Southern Red Belly Dace

I collected some Southern Red Belly Dace at the last NANFA convention. I over wintered them down at our farm in a livestock tub and brought them back at Mid-March. I still have about 20 of them, about half are large adults and the other half are smaller, about half the size of the big ones. I have them set up in a 55 gallon tank kept half full, under my deck were they stay on the natural light cycle and the tank stays cool, but warming with the Spring. It is filtered by a sponge filter that has a powerhead and it all sits at one of the tank to provide a good current. They have several long flat rocks to hide under and I set up a tray of gravel, that takes up about a third of the tank, for them at the far end of tank, away from the water pump. The current is directed towards the surface so the water ripples and the fish are not dealing with a strong un-natural jet of water.They usually stay under the slab rocks and face away from the pumped water and eat on the re-bound current. I feed them twice a day with grindals and frozen brine shrimp. They get a fifty percent water change, once a week. None of the fish look damaged from fighting and all are in good shape.

The good news is a few are now coming into their spawning colors. I have never worked with dace before and I would welcome any tips on pulling off this spawn. None of the small ones are showing any color but a few of the large ones are getting quite colorful. So, I thought I would ask for any suggestions,,tips advice, or perhaps some articles on spawning. I have read a few but they all seem a bit vague, I would like to hear from someone who has worked with these fish.

Here's a link to a real good post about someone's experience spawning SRBD. Enjoy.

http://forum.nanfa.o...opic/3755-srbd/

Gravel-spawning minnows do better if you direct some current to flow over & through the "nest". Without current they may not recognize it as a suitable spawning site, or if they do spawn the eggs may suffocate. Feed some cooked veggies (pease, zucchini, sweet potato ...) in addition to meaty foods.

The Thread with the photos is just what I was looking for to complete this project. Looks like my set up is quite similar to one in the photos, but I need to add a pile of larger stones to the gravel tray and move it closer to the current exiting the pump. I will also mix in some more greens for them to eat. Other than being shy these fish have not been difficult to keep. The color on some of them is really starting to get spectacular.

Thanks for the advice.