worth reading or do something worth writing. - Benjamin Franklin
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